Alif Hilal, a Pennsylvania-born, Berlin-based artist, describes herself as a “child of Berlin and Berghain.” Known for her dense, spirited vocal compositions—most notably on her 2020 debut Fountain and 2025’s Hymnal—Hilal has spent years refining a sound that merges expansive vocal textures with intricate instrumentation. Following her conversion to Islam and a subsequent name change from Lyra Pramuk, she has continued to push the boundaries of her artistic practice, increasingly turning her attention toward the visceral world of club music.
For her latest FADER Mix, Hilal presents a high-bpm journey that she characterizes as an “ungenred” pluralism, revolving around a modular continuum of techno and house. The set is an excerpt from a live performance in Venice, Italy, recorded in an environment she describes as “extremely hot, DIY, steamy, and intimate.” It is a testament to her growing prowess as a DJ, a role she now views as a central instrument in her creative storytelling.
The Evolution of a Performer
Hilal’s transition into more frequent club sets is a natural progression for a self-described “raver at heart.” While she has long been celebrated for her ambient and experimental work, she notes that incorporating DJing into her repertoire has provided a new sense of flow. “[DJing has] become a kind of central object or instrument in terms of how I think about production, composition, and musical storytelling,” she explains. Her approach to the decks is technical and detail-oriented, mirroring the precision she brings to her studio work.
The FADER Mix features a diverse array of artists, including Laurel Halo, DjRUM, Peaches, and Ricardo Villalobos, reflecting her desire to represent the global diversity of dance music. “Artistically and politically, it’s important for me to try to represent the history of dance music as a form of radical resistance,” she says. “It’s a kind of research into contemporary folk music, considering a broad spectrum of what we might consider folk today.”
Looking Toward the Future
When asked about the future of nightlife, Hilal remains optimistic about its capacity for renewal. She views the dancefloor as a space that continually generates culture and challenges our perception of reality. Her own journey, from the marshlands of France—where she once performed an opera with horses—to the sweat-drenched rooms of Venice, underscores a commitment to immersive, transformative experiences.
Beyond the music, Hilal’s interests are as expansive as her soundscapes. She expresses a fascination with the application of quantum physics to human biology, a field she believes is fundamentally shifting our understanding of health and the body. As she continues to evolve, Alif Hilal remains a singular force, bridging the gap between the ethereal and the physical, the experimental and the danceable.
