Dennis Liber on ‘Astro Danza’, Caribbean Life and Finding Freedom Between Musical Worlds
Dennis Liber has never been particularly interested in deciding exactly where his music belongs.
Born in Switzerland, raised in Greece, of Greek-Turkish heritage and now based in Tulum, the DJ and producer has spent much of his life moving between places and absorbing the music around him. Disco, house, Latin rhythms, Afro sounds, Italo, soul and psychedelia all sit somewhere within that vocabulary, but rarely as clearly defined ingredients.
His new Astro Danza EP for Razor-N-Tape is perhaps the clearest reflection yet of that outlook. Following two appearances on the label’s Family Affair compilations, his first solo release for the Brooklyn imprint was developed across several years, studios and countries, bringing together musicians and friends whose paths crossed during a formative chapter of his life in the Caribbean.
“We felt these three tracks represented different sides of my production world,” Liber explains, pointing towards the more instinctive dancefloor energy of ‘Astro Danza’ and the songwriting behind ‘Être Heureux’ and ‘Femme Papillon’.
There is also a progression in tempo that mirrors the way he DJs. “Starting slower, gradually building, and eventually reaching that peak-time energy.”
That range makes sense in the context of the environment in which the music developed. Before moving to Mexico nine years ago, Liber found himself drawn towards Acid, Soulful, Chicago and Detroit house. Life in Mexico subsequently expanded the picture.
“Latin soul really entered my world,” he says. “Hearing live Salsas and Cumbias and all sorts of Latin music everywhere expanded my sonic palette. At the same time, I also became much more invested in Brazilian music, Zouk, and dug deeper into this world altogether!”
Crucially, this was not simply music encountered through records. Liber began spending time with local musicians and singers, collaborating, experimenting and allowing the people around him to reshape how he worked.
The title track channels the other side of that experience: the dancefloors connecting Tulum and Mexico City with his time playing in Europe. Hypnotic, sensual and distinctly nocturnal, ‘Astro Danza’ imagines somewhere deeper into the night.
“I wanted to make dance music that was groovy, ecstatic, sexy and exotic, music that would make you feel like you’re getting lost on a deep, jungly, tropical dancefloor.”
Alongside those experiences, Liber traces part of its DNA back to the Latin and jazz-inflected side of New York house and artists such as Joe Claussell. It is another geographical influence absorbed into a record increasingly difficult to locate in any single place.
‘Être Heureux’ turns towards daylight. Rooted in Liber’s love of Zouk and Caribbean music, it recalls barefoot beach sessions, margaritas and extended sets shared with friends. Chäm was brought into the track after conversations around their mutual fascination with Zouk and Creole culture, writing and recording the vocal that eventually gave the music its meaning.
“‘Être Heureux’ means ‘To Be Happy,’ which really reflects the reason why we were there: finding joy in an alternative way of life, away from the city and societal boxes. A more relaxed island lifestyle!”
Anoraak’s subsequent remix nudged that idea towards disco and a more house-oriented dancefloor without losing the original’s character.
The slower ‘Femme Papillon’ extends the collaborative process further. Co-produced with Shoao during regular sessions in Tulum, the instrumental eventually found its emotional centre when Chäm returned with her vocal. Brazilian collaborator Felipe Ribeiro then added cosmic, jazz-inflected synth work.
“It became this cosmic funk, soul and disco journey with a touch of the tropics, sitting in that 100 BPM world I absolutely adore.”
If Astro Danza sounds culturally difficult to pin down, Liber’s own history offers some explanation. Growing up within a multilingual, multicultural family gave him an early awareness that identity did not necessarily need to fit neatly within predetermined boundaries.
“It also made me feel like I didn’t fully fit into one specific box, which motivated me to travel, experience life through different lenses, and find out who I really was inside. Still searching, of course!”
His best analogy for the music comes from somewhere outside the studio entirely.
“I’m also a cook, and you could say music is kind of like cooking for me. I like to learn as many cuisines as I can and then start cooking. I don’t really think about what kind of cuisine I’m making. I just cook, and if the ingredients fit and make sense together, that’s all I care about. Music is very similar for me.”
It also explains his affinity with Balearic culture. Rather than treating Balearic as another genre to master, Liber identifies with the freedom at its core: different tempos, moods and styles coexisting according to feeling rather than classification.
His friendship with Jaime Fiorito brought him closer to that world through Tulum and subsequent visits to Ibiza, where he connected with the Homies crew, played at Pikes and eventually contributed to one of their compilations.
“I didn’t live through the golden era of Balearic Music, but I’m happy I can experience what it means today and be a part of it, rather than trying to fully understand or define it.”
That emphasis on openness extends beyond what Liber plays. Alongside Irving Diptera, he established Club Eden in Tulum following the pandemic, creating an intimate, queer-friendly party built predominantly around locals and artists they genuinely wanted to hear.
Tigerbalm, Captain Planet, Peter Croce, Nickodemus, Gledd and The Funk District were among those welcomed into a space driven as much by community as programming.
“There was a lot of DIY energy, but the goal was always to create a safe space where people could dance, communicate and connect through music.”
The original run ended in appropriately chaotic fashion. During a night with Captain Planet, police shut the party down following a misunderstanding over permits. With putting on events in Tulum becoming increasingly difficult and both founders subsequently moving around, Club Eden shifted from a regular fixture into something more fluid, resurfacing in Greece, Mexico City and wherever circumstances feel right.
It is a model that reflects Liber’s wider career. His releases have travelled through Rocksteady Disco, Delusions Of Grandeur, Turntables on the Hudson and Razor-N-Tape, yet relationships remain more important to him than adhering to a particular label or scene.
“Music is very sacred and intimate to me, so many of the people I collaborate with are friends I’ve met through my travels and life in general.”
Astro Danza is ultimately built from those relationships. Friends from different countries, musicians encountered through life in Tulum and sounds absorbed from different cultures converge around one chapter without requiring Liber to decide exactly what any of it should be called.
There is one thread he is willing to identify.
“I still don’t feel the need to be tied to a specific direction, other than having some disco DNA in everything I make.”
Beyond that, plenty of new music is already taking shape, with Liber determined to let individual projects develop their own identities rather than establish a formula from what is working now.
“I’d like to try following the directions the music takes me, because I think the excitement is in not knowing exactly where it’s going to go!”
For someone whose music has been shaped by movement, unexpected relationships and the freedom to combine whatever ingredients make sense together, knowing the destination in advance would probably defeat the point.
Grab your copy of Dennis' Astro Danza EP here.
