The 47-year-old Chilean DJ and producer is set to premiere his new performance experience, Alive, at this year’s Art With Me Festival at RC Cola during Miami Art Week.
The project marks a major creative turning point that began after an unexpected flood destroyed his recording studio and nearly everything inside it. What could have been the end of a chapter instead became the start of something entirely new.
“I lost almost everything,” Luciano says over Zoom in his home back in the UK. “My partner Daniel told me, instead of falling into tears, let’s use this as an opportunity.” That moment became the foundation for Alive, a project built from decades of music, memory, and emotion. “We decided to design a live performance based on the music I’ve been writing for thirty years,” he explains. “This is where we are now.”
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The journey toward Alive was not quick or easy. For Luciano, rebuilding after the flood forced him into unfamiliar territory that demanded trust, patience, and faith.
“It took longer than expected,” he admits. “It’s a big project, and it’s very difficult to pull it off there.”
What began as an idea eventually grew into a massive collaboration. Luciano assembled an Avengers-level team of engineers, designers, and technicians with experience working alongside the biggest names in electronic music. “We are a group of geeks,” he laughs. “Fascinated by sound and music and design and art and lights.” What brought them together was not money or trend chasing but belief in the work. “When you have a group of people motivated by heart, not by their pocket, you know you have something special.”
Although Alive has been developing for two years, Luciano calls its Miami premiere the actual beginning. “Once you have a product, once you have a project, then comes the hardest part,” he says. “How do you go from us believing in it to the world believing in it?”
Large-scale productions demand risk, especially when the concept cannot be fully explained on paper. “It’s like buying a house without seeing it first,” he says. “You don’t really know until you walk inside.” Miami was the first city to take that leap. “We were lucky that the people in Miami said, we believe in you. Let’s do this.”
At its core, Alive is both an engineering marvel and an emotional experience. The show relies heavily on technology, which means rehearsals are built around preparing for the one percent chance of failure.
“99 percent of the time it will work,” Luciano explains, “but we prepare everything for that one percent where it doesn’t.” He knows how fragile technical systems can be. “We depend on electricity. We depend on machines. A hard drive can blow up. Anything can happen.” But technology is not meant to dominate the experience.
“For me, technology is only an extension of my mind,” he says. “It exists to extend an impulse, an emotion, a thought.” Once the systems are in place, he insists on complete creative freedom. “If something goes wrong, my technical brain takes over, and I lose the creative side. That’s why everything has to be set up and secure. The environment has to feel safe so the art can exist.”
Despite receiving praise during rehearsals, Luciano refuses to let early feedback inflate the project prematurely. “I ignore the glitter,” he admits. “I sit down as a spectator, and I ask myself the hard questions.” His measure for success is purely emotional. “If something doesn’t give me goosebumps, then it’s not ready,” he says. “I don’t make music for approval. I make it because I want to feel something.” Even with growing excitement around the premiere, he remains grounded. “This is not a personal success story. It’s a collective one.”
Miami holds a unique place in Luciano’s heart. Decades of memories echo through the city’s dance floors and rooftops. “This city is the center between north and south,” he says. “It’s shiny, it’s sunny, it’s full of energy.” His earliest Miami experiences stretch back to clubs like Nocturnal, Shore Club, and Space. “Space in the morning is something special,” he says. “When the sun comes up, and there’s no ending, no time, just people dancing, that’s magic.”
As a Chilean artist, he feels culturally at home in Miami. “There’s a strong Latino heartbeat here,” he says. “I’ve always felt connected to it.”
Even as a legend in the house music scene, Luciano admits he is nervous about the premiere. “If I wasn’t nervous, I wouldn’t be human,” he says. “When you get comfortable, you stop growing.” For him, discomfort is a compass. “I always put myself into uncomfortable situations,” he says. “Because that’s where I learn.” The fear fuels him. “If I know exactly what’s going to happen, then it’s not exciting anymore,” he admits. “Risk is part of fun. As an artist, if you stop having fun, you’re finished.”
Alongside the launch of Alive, Luciano has also revived one of electronic music’s most important labels. Cadenza Records was never meant to exist. “It started as a university project for my sister,” he recalls. “I made the music. She made the design. There was no plan.” The record unexpectedly climbed the German charts and changed everything. “Suddenly we were number one,” he says. “That’s how Cadenza was born.”
Over time, the imprint became a home for music that aged gracefully. “Cadenza is like wine,” Luciano explains. “Some bottles are meant to last forever.” In contrast, his other label focuses on immediacy. “Some music is meant to be consumed now.” Together, they reflect two sides of his creative brain.
When asked about Latin House, Luciano bristles at the idea that it is a trend. “Latin music has always been dance music,” he says. “Movement is part of our culture.” He points to pioneers like Masters at Work and Louie Vega as foundational architects long before the genre became fashionable.
“Latin House didn’t arrive. It resurfaced.” To him, African and Latin cultures are where rhythm has always lived. “We’ve been carrying this music for generations,” he says. “It was only a matter of time before the world caught up again.”
At this stage in his life, Luciano is not chasing seasons or streams. He is chasing emotion. “I just want to keep learning,” he says. “As long as my brain is active, I’m happy.” Alive is not just a show. It is a declaration. A turning point. A challenge to comfort. And a reminder that art is only real when it risks something. Miami does not just get a premiere. It gets a rebirth.
Art With Me 2025. December 5, at RC Cola Plant, 550 NW 24th St., Wynwood; artwithme.com. Tickets cost $64.95 to $329.95 via ticketfairy.com.