Inês Coutinho - Lisboa, Portugal

DJ, producer, boss of Naive records, co-founder of Rádio Quântica, and mina resident Violet has been shaking up Lisbon’s nightlife culture. Since moving back to Portugal in 2016, Violet’s talent for elegantly blending techno with breakbeats and acid basslines has been recognised.

Inês Borges Coutinho, aka Violet, sees her role in the Lisbon underground far beyond making and mixing music, using her seemingly boundless energy to amplify other artists all the while progressing her own creative practice. Violet began producing records in 2012, and her output includes The Chain and River Styx EPs on One Eyed Jack’s. Based in London for a time, Coutinho returned to Portugal full of drive, which pushed her to start Naive and found online station Rádio Quântica, both in an effort to give a platform to marginalised artists.

Her positive energy and openness began to attract the LGBTQ community, and she began working with mina, a collective that aims to bring ravers and DJs together with sexual and gender liberation causes. Mykki Blanco named Violet as one of the most influential DJs in the underground scene: “it became clear to me who was moving and shaking things up in this city…Violet represents to me the change I want to see in this world, which is powerful women running electronic music and beyond.” At Lisbon Pride, as a demonstration against the lack of representation for the trans community, Violet invited various trans artists to gatecrash her DJ set and occupy her platform.

Since the release of Violet’s Togetherness EP, her label naive has staked its claim as one of underground dance music’s most exciting new labels. In 2018 came three critically acclaimed 12’’s from Violet and BLEID, Almaty’s Gennaro, and Octo Octa & Eris Drew. At the end of 2018, Mixmag named Naive one of their top 25 records labels of the year.