"Come through, stay present, and be part of the moment"

I haven't interviewed a DJ in awhile sooo I decided to take look at a certain upcoming flyer. A name by XIXI, a name I haven't seen a flyer before. Learning more about XIXI they mention a lot about being "in the moment" or having this "movie moment" attitude which I like. The idea of being in present whether you're the one creating THE "moment" for other or someone witnessing it, but it's also vice-versa when you think about. In the role of the DJ/Participant for example.

Now, there's a moment to be shared on April 19th hosted by Touching Infinite. Will you be there?

This is CHI (they/them), also known by their DJ alias XIXI (pronounced "chi-chi"), is a Texas-based DJ and producer crafting dynamic, emotionally charged soundscapes rooted in the underground music scene of the Rio Grande Valley. Based in McAllen, Texas.

I begin this interview by asking CHI Everyone has their beginnings. DJing — how did this begin for you and what keeps you going? "I threw my first show in 2022, and that moment changed everything. I didn’t have a following, or a budget — nothing solid — just the need to share music. I hit up Derek, aka nba duende, to headline, and without hesitation, he said yes. That gave me the space to spin. That was huge for me.

Duende hasn’t just supported me — he’s supported so many talented artists in the Valley and brought down legendary acts for Touching Infinite. He built this platform out of devotion for the music. Out of his own pocket. And without that, we wouldn’t have the kind of scene we have now. Artists like me wouldn’t have had a shot.

I’m forever grateful for that. He helped me believe there was a place for my sound, even when I didn’t know where I fit. That moment, that belief — I carry it with me every time I perform. That’s why I started. That’s what keeps me going. I want to pass that kind of energy forward. I want to make sure this stays about the music, the support, and the moments that bring people together — the moments that make us realize we belong." I'd say it's very important to have someone who supports you, your vision, your talent and the "invitation" I'd say to take up space into a community that will never reach "full capacity" due to being inclusive. All it takes is that one moment, huh?

What is it about being behind it and creating/mixing/being in a specific atmosphere and everything that comes with it that catches YOUR attention?

"It’s not just about the music. It’s about what the music makes possible. I’m here for the moments — the ones you don’t even realize are happening until they’ve already become a memory. I call them movie moments — a flash of light at 4am, a stranger’s silhouette under strobes, hearing your own track in headphones and feeling something crack open inside you. That’s why I play. That’s why I show up. That’s why I’ll dance until the last track and still be down to help pack the gear.

This isn’t about ego or clout or playlists. It’s about being real — supporting your friends not because it benefits you, but because they’re building something that matters. I want to see that. I want to feel that. I want to be in the room when that happens. For me, mixing isn’t just about sound — it’s about energy. Can we create a space that feels safer? More open? Can we play the music we actually love? Can we experiment without being boxed in? Because if not here, then where?

You don’t need to explain every detail to someone. Let the music do that. Let it be indirect storytelling. Let people feel adored. Let the imperfection be the point. Because this isn’t just a set — it’s a memory being made. And I’m just grateful to be here, making it with you." In terms of Touching Infinite events I'd say I have my few "movie moments" that come up. I remember one of the moments I decided to go out to one of the shows for New Years. Derek gave me a giant popper for when the clock struck midnight. Hours pass and we began counting down from 10. Once we all screamed "ONE!" I popped in the air as the confetti and strings fell down onto my friends who shared a new years kiss. Not only did I have a moment, but created one for someone else. I may not be in the seat of where the DJ is at, but I am on the dance floor just as many others who are experiencing a story made, in a safe space, listening to something new, intertwined with the now as this is all produced and conducted by artists such as yourself.

Listening to your first two SoundCloud uploads, there’s a shift in energy. What happened between them? "There’s definitely a shift — in speed, mood, intention. Between those first two uploads, I was listening to a lot of different music and sitting with a lot of feelings. I wasn’t trying to land on a specific sound — I was trying to find a way to express myself without over-explaining. That difference between the two mixes says a lot. One sounds like I’m searching, the other sounds like I’m starting to understand what I want to say.

They were made during a time when I didn’t know where I fit in yet, but I knew I wanted to make something evocative — not just a playlist, but a space where people could feel something real. Looking back, it’s like they each hold a version of me in them. A before and an after. And I’m okay with that. That progression — that imperfection — is part of the story.

I can see the growth in my taste and song selection. I can see my former self as a relic of who I once was, a part of who I’ve come to be. That contrast — between hard BPMs and crystalline atmospheres — speaks to something deeper: learning to be sure of yourself in whatever state you’re in. Even when you don’t know exactly where you belong, the music gives you a place to stand. Or dance. Or dissolve.

To lose yourself in sound just to find yourself again — that’s the shift. That’s the realization. That’s the gift music gives us if we’re willing to listen." There is a shift, going back forth, back and forth and lastly...back and forth but this time including the third mix. There's a shift, there's a more "clear" vision or rather image portrayed while listening to these. It's interesting to know your perspective from one who put it all together and bares witness to it's result on the dance floor. As for me the one digesting these mixes at home, if it's able to make me forget where I am then it's getting the job done I'd say. It's creating a story and an image in the moment. Even with the time apart from each. I wonder what this weekends story will sound like.

In terms of DJing that holds skills in working with various sounds — besides techno, what else have you made? Any other various sounds? "Techno’s my base, but it’s never been a box for me — it’s more like a launchpad. I’m always exploring sounds that sit outside or in between genre lines. There’s gabber, hardstyle, rave-core, trance, industrial, shoegaze and other projects that include instrumentation outside of electronic music that I dedicate myself to producing, even ambient projects that I’ve produced, really embody who I am as a person, beyond a 4x4 rhythmic framework of techno. It’s the evolving nature of not only my growth as a producer, but the rhythm that seems to go somewhere but has yet to find a resolution is what drives me to make music today.  

I try to build sets that blur the line between dancefloor catharsis and emotional storytelling. I pull from Southern grit and post-industrial club textures — mixing haunting melodies, distorted basslines, and these moments of tenderness that glow in the dark. That contrast is what draws me in.

Playing and producing across different sounds sharpens your ability to communicate without words. That’s the skill — being able to shift an atmosphere, not just BPM. To take people somewhere. I’ve always loved sets that can hold space for both aggression and softness — maybe an ambient break that gives your body time to float before dropping into something that makes you want to move with your whole chest.

It’s like learning to speak in multiple emotional languages — and sometimes the message only lands when you let those languages communicate to those who bother to listen."

 For Touching Infinite, you’ll be going back-to-back with ØDN. What can we expect from the two of you? "ØDN was actually one of the first people I ever went back-to-back with, so doing it again now, on the Touching Infinite stage, feels like a full-circle moment. We come from different angles sonically, but we overlap in ways that make the set feel alive — and unexpected.

I usually play high-BPM stuff — gabber, hardstyle, hard groove, and rave-core — sounds that hit hard and feel urgent. ØDN brings in this really distinct energy: it’s delicate, animesque, almost nightcore-coded, with emotional highs that catch you off guard in the best way. When we mix, it becomes this magnificent blend of intensity and nostalgia — something heavy and glitchy but also dreamlike.

It’s that combined synergy that makes this happen and you get to feel that seamless back and forth between our unique styles of distorted kicks and high energy. A moment to lose control, then a moment to reflect. It’s chaotic, but it’s curated. It’s cinematic. It’s like we’re soundtracking a scene that hasn’t been written yet. And the best part is, we’re making it in real time, together in ways we’re directing the movie moment from behind the CDJ’s. 

ØDN is one of my closest friends, so having the opportunity to play with him on the TI stage is something I’m looking forward to tremendously. It’s going to be like another weekend getting to play with him at a friend's house or at an after; but this time, for those who come out to support at La Bandida on the 19th." Whenever I hear or read the words "full-circle." Almost as if it meant to happen from the start. The idea of back to back DJs is so fascinating to me. Having two DJs who may work with different sounds, but understand the assignment. With the descriptions of these both artists, these two friends who have been DJing alongside one another. I'd say that words are not merely enough to grasp just what exactly will be put out the day of. I'd say this is another movie moment , but a moment shared between two friends. A milestone, another chapter to their stories.

Each of your SoundCloud mixes feels like a different environment. What do you see in each one now? "Each mix feels like a space I was living in at the time — emotionally, mentally, energetically. When I listen back, I can see my former self as a relic of who I once was, a part of who I’ve now become. That reflection isn’t about cringing at the past — it’s about honoring it. Those mixes hold the moments that shaped me into who I am becoming.

Some of them feel like late nights alone in headphones. Others feel like rooms I’ve only visited in dreams. And I love that. They’re not just playlists — they’re movie scenes that hold contrast, tension, and memories of former dance floors packed, full of energetic bodies that I can see vividly when I close my eyes. 

I think a lot about how music lets you experience a shift. The movement between hard and soft, clarity and distortion. A mix can be a place where you lose yourself just to find yourself again. You don’t have to know where you belong. Sometimes the sound gives you a place to stand when you feel like you don’t have one, or more so, dance amongst the crowd on a packed dance floor. 

Recently, I had a blissful moment just vibing out to a track I made — dancing alone to something I created. It felt good in a different way. Gratifying. Like I saw myself from the outside for a second and realized, this is real. Like I was making space for my own unspoken voice — and maybe someone else’s too.

That’s the kind of feeling I want to facilitate." Of course it's all about the holding onto or rather realizing what has shaped us. What we've been confronted with and shaping it into what would be best for ourselves. As XIXI mentions "they're not just playlists --- they're movie scenes" and the moment I think of these "movie scenes" the first few seconds, few minutes listening to these scenes. I have created my image, the environment, the moment in time my mind suits it best. I think that's the most fun one can have especially on the dance floor. Yeah "this is real" this is the moment to be had.

You’ve made friends through music and heard them talk about the meaning behind their sound. What do you want your crowd to feel through your sets? What are you trying to express? "I want people to feel like they’re allowed to exist fully — in whatever emotion, whatever shape, whatever state they’re in. I don’t want to tell people what to feel. I want to create a space where you’re invited to feel something honestly and freely, without explanation. For some people, that’s joy. For others, it’s catharsis. For others, it’s stillness. All of that is valid.

My goal isn’t to direct the feeling. It’s to open the door to it. The music is indirect storytelling. I’m not here to write your scene for you — I’m just scoring the moment you didn’t know you were in. I think when people feel that, they let go in a different way. They stop posturing. They start dancing for themselves. And that’s when something real starts to happen.

When someone tells me they cried during a set, or that they felt like they could finally breathe, or that they danced in a way they didn’t even know their body could move — that’s the kind of feedback that stays with me. That’s what I want to express: not answers, but a space for people to remember themselves, not as who they once were, but allow themselves to remember that in the here-and-now they can allow themselves to be who they truly are; just as I’ve felt by being at Touching Infinite, the shows that have changed me and how I view music. Those are the moments that I hold onto, the ones that are dearest to me. Like the first time I saw House of Kenzo or Halcyon Veil, or my debut show with Touching Infinite, getting to play with Ultrathem. I literally hold onto those entrance bracelets and flyers as a reminder of those moments that I wish I could rewatch, projected onto a movie screen." I feel or rather I understand that's the power of art. Speaking from experience from art exhibtions, curations, and even curated line ups for example. The sounds that are being brough forward by a unified collection of individuals who are there for the sake of creating a movement within the dance floor, creating a scene, creating a still image in the mind of what the night was and the night you wish to pursue just ONE MORE TIME! All this is done by the artist and the participant being YOU. If you're not involving yourself within the moment then what are you doing?

With just a few days before Touching Infinite — what are you most looking forward to? "To be honest, just being on the Touching Infinite stage means everything to me. It’s not just a lineup slot — it’s about being part of something that I’ve watched grow, that I’ve been shaped by, and now get to contribute to. To stand alongside peers and friends who are all contributing to the same vision — to curate a scene, a moment, a memory — that’s an honor.

Touching Infinite is more than a name. It’s a feeling. It’s a philosophy. To me, it means approaching the precipice of something unfathomable. Larger than life. Looking out to the future only to realize that you’re staring in a mirror. It’s about reaching beyond your limits, beyond time or genre or ego. It’s what happens when you’re in the middle of a set, and the room melts away. When you feel a connection that’s spiritual, cosmic, and real. I think music gives us those moments — moments that touch infinity, even if just for a second.

Sonically, I try to capture that through textures, space, loops, pacing — letting a track breathe and then break, pushing it just far enough that you don’t know where it ends. But it’s also emotional. It’s when a set flows like a conversation you didn’t know you needed to have with someone you didn’t know that you needed to meet. When you see someone close their eyes and let go. That’s what I’m hoping to give.

There are over ___ people who have RSVP’ed or bought tickets — people who are coming because they believe in this. That lights a fire in me. It makes me want to bring my best — my sharpest mixing, my most intentional transitions, the weird stuff I’ve been saving, and the tracks that make me dance even when I’m alone.

I want this night to be for the books. Not because I’m on the flyer — but because people leave feeling like they touched something. Something infinite. Something true."

Any final thoughts or comments you’d like to make?

Support your people. Be real about it. Show up when it matters — and even when it doesn’t look like anything’s happening yet. That’s how we keep this scene alive. That’s how we make it better.

I’m not here to be the loudest or the most polished. I’m here because I believe in what music can do — how it can hold a moment, open a door, let someone feel seen without a single word. That’s what I try to give when I play. And I’m grateful for every person who’s shared space with me, who’s danced to something I’ve made, who’s stayed until the lights came on.

To anyone out there still figuring it out — you don’t need to have it all together. Your imperfections aren’t mistakes. They’re evidence. They’re what make your presence real. No flaw is just a flaw — it’s a fingerprint.

This scene isn’t about being perfect. It’s about being present. And if I’ve done anything with my sets, I hope it’s created a space where someone else could hear themselves a little more clearly — or lose themselves completely — and know that both are okay.

I’m just grateful to be here, making these movie moments with you.

Follow, Listen, and Connect

To keep up with CHI’s latest mixes, upcoming shows, and visual storytelling, follow him on Instagram at @xi.ixi. You can listen to his sets, explore his sound archive, and support his work by following on SoundCloud at soundcloud.com/xi-ixi. For booking inquiries, collaborations, or any questions, feel free to DM directly via Instagram.

XI’XI will be performing live at Touching Infinite on April 19th at La Bandida — a one-night showcase of underground sound and community. Grab your tickets now through the official link: https://ra.co/events/2145790

Come through, stay present, and be part of the moment.

Photos take by @camerafino on Instagram