Image Courtesy of Isobel Timms.
This year, Sonár Lisboa welcomed a number of local and international artists to perform across three stages set up in and around Pavilhão Carlos Lopes – one of the city’s most recognisable buildings hidden atop Parque Eduardo VII. The sun cast its warmth upon the grass where people lay out wide beneath the sky lulled to the echoing beats of rhythmic techno; while dancers grooved outside with the heat, sunglasses on and beer in hand.
If you wished to escape the sun and enter darkness, Sonár had their club stage inside the Pavillion which brought a dark & industrial edge to the festival. It was here that ISAbella delivered an entrancing DJ set on the Sunday afternoon, the sounds of which pulsated through the bones of all those in witness. Hypnotising visuals were the perfect backdrop to an equally hypnotising mix of techno, house and trance – a blend of sounds ISAbella likes to call “Lesbian House”.
Image Courtesy of Isobel Timms.
For those unfamiliar with ISAbella – in which case, you’re welcome –, she is a Columbia-born DJ who has become one of Barcelona’s, where she is now based, most influential DJs cultivating a true relationship between music and community. She is a co-founder of celebrated LGBTQ+ party, platform, label and collective MARICAS which has become a place of love and safety for many in the queer community. Working with her friends and comrades, she’s become an icon within the city’s queer community while carving out space for dancers to find connection, both on and off the dancefloor.
“MARICAS was born from necessity. We needed more than a night out; a space where we found our community with the music we loved – we needed visibility, care, and solidarity,” she tells me. “It’s about making a home in the club a space to find your family, where queerness isn’t an “extra” but the core. We created it because we needed it for ourselves and for others like us. It’s about reclaiming space and reshaping nightlife on our own terms.”
Image Courtesy of Isobel Timms.
Though her community roots are very much rooted in Barcelona, ISAbella is being booked all around Europe and the roots are expanding. “It’s exciting to carry a piece of Barcelona with me wherever I go — there’s a certain colour and warmth I carry in every set with energy and openness,” she says. “Playing in other cities feels like an exchange. To me, it’s a dialogue—my sound meets their energy.”
When one thinks of electronic music, the main cities that come to mind (for me at least) are Berlin and London. I wasn’t so aware of the scene here in Lisbon, until coming out to Sonár. I’ve learnt that there’s tonnes of local artists who are blending traditional styles of music with more experimental forms, along with a bunch of DJ collectives. So the scene is actually very vibrant. I’m curious to know about what parts of Lisbon’s music scene speak to ISAbella.
“Lisbon has this raw, grounded energy that I love. The crowd is super warm and open, but also very tuned in. There are spaces like Planeta Manas that are very inspiring and really excites me! It’s a space that just doesn’t just host a party, they are also reclaiming public visibility for marginalized voices and it’s a space where you can meet incredible people and listen to some amazing artists.”
Image Courtesy of Isobel Timms.
And, what does community feel like to ISAbella?
“Community, to me, feels like trust. Like being seen and held, even without words. It’s not always perfect or polished — sometimes it’s messy, but it’s real. It’s where you can show up fully as you are, and where joy and resistance exist together.”