After nearly walking away from music altogether, Illyus Barrientos has emerged with renewed purpose, a revitalised creative outlook and a major home-city appearance at TRNSMT Festival that feels like the perfect full-circle moment.
The latest chapter of Illyus Barrientos has also brought significant change. Once known as part of the acclaimed Illyus & Barrientos partnership, the project has gradually evolved into a solo venture, with Illyus Barrientos now carrying the name forward on his own terms.
While the transition wasn’t something he had necessarily planned for, he speaks about it with honesty rather than nostalgia. “The main thing is I don’t really have anyone to lean on anymore, which felt so strange at first,” he says. “I miss my man.”
Just over a year ago, Illyus Barrientos wasn’t sure music had a place in his life anymore. Now, the Glasgow DJ and producer finds himself preparing for a home-city appearance at TRNSMT Festival, a moment that feels even more significant given the path that led him there. “It genuinely means so much to me because just over a year ago, I thought music was done with me or maybe I was done with it,” he admits. “I was in a real low place and felt a bit lost in life.”
Rather than forcing a comeback, Barrientos returned to making music for himself. The pressure disappeared and the creativity returned. “I started making music freely again because of where my head was at, and from there I probably wrote some of the best stuff I’ve made in a long time. That journey has led me here, and honestly, I couldn’t be more buzzing about it.”
That renewed perspective has shaped everything about the current chapter of Illyus Barrientos. Gone is the temptation to overanalyse every release or chase industry trends. Instead, his focus is refreshingly straightforward. “Straight up dance floor anthems, that’s my mindset with it all,” he says. “I try to make the kind of records that make people on the dance floor and DJs turn around and go, ‘What the f**k is that?'”
More importantly, he’s rediscovered why he started making music in the first place. “I got into music because I loved it, and somewhere along the way that got a little lost. But weirdly, when you stop overthinking everything and care a bit less about the noise around it all, music seems to flow together much more naturally. That’s probably when the best stuff happens.”
For an artist raised in Glasgow’s famously eclectic music scene, that freedom has always been part of the city’s DNA.
Barrientos began as a hip-hop DJ spinning vinyl before exploring drum and bass, dubstep and countless other genres. Eventually house music became home, but he credits Glasgow’s open-minded culture for helping shape his musical identity. “The music taste in this city is so varied and welcoming that it naturally shapes you into the artist you want to be,” he explains. “You’re exposed to everything, and nobody really boxes you in creatively. Glasgow is just some city.”
That connection to the city makes TRNSMT feel especially personal. Having watched the festival’s dance stages develop over the years, he’s eager to experience the atmosphere from behind the decks. “I’ve actually witnessed the TRNSMT DJ stages over the years, so I’m not quite sure the madness here compares to other festivals, hence why I can’t wait for TRNSMT,” he says. “With a major festival you can get those summer anthems going which I always love. It’s seeing those happy faces that makes it worthwhile.”
His appearance alongside BETH promises exactly that kind of feel-good energy. “I think the main thing is have fun and make people happy,” he says. “There’s no better place than Scotland when the sun’s actually out. If that’s the case we’re onto a good day.”
The current iteration of Illyus Barrientos may look different from previous years, but creatively Barrientos appears more comfortable than ever. “The main thing is I don’t really have anyone to lean on anymore, which felt so strange at first. I miss my man,” he says when reflecting on the project’s evolution.
Yet that independence has also reignited his curiosity. “Production wise, I’d say I’m probably experimenting more again, similar to when I first started making music. I dig through my record collection more to sample or gain inspiration… I’m trusting instinct with a lot of things.”
That same instinct has even led him back towards his earliest influences. “I’ve started bringing some vinyl back to gigs because I really want to reconnect with the hip-hop DJ roots I came from. That style of mixing and feeling music is such a big part of who I am.”
In an era where electronic music trends can rise and disappear in a matter of weeks, Barrientos has little interest in chasing whatever is fashionable. His philosophy is simple. “If you’re chasing hype, the word says it all… you’re always chasing. You’re never actually at the front, mate.”
Instead, he encourages artists to focus inward. “Make music and play what feels right to you. Don’t look left and right, don’t compare yourself, and don’t compete with everyone else. Just focus on yourself and enjoy the journey.”
That authenticity also informs his views on the house music scene itself. While trends come and go, he believes truly timeless records share one common ingredient. “909 drums!” he laughs. “Straight up house is the only timeless thing. Trends will come and go but if you’re a producer you probably should make music that you can play in five years again and then in ten years again.”
Barrientos’ own journey has been closely linked with influential labels including Toolroom and Defected, relationships he credits with helping launch his career. “They are massively important because those labels shaped the beginning of an amazing journey,” he says.
Yet he remains adamant that producers shouldn’t create music with a specific label in mind. “I’d probably advise against trying to make music for a specific label. Just follow your gut when making tunes. It usually starts flowing naturally where your sound is meant to go.”
Likewise, his advice to emerging artists is not to worry about where records end up. “You genuinely can’t guess what an A&R from any given label will like so you might as well just write music freely.”
As TRNSMT approaches, Barrientos remains excited by the prospect of catching fellow performers including Loyle Carner, Wolf Alice and his friend Danny Howard. But perhaps the most revealing part of the conversation comes when discussing success.
Earlier in his career, success may have been measured by chart positions, label signings or headline slots. Today, it’s something much simpler. “Making people happy and leaving something behind my boy can be proud of,” he says. “He’s the man!”
For an artist who admits he nearly walked away from music entirely, returning to a Glasgow festival stage feels less like a career milestone and more like proof that the story wasn’t over after all. “I thought I was walking away from it,” Barrientos reflects. “But somehow it dragged me back in.”
And when he steps up at TRNSMT this summer, in front of a home crowd ready to embrace one of their own, it will be hard to argue with his conclusion:
“In a strange way, it feels like music wasn’t quite finished with me yet.”
Catch Illyus Barrientos playing back to back with BETH at TRNSMT Festival on Sunday June 21st.
More information HERE.