MaRLo
Indira Paganotto (born May 30, 1992, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain) — is a Spanish DJ and music producer of Italian descent and one of the most prominent figures on the contemporary psy-techno scene. Her current sound combines techno and psychedelic trance, while her early recordings were considerably closer to house and minimal techno.
Paganotto’s international breakthrough is associated with the releases Red Ninja, Himalaya and Lions of God, followed by the launch of her own label ARTCORE, performances at major festivals, collaborations with Nina Kraviz, Joseph Capriati, Armin van Buuren and Nile Rodgers, and her debut album Arte Como Amante.
Gran Canaria and early musical interests
Indira Paganotto grew up in Gran Canaria in a family where music was a constant part of everyday life. Her mother is Italian and a fan of classical music and opera, while her father is Spanish, a doctor and DJ who lived and worked in India for a period of time. His record collection included disco, jazz, acid house and Goa trance.
At first, her father’s psychedelic music did not particularly appeal to Indira. As a teenager, she was more interested in Detroit techno and Chicago house, collected her own records, learned how to mix and began experimenting with her first productions. At sixteen, Paganotto was given the opportunity to perform at Moon Club in Las Palmas, where she later became a resident DJ.
Madrid and the beginning of her professional career
At eighteen, Paganotto moved to Madrid, determined to focus on music. She played small parties and gradually became part of the local club scene. One of the important platforms was the Stardust series, where she worked as a resident for around two years.
Indira’s early music was very different from her present-day high-tempo performances. She worked primarily with house, deep house and minimal techno, while the transition toward harder electronic music took several years.
Underground Love and early releases
Paganotto’s first well-documented release was Underground Love, released with Sergio Wos on April 25, 2012 via Pooledmusic. The four-track release included Underground Love, Burning and two remixes and belonged firmly to the house genre.
Over the following years, Paganotto released music on independent labels, gradually increased the tempo of her productions and increasingly combined techno with elements of psychedelic trance. The transition was a long one: international recognition arrived more than a decade after her first performances.
Red Ninja, KNTXT and Himalaya
A decisive stage came in 2021. The Second State label released Red Ninja — a record in which Paganotto’s future signature style can already be heard clearly: fast techno, psychedelic melodies, vocal fragments and trance influences.
At almost the same time, her music attracted the attention of Charlotte de Witte. Paganotto released the four-track EP Himalaya on de Witte’s KNTXT label. The collaboration with KNTXT became one of the main factors behind Paganotto’s international growth: she began appearing regularly at the label’s events, while her music reached a significantly wider audience.
In 2022, the Lions of God EP followed on KNTXT. By this point, the combination of techno and psychedelic trance had become the central element of her sound.
ARTCORE
In 2022, Paganotto launched ARTCORE — her own label, event series and visual project. The name combines the concepts of art and hardcore and reflects her desire to unite music, visual identity and the live environment within a single concept.
One of ARTCORE’s first major releases was Guns & Horses. On the track Jambo, for example, Paganotto combined heavy electronic rhythms with guitar passages reminiscent of flamenco. This type of contrast became a characteristic feature of her music.
ARTCORE gradually evolved beyond being exclusively Indira’s personal label. It began releasing music by other producers, expanded into international events and established dedicated stages at festivals. In 2025, Beatport named ARTCORE Best New Label, while the brand hosted its own programmes at Tomorrowland, Mysteryland and Dreambeach.
The development of psy-techno
Paganotto herself describes her contemporary style as psy-techno. The term is more precise than simply listing techno, trance and hard dance, because her music is primarily built around the fusion of two main musical languages: techno and psychedelic trance.
From techno, her music retains a direct rhythmic foundation and dense club energy; from psytrance and Goa trance, it draws fast bass patterns, psychedelic synthesizers, trance-like melodies and long, tension-building transitions. Paganotto sometimes adds vocal mantras, guitar and elements connected with Spanish, Indian or Middle Eastern musical cultures.
Ethnic influences, however, are not an essential feature of her music. The main characteristic remains her ability to move freely between techno and psychedelic trance without following a rigid genre formula.
Major festivals and international breakthrough
After Himalaya and Lions of God, Paganotto quickly moved onto some of the world’s biggest international stages. She performed at Tomorrowland, Awakenings, EDC Las Vegas, EXIT, Sonus, Monegros and other festivals, and in 2024 she played the Tomorrowland Mainstage. Apple Music released an official mix of her Tomorrowland Mainstage performance.
Her live sets became a meeting point for several audiences: fans of techno, psychedelic trance and faster forms of contemporary festival electronic music.
White Horse, Gipsy Queen and Mantra
In 2023, Paganotto released White Horse with Nina Kraviz. The collaboration further emphasised the experimental side of her music and her ability to work beyond the boundaries of a single label or club tradition.
In April 2024, the Gipsy Queen EP was released on ARTCORE, featuring the title track and Vendetta. The release became one of the most recognisable entries in her own catalogue.
In June of the same year, Paganotto and Joseph Capriati released the Mantra EP. Here, her psychedelic sound met Capriati’s more traditional school of club techno.
The same period also brought Blackbird SR-71, one of Paganotto’s hardest and fastest tracks, released through Cercle Records.
Coachella and the ARTCORE world tour
2025 became one of the busiest periods of her career. Paganotto made her debut at Coachella, where she performed a joint set with Sara Landry and Amelie Lens, while ARTCORE expanded with its own events and festival stages in several countries.
That same year, Paganotto reached number 36 in the DJ Mag Top 100 DJs, rising 13 places from her previous position. DJ Mag was by then officially describing her style as psy-techno.
Dragon with Armin van Buuren
In June 2025, Indira Paganotto and Armin van Buuren released Dragon. The collaboration represented a natural meeting point between two scenes: Paganotto’s psychedelic techno and van Buuren’s trance tradition. The extended version runs at 146 BPM and is classified as psytrance in Beatport’s catalogue.
The collaboration was also accompanied by joint performances from the two artists, bringing Paganotto even closer to the global trance scene.
Kalima and Arte Como Amante
In March 2025, Paganotto released the Kalima EP on ARTCORE. The title track continued her high-tempo psychedelic direction and was classified by Beatport as psytrance.
A different side of her music appeared in the collaboration with Nile Rodgers — Arte Como Amante. Paganotto first met the legendary guitarist and producer in 2020, while the track itself was developed over several years. Rodgers’ characteristic rhythmic guitar allowed Indira to combine her electronic production with funk and a more organic sound.
The album Arte Como Amante
On January 30, 2026, Indira Paganotto released her debut studio album Arte Como Amante via ARTCORE Records / [PIAS] Électronique. The digital edition contains 12 tracks with a total running time of approximately 54 minutes.
The album includes Sweet Tempest, Momento, El Mago, Hello I Love You, Crush, Warriors, This Is ARTCORE, Arte Como Amante, Disney, Arrogante, La Patrona and Black Magic. The title track was recorded with Nile Rodgers.
The album deliberately moves beyond psy-techno. It combines trance, techno, psychedelic electronics, vocal compositions, guitar and calmer forms of electronic music. The project was developed over many years and was conceived as a reflection of Paganotto’s entire musical evolution rather than a collection of similar club tracks.
ARTCORE at Hï Ibiza
During the summer of 2025, Paganotto hosted the first 14-week ARTCORE residency in the Club Room at Hï Ibiza. The success of the series led to a significantly larger programme for the following season.
In 2026, Indira Paganotto Presents ARTCORE takes place at Hï Ibiza on Sundays from May 31 to October 4 — a total of 19 weeks. The line-up includes Ben Klock, Chris Liebing, Héctor Oaks, Pan-Pot, Anetha, SPFDJ and other representatives of the contemporary electronic scene.
The residency highlights Paganotto’s new role: she now operates not only as a DJ and producer, but also as the curator of her own musical platform.
DREAM and the development of ARTCORE
On June 26, 2026, Indira Paganotto released DREAM with El Karima. The track was released on Tomorrowland Music and continued ARTCORE’s collaboration with the wider Tomorrowland festival ecosystem.
By this point, ARTCORE had developed into a fully-fledged international project: the label releases music by other artists, organises its own events, curates festival stages and maintains a dedicated long-term residency in Ibiza.
Indira Paganotto discography
Studio album
- 2026 — Arte Como Amante
Selected EPs and key releases
- 2012 — Underground Love — with Sergio Wos
- 2021 — Red Ninja
- 2021 — Himalaya
- 2022 — Lions of God
- 2022 — Guns & Horses
- 2023 — White Horse — with Nina Kraviz
- 2024 — Gipsy Queen
- 2024 — Mantra — with Joseph Capriati
- 2024 — Blackbird SR-71
- 2025 — Kalima
- 2025 — Dragon — with Armin van Buuren
- 2025 — Arte Como Amante — with Nile Rodgers
- 2025 — Crush
- 2026 — DREAM — with El Karima
Indira Paganotto’s place in contemporary electronic music
Indira Paganotto’s career developed gradually. Around a decade passed between her first official release, Underground Love, and her arrival on the world’s biggest festival stages. During that time, she evolved from house and minimal techno toward her own fusion of techno and psychedelic trance.
Red Ninja, Himalaya and Lions of God established the signature that would later become known as psy-techno. The creation of ARTCORE allowed Paganotto to turn her own sound into a broader platform for releases, events and other artists.
At the same time, Arte Como Amante demonstrated that her music is not limited to a single festival formula. Collaborations with Nile Rodgers, Armin van Buuren, Nina Kraviz and Joseph Capriati cover different sides of the electronic scene, while her own album brought more melodic and organic elements back into her music.
It is precisely this combination of long-standing club experience, a recognisable psy-techno sound and the development of ARTCORE that has made Indira Paganotto one of the most prominent figures on the contemporary European electronic music scene.
