Sofia Kourtesis

Sofia Kourtesis is a Peruvian DJ, producer and vocalist from Lima who is based in Berlin. Born in 1985, she works in deep house, electronica, house and latin house, with a sound that draws on both her Peruvian background and her Berlin setting.

Background

Kourtesis is described as Lima-born and Berlin-based, and her music often refers back to places and people from Peru. Her releases include strong references to her native city and to the Callao district of Lima, where her work engages with ideas of faith, community and memory. She also names family and local figures in her music, including her mother Fresia and the people of Magdalena del Mar, the Lima district where she spent time as a teenager.

Releases and style

She releases house music that is warm, thoughtful and rooted in melody and atmosphere. Her 2019 EPs on Studio Barnhus establish much of this approach, and she titles one release after herself and another after Sarita Colonia, a Peruvian cult figure who appears on the cover art of each release. Her later EP, Fresia Magdalena, continues these themes with music that connects spiritual searching, personal memory and place.

The tracks on Fresia Magdalena combine synth ripples, field recordings, percussion, vocals, horn samples, piano details, violin and layered beats. “La Perla” is tied to memories of the sea and to her father’s death. “Nicolas” mixes disco and French-touch influences with family voices and samples. “By Your Side” uses bright horn and keyboard parts. “Juntos” has a reflective mood and a beat that points toward Berlin as much as Peru. “Dakotas” is built from soft pads, shakers, open hi-hats and chorused voices, and presents a gentle, uplifting closing note.

Artwork and themes

Kourtesis’s covers frequently feature Sarita Colonia, linking the music to a wider set of ideas around devotion, protection and outsider communities in Lima. The artwork for Fresia Magdalena also includes illustrations of plants and photographs of the Callao cemetery, reinforcing the release’s attention to life, death and memory.

Musical context

Her sound is associated with house artists such as Moodymann, DJ Koze, Pantha du Prince, Four Tet, Herbert, Octo Octa and Eris Drew, although she is presented as having a distinct style of her own. The music is characterised by warmth, restraint and a focus on welcome, atmosphere and emotional detail.