Grooves and Gratitude: A Conversation with Francisco Allendes

, a Chilean DJ and producer now residing in Ibiza, is an established figure in the contemporary dance music scene. His journey in music began at a young age when his parents introduced him to the violin. He received classical training for eight years, performing in various orchestras and folk groups. At the age of 17, he discovered progressive rock and synthesizers, which sparked his interest in electronic instruments and propelled him into exploring new sounds.

 acquired his first set of Technics turntables and quickly established himself among the professional DJs in Chile. His early productions gained attention, leading to performances at major festivals in Chile and exposure to the international circuit. In 2005, he moved to Zaragoza, Spain, where he collaborated with DJ and producer Iñigo Oruézabal on projects like Monomachine and Garlic. He released music on European labels such Immigrant, Catwash, Paradigm, Kling Klong Records, Be As One, and Underground Music and performed in local clubs.

 co-founded Andes Music, the first vinyl and digital record label based in Chile. This venture aimed to promote upcoming South American artists and helped solidify his name within the flourishing tech house scene. In 2009, he embarked on the Fiebre Amarilla World Tour, performing in clubs worldwide and gaining recognition on the international stage.

Esa Nena Quiere

 made a significant move to Ibiza, the mecca of electronic music. He secured a residency at Ushuaïa Beach Club, a renowned venue that propelled his career. Releasing tracks like "Esa Nena Quiere" on Steve Lawler's label VIVa Music, he achieved overnight success and received acclaim from esteemed DJs such as 

. Collaborations with industry icons like 

 and performances at ANTS (Ushuaïa) and 

 Used + Abused parties solidified his presence on the Ibiza scene.

' love for Ibiza led to him being crowned the best Ibiza DJ at the DJ Awards in 2019, a career highlight for him. His dedication to music extends beyond touring, with regular studio sessions resulting in releases on esteemed labels such as Desolat, Kaluki, VIVa Music, Cadenza, KMS, Sola, Snatch, Mood, Crosstown Rebels, and Rawthentic. A true musician at heart, Allendes has even performed live with his own band, the "Allendes Orchestra," fusing classical elements with electronic music.

ANTS @ Ushuaïa Ibiza, July 23 2022 by Francisco Allendes

 has graced the stages of numerous major festivals around the world, including Dreambeach, Creamfields, Awakenings, Mysteryland, Love Parade, Tomorrowland, Medusa, MMW (Miami Music Week), BPM (The BPM Festival), ANTS, and Hyte. These performances have solidified his presence on both the global and local scenes, capturing fans from all walks of life.

Chile

latin tech house

Francisco Allendes

United Kingdom

deep disco house

house

minimal techno

uk house

Hot Since 82

Spain

tech house

Wade

Miane

arab electronic

uk tech house

Yousef

Ushuaïa Ibiza

ANTS with Hot Since 82 and Wade

ANTS

France

bass house

electro house

Dombresky

Croatia

San Pacho

SYREETA

United States

disco house

LEFTI

HVNLEE

latin house

tribal house

Crusy

AKKI

Rivka Ruth

Knockdown Center

Dombresky Day-Into-Night

Italy

dark techno

italian techno

Marco Faraone

Toni Varga

Musica NYC

Marco Faraone, Francisco Allendes, Toni Varga & Guest

spanish techno

Bastian Bux

deep house

HUGEL

Ilario Alicante

brostep

Max Styler

Germany

Tini Gessler

Oden & Fatzo

Paco Osuna

Monoky

elrow

Factory Town

elrow: Factory Basel Closing 2024

Greece

latvian pop

Detlef

Fleur Shore

Iglesias

garage house

Kerri Chandler

Local Singles

Luna Mar

Netherlands

dutch tech house

Luuk van Dijk

Denmark

Manda Moor

Matroda

Mau P

Nala

uk dance

Paul Woolford

Prunk

Seb Zito

The Brooklyn Mirage

elrow NYC: Summer Festival 2023

german house

german techno

high-tech minimal

Boris Brejcha

leipzig electronic

Matthias Tanzmann

Airrica

german tech house

Tomi & Kesh

ANTS Week 13

Nic Fanciulli

Chelina Manuhutu

Elliot Schooling

Liam Palmer

ANTS Week 7

Switzerland

swiss house

Andrea Oliva

ANTS Week 19

canadian electronic

electronic trap

fidget house

turntablism

A-Trak

Amnesia Ibiza

Elrow Week 2 | Brownx

Elrow Ibiza

Sosa

Cloonee

John Summit

Joris Voorn

techno

Loco Dice

Paul Reynolds

Wheats

Brazil

Viot

ANTS Opening Party Part II

South Africa

south african house

south african pop

south african pop dance

Black Coffee

minimal tech house

The Martinez Brothers

deep tech house

progressive house

CamelPhat

One More DANTS

Davide Squillace

Anëk

Secondcity

ANTS Invasion

Tech

FLETCH

dance pop

pop dance

Joel Corry

Artwork

VNTM

afro house

organic house

melodic house

melodic techno

Komashov

Proper Villains

electronica

intelligent dance music

Jon Hopkins

Kino Todo

Belanuit

What genre would you describe your music as?

If you weren't a DJ, what would you be doing for your career?

What's your favorite artist/style of music outside of dance music?

Francisco Allendes describes his music as retro-futuristic Martian groove.  
A definition without constraint. Because he says, "Anything can be done in the Martian way." It's a way for the Chilean artist to compress a library of influences into a unified sound. 

He discovered his passion for gorgeous soundscapes at eight-year-old. A neighbor who was obsessed with classical music shared tapes of Mozart and Vivaldi with him. Enamored with their complexity and beauty, he set his heart on learning the violin. 

Unsure of his dedication, his father said no. However, his mother tried to get him lessons in secret. The secret only lasted a day, he says, because they did a terrible job of hiding the violin.

His parents became his most ardent supporters. His mom would drive him all over Chile to perform with youth orchestras. He is incredibly grateful for their support.

“I started taking classes and right away they both were very enthusiastic for me," He explains. "Of course to have this support from the family is a lot because I know many people that don't have the support from their family. And this already cuts your legs if you don't have love and support from your [family] to do what you want.”

The neighbor who first unveiled his passion for music wasn't the last of his friends to guide his musical journey. His eldest brother introduced him to rock music and took him to his first concert, legendary guitar virtuoso Steve Vai.

But it was a friend who gave him two of his greatest musical gifts. Francisco joyfully remembers his friend Camila a flutist in his youth orchestra. She introduced him to Bjork and gifted him his first guestlist experience.

Camila was so obsessed with Bjork that she learned Icelandic. When Bjork came to town, Camila and Francisco snuck into her hotel. They managed to speak to a violin player in her orchestra who was so impressed by the young Chilean girl's Icelandic he invited them to the concert as his guests. The first time Allendes heard Bjork, he was only two meters from her.

With such a patchwork of influences, Allendes continued to learn instruments and explore. He bought a guitar and a keyboard. And as high schoolers do, he joined a band. But he was struck by how different he was from his bandmates.

“Every band that I was part of I was the more committed.” He said. “I need to find a way to do my music on my own. I don't want to be dependent on a drummer that likes to go party on Friday night and doesn’t come to rehearsals. Real rock and rollers, they come even if they didn't sleep.”

So he started to make weird noises on his computer. He figured that so many of his idols found pathways to sound through synthesizers, so why not him? 

A couple of years later, he ran into Camila again on a bus coming home from school. After catching up, she said four words that would change his life, “Do you know techno?”

Allendes was already DJing. Well, kind of. He was a selector. He couldn't mix records yet. So the idea that anyone could play music on three turntables was mind-bending. 

Camila’s boyfriend was a DJ, and she brought him to his first event. When he heard dance music for the first time, he realized the weird beats he made weren’t too far off. So, he decided to focus on recreating the sound of the dance floor.

Allendes was dedicated to his craft from the gate. Even at eight years old he was determined to make his passion a profession. However, he always retained a sense of realism. He made a deal with himself that if by 30 he wasn’t successful, he’d quit. He was only a few months shy of losing the deal. 

He already had an attempt to live in Spain under his belt by the time he released the Llovizna EP on Luciano’s Cadenza imprint. It was huge to be validated by such a luminary in Chile’s house music scene. The songs were hits, but he still had trouble getting the proper visa to live and work in Spain. 

Six months from his 30th birthday, he got a random Facebook message from a girl who worked in Ibiza. She wanted to help, but the claim seemed too good to be true. He was used to getting messages from producers looking to collab. It turned out that she was a talent buyer for legendary Ibizan USHUAÏA, and she wanted Francisco to be a resident.

“My first summer in Ibiza was very painful,” He says. Because he worked at one of the clubs, he was able to go everywhere. And he took full advantage. But he quickly realized that he couldn’t party like a tourist for the rest of his life. 

He limits how much he goes out. He exercises five times a week. And his kids help keep him balanced because no matter how late he’s out, he gets up at 7 am to get them to school.

Throughout his career, he depended on the help of others at every step. It’s been his community that has had the most impact. And if it’s taught him anything he says, it’s that you must be humble. 

“So many people want to come in the scene that has a vision of something that is not real. And this can really can make your head go cuckoo. So, it's very important to be humble. I want to do this until I die. I mean, maybe sixty, seventy years. So, I have to be healthy. I have to be focused. I have to be humble. I have to be thankful.”

What genre would you describe your music as?

Retro Futuristic Martian Groove

Where are you from?

Chile

What age did you start DJing?

21

If you weren't a DJ, what would you be doing for your career?

Astronomer

What's your favorite artist/style of music outside of dance music?

Frank Zappa

Francisco Allendes describes his music as retro-futuristic Martian groove.  
A definition without constraint. Because he says, "Anything can be done in the Martian way." It's a way for the Chilean artist to compress a library of influences into a unified sound. 

He discovered his passion for gorgeous soundscapes at eight-year-old. A neighbor who was obsessed with classical music shared tapes of Mozart and Vivaldi with him. Enamored with their complexity and beauty, he set his heart on learning the violin. 

Unsure of his dedication, his father said no. However, his mother tried to get him lessons in secret. The secret only lasted a day, he says, because they did a terrible job of hiding the violin.

His parents became his most ardent supporters. His mom would drive him all over Chile to perform with youth orchestras. He is incredibly grateful for their support.

“I started taking classes and right away they both were very enthusiastic for me," He explains. "Of course to have this support from the family is a lot because I know many people that don't have the support from their family. And this already cuts your legs if you don't have love and support from your [family] to do what you want.”

The neighbor who first unveiled his passion for music wasn't the last of his friends to guide his musical journey. His eldest brother introduced him to rock music and took him to his first concert, legendary guitar virtuoso Steve Vai.

But it was a friend who gave him two of his greatest musical gifts. Francisco joyfully remembers his friend Camila a flutist in his youth orchestra. She introduced him to Bjork and gifted him his first guestlist experience.

Camila was so obsessed with Bjork that she learned Icelandic. When Bjork came to town, Camila and Francisco snuck into her hotel. They managed to speak to a violin player in her orchestra who was so impressed by the young Chilean girl's Icelandic he invited them to the concert as his guests. The first time Allendes heard Bjork, he was only two meters from her.

With such a patchwork of influences, Allendes continued to learn instruments and explore. He bought a guitar and a keyboard. And as high schoolers do, he joined a band. But he was struck by how different he was from his bandmates.

“Every band that I was part of I was the more committed.” He said. “I need to find a way to do my music on my own. I don't want to be dependent on a drummer that likes to go party on Friday night and doesn’t come to rehearsals. Real rock and rollers, they come even if they didn't sleep.”

So he started to make weird noises on his computer. He figured that so many of his idols found pathways to sound through synthesizers, so why not him? 

A couple of years later, he ran into Camila again on a bus coming home from school. After catching up, she said four words that would change his life, “Do you know techno?”

Allendes was already DJing. Well, kind of. He was a selector. He couldn't mix records yet. So the idea that anyone could play music on three turntables was mind-bending. 

Camila’s boyfriend was a DJ, and she brought him to his first event. When he heard dance music for the first time, he realized the weird beats he made weren’t too far off. So, he decided to focus on recreating the sound of the dance floor.

Allendes was dedicated to his craft from the gate. Even at eight years old he was determined to make his passion a profession. However, he always retained a sense of realism. He made a deal with himself that if by 30 he wasn’t successful, he’d quit. He was only a few months shy of losing the deal. 

He already had an attempt to live in Spain under his belt by the time he released the Llovizna EP on Luciano’s Cadenza imprint. It was huge to be validated by such a luminary in Chile’s house music scene. The songs were hits, but he still had trouble getting the proper visa to live and work in Spain. 

Six months from his 30th birthday, he got a random Facebook message from a girl who worked in Ibiza. She wanted to help, but the claim seemed too good to be true. He was used to getting messages from producers looking to collab. It turned out that she was a talent buyer for legendary Ibizan USHUAÏA, and she wanted Francisco to be a resident.

“My first summer in Ibiza was very painful,” He says. Because he worked at one of the clubs, he was able to go everywhere. And he took full advantage. But he quickly realized that he couldn’t party like a tourist for the rest of his life. 

He limits how much he goes out. He exercises five times a week. And his kids help keep him balanced because no matter how late he’s out, he gets up at 7 am to get them to school.

Throughout his career, he depended on the help of others at every step. It’s been his community that has had the most impact. And if it’s taught him anything he says, it’s that you must be humble. 

“So many people want to come in the scene that has a vision of something that is not real. And this can really can make your head go cuckoo. So, it's very important to be humble. I want to do this until I die. I mean, maybe sixty, seventy years. So, I have to be healthy. I have to be focused. I have to be humble. I have to be thankful.”

Francisco Allendes

Articles

Other artists