Lotic is an electronic music artist, DJ, and producer originally from Houston, Texas who lived and worked in Berlin and Europe from 2012 to 2025. Renowned for her innovative and often confrontational sound, Lotic’s work frequently explores themes of identity, power, race, and queerness, blending elements of noise, R&B, hip-hop, and ballroom culture into a distinctive avant-garde club sound.
Lotic’s work is deeply personal and political, often serving as a commentary on identity, power structures, and the club music landscape. She aims to create spaces and sounds that challenge norms, provoke emotion, and empower marginalized voices. Her music is characterized by its intensity, unpredictability, and a unique blend of abrasive textures with moments of profound tenderness and beauty. She actively reclaims club music and culture, emphasizing her black and queer identities in her artistic output.
Lotic’s discography showcases a consistent evolution, moving from instrumental, deconstructed club sounds to more vocal-driven, avant-garde pop.
Features, Press & Recognition
Lotic has received critical acclaim and extensive coverage from prominent music publications for her distinctive sound and artistic vision.
- PopMatters: “Lotic’s Tales of Undrowning on ‘Water’” (2022) – Explores her ability to transmute the theme of water into dynamic soundscapes.
- Flaunt Magazine: “Lotic | On ‘Water’, ‘Power, and ‘Agitations’” (2022) – Interview discussing her journey into singing, the healing process behind Water, and her artistic intentions.
- The Perfect Magazine: Notes from the Underground (2021)
- Loud And Quiet: “Lotic – Water – Album Review” (2021) – Hailed Water as a “masterpiece,” detailing its sonic breadth and emotional depth.
- Sound of Life (Powered by KEF): “Review: Lotic – Water” (2021) – In-depth review of Water, emphasizing its cinematic drama, elemental scale, and Lotic’s transcendence of genre.
- Mixmag: “Lotic is the sound and spirit of experimental dance music” (2018) – Cover story announcing debut album Power.
- The Creative Independent: On Starting from Scratch (2018)
- Resident Advisor:
- “Breaking through: Lotic” (2015) – Feature on her rise, DJ style, and the evolution of her productions leading up to Heterocetera.
- “Lotic – Power · Album Review” (2018) – Review highlighting her embrace of strength and vulnerability.
- “Lotic – Heterocetera · Single Review” (2015) – Review of her Tri Angle debut.
- The FADER:
- “Lotic is using their voice” (2018) – Interview on the making of Power, personal transformation, and confronting societal norms.
- “GEN F: Lotic Makes Club Music as Thrilling as Slasher Porn” (2014) – Explores her approach to manipulating music for emotional impact and her motivations for creating “dirtier, queerer, blacker, weirder, rawer” club music.
- “FADER Mix: Lotic” (2013) – Interview discussing life in Berlin, musical influences, and the emotional range she aims for in her sets.
- Tiny Mix Tapes: “Lotic | Interview” (2015) – Discusses Heterocetera EP, the Janus collective’s “Hype-Hate-Copy” trinity, and her identity as a black and gay artist.
Selected Performances & Residencies
Lotic is renowned for her capricious and unpredictable DJ sets, blending experimental creations with remixed Top 40 tracks, often incorporating elements of R&B, Jersey club, ballroom house, and bounce, as well as her collaborations with artists of other disciplines.
- Janus Collective Parties (Berlin): Regular DJ and co-founder, Chesters, Berghain.
- Milton Court Concert Hall, Guildhall School of Music & Drama (London, UK, 2022): Performed “Water Live”.
- She Makes Noise (Madrid, Spain, 2022): Performed.
- Pop-Kultur (Berlin, 2022): Performed songs from Water.
- Volksbühne (Berlin, 2021): First headlining show for the album Water, released the following day, with visual artist Emmanuel Biard and brass trio.
- Kiani del Valle (Berlin, 2020): Composer and performer for “Las Casas Invisibles”
- Sónar (Barcelona, 2019): Performed “Endless Power”, 60 minutes, with Emmanuel Biard “Corona” lightshow.
- Rewire Festival (2019): Presented “Endless Power,” an ambitious audio/visual collaboration with visual artist Emmanuel Biard, transforming her album Power into a live experience.
- Boiler Room: Multiple appearances, including “Papi Juice x Boiler Room New York” (2019).
- KNoname (Berlin, 2018): Producer and vocalist for “Fleshless Beast”, which went on to tour Europe.
- Ben Frost (Berlin, 2017): Opened for the artist’s show at Funkhaus.
- Björk (Berlin, 2015): Opened alongside Arca for Björk’s concert at Zitadelle.
- Other Notable Performances: Has toured extensively, playing at various clubs and festivals globally, known for creating intense, emotional, and often unsettling experiences on the dance floor.
