Agustina Alcober: self-release, identity, and processes within techno

Within the Argentine underground techno scene, more and more artists are starting to rethink the way they release their music. In this context, the self-release emerges not only as an alternative, but as an artistic decision.

We spoke with Agustina Alcober, a producer from the city of Santa Fe, about her new independent EP, her connection to techno, and the construction of identity within techno music.

A search that found its shape in techno

How did your connection with electronic music and techno come about?

I started many years ago singing, training in vocal technique for quite some time. My first approaches to electronic music came from a very introspective place: I listened to it as a way to concentrate, connecting especially with ambient, new age, and deep techno.

My link with techno took final shape when I started studying music production, at a time when I was searching for a direction. I have always been a person with many interests in music, and it was hard for me to find a clear path, even more so after dedicating a decade of my life to vocal technique and learning instruments.

I feel that techno manages to integrate two parts of me that initially seemed incompatible: a more sensitive and emotional side, and another more dark, mental, and abstract side. I find my place at that crossroads and commit to the genre.

Releasing at the right element

Why did you choose to release this new EP independently?

I decided to release it independently because it represents a very specific moment that I lived through last year. I feel that all the tracks, even some that did not make it onto the EP, are part of the same story, of something I went through at that time.

And I didn't want to let time pass and lose that essence. It felt important to release it now, just as it is, without filtering it too much. It was like saying: I release it now, or I don't release it at all.

The value of self-releasing

What do you find in self-releases that you don't find when you release music through a label?

I think self-releasing gives me something that I don't find as much in labels today. Having this feeling that the time to release this material was now, and that everything had to come out together, I needed to be able to respect the project without having to fragment or adapt it.

I'm at a stage where perhaps not all labels fully understand or see my complete vision, and that's perfectly fine, it's part of the process. But I didn't want to depend on their timing or on external decisions.

Identity and brand building

What do you think of the idea of creating a brand around your sound?

In my case, I am my own brand. I don't seek to create a character or something separate from myself: what I show is directly linked to who I am. Even my stage name is my real name, which is why for me it is key to be consistent with what I am going through at any given moment and to avoid falling into a rigid or overly defined aesthetic that ends up limiting me when it comes to creating or expressing myself.

One of the most valuable—and also most difficult—things in electronic music is making your music actually sound like you, having its own identity. But I believe that is built over time, by trying things, making mistakes, and getting to know oneself.

I'm not interested in maintaining a perfect or overly polished image just for social media; today I value what is genuine and showing who I really am much more.

I think it's important to have a distinctive feature, a style, and to build a brand around what I do. But, for me, that has to come as a consequence of a deeper process of self-knowledge and experimentation.

Decisions like Agustina's bring the focus back to something essential: respecting one's own timing and sustaining an identity in the making.

Because, in the end, self-releasing is also a way of deciding how and when to tell a story.