Nicola CruzEC
Nicola Cruz is an Ecuadorian electronic musician whose work moves fluidly between live performance, production, and deep musical exploration. Raised in Ecuador after being born in France, Cruz has developed a sound rooted in Latin American traditions while constantly seeking new forms of expression beyond cultural borders.
Starting his journey as a DJ in Quito’s formative club scene in the early 2000s, Cruz built his approach from the ground up, learning, interpreting, and translating the roots of electronic music into his own evolving language. From early releases like Prender El Alma to Siku, he has woven organic Afro-Latin textures, analog synths, and global rhythms into a dynamic body of work that defies simple categorization.
His current sets reflect a more abstract and conceptual direction, inviting listeners into immersive sonic landscapes shaped by field recordings, modular synthesis, and a search for new textures. Recent collaborations with musicians from diverse backgrounds continue to enrich his palette, emphasizing dialogue over genre.
A veteran of MUTEK and its various satellite festivals, Nicola Cruz will once again grace Montréal with a signature live performance. Merging his newest sonic explorations with field recordings and experimental studio sessions, Cruz will improvise and restructure original material into ephemeral pieces, blending dub, soca and acid influences with his own Andean rhythmic universe.
Who
Born in France and raised in Ecuador, Nicola Cruz is an electronic artist active between Quito and international stages.
Labels
Fabric, Nous’klaer Audio, ZZK Records
Latest
Kinesia (Nous’klaer Audio, 2024)
Fabric Presents Nicola Cruz (Fabric, 2022)
Siku (ZZK Records, 2019)
Prender El Alma (ZZK Records, 2018)
More
After recording Colibria in a New York warehouse, a song about a girl born in a volcano, Cruz pushed experimentation further by recording the reverb-laden Arka inside Ecuador’s Ilaló volcano.
Links
Official Website
