The Portuguese DJ and producer Bruno Cardoso, who goes by the moniker Xinobi, has shaped the dance world with his undefined music that weaves so many genres into culturally enlightening compositions. The co-founder of the label Discotexas sprinkles in a wide array of musical influences into his work like deep house, organic electronica, indie dance, drum and bass, and even post-rock. The unconventional artist sets off 2022 with the forthcoming release of his full-length album Balsame and also delivers a few poetic messages into his tracks.

As with most of his albums, Xinobi likes to have a concept or theme. The creative process behind his newest album Balsame drew inspiration from movie soundtracks, alluring travel destinations like Istanbul and Puerto Escondido, contemporary sounds, and all the clubbing and music events in between. “This time, it was a bit out of my ordinary, mostly because a big part of the record was written under a global lockdown that happened at the same time I was building a new studio with Moullinex.” Although he didn’t have a studio, he relied on one of his favorite places to create music: his sofa. The playful character expounds how Balsame is “about finding utopias in times of dystopias, healing humankind, taking the streets to dance against social struggles, and living up to the clichés like ‘united we’re stronger’ or ‘act local, think global.'”

One of the biggest revelations and most empowering things he learned about himself during these past 2 years of isolation was that his anxiety can be tamed. “Being unable to tour left an empty space I was able to fill by taking care of myself, putting things into perspective, and going easy on my emotions. I still stress and worry about all the things I like and the ones I love and fear to lose, but I gained a bit of control over my emotions. At some point, it felt like everything was lost regarding me and music. Not being able to perform meant not only having less income but also losing a purpose to make dance music since clubbing and live music were in a brutal pause with no defined term. Having a stronger sense of hope and reading a lot about potential future scenarios calmed me down and helped me to somewhat enjoy the moment and appreciate life. Eventually, I found enough strength to keep doing music regardless of the scary unknown.”

Despite being in this industry for quite some time, being a DJ and producer is a constant pressure to stay up-to-date and always be aware of new sounds and artists. “You always have to dig for new music. I do it all the time not only for research but also to better understand how to incorporate my music at gigs.” Even nowadays, there’s ever-changing technology and software that leave space for improvement and innovation as well as the new potential “music industry” scenarios with web3 and NFTs, for example. 

As much as he strives to take things “day by day,” he needs planning and organization. The devoted musician has already written enough music to release in the second half of 2022 and hopes to tour as much as healthily possible for “there’s no need for irrational agendas if you want to live a creative life in proximity to the ones you love the most: friends and family.” Be on the lookout for his next single release “Basa Bela” on March 11th along with the album release on April 8th, 2022. Support the refreshing, eclectic artist on Beatport and Instagram.