Saya (ES/ PLE)
Saya is a multipotential artistic force, musical researcher, and anti-racist activist. Born in Santiago de Compostela, originally from Palestine and based in Porto, she positions herself in the current scene as a multi-genre DJ, influenced by the various cultural and artistic worlds around her. Trained as a Pharmacist, VDJ and Sound Technician, and in Music Business at Arda Academy, she combines her role as a musical selector with a passion for production—cultural programming, photography, videography, and sound experimentation with field recordings.
Her journey includes numerous clubs and festivals in Galicia, as well as participation in Boiler Room x Sisters of Rave, performances in Spanish venues such as Razzmatazz (Barcelona), Sala El Sol (Madrid), and venues in Portugal such as Pérola Negra, Hard Club, and Casa da Música (Porto), Musicbox, Arroz Estúdios, and Outra Cena (Lisbon), and Art Haus (Faro). More recently, at Tremor (Ponta Delgada, Azores) and Serralves em Festa (Porto), she premiered a new DJ set + live visuals format with artist Bárbara Paixão.
Additionally, she has made an international leap with mixes for radio programmes such as HKCR (Hong Kong), Rebel Up! (Brussels), Aaja Channel 1 (London), and Radio Flouka (Paris), where she explores sounds beyond the clubbing scene. Her sets are characterised by root rhythms, with genres ranging from kuduro to experimental Arabic electronic, gqom, baile & rave funk, deconstructed club, and hard drums, among others. It is a journey exploring sounds from different regions, giving recognition and visibility to the resistances in those territories and in the diaspora. Thus, her DJ set creates a carefully crafted space for celebrating dissent and reminds us that the anti-racist struggle can also be pursued through music.