Portugal-born artist, producer, and DJ ØTTA brings more than a decade of musical experiences, cultural influences, and personal connections together on her debut album, PELE DE MAR. Out now through her own label and global party brand HOTTIES, the eight-track record moves across techno, UK garage, Brazilian funk, Latin rhythms, and high-energy rave music to create a club-driven sound that refuses to stay within one geographic or stylistic boundary.
The album is deeply connected to the places that have shaped ØTTA, moving between Lisbon, London, and South America while drawing on the people and relationships she has encountered along the way. Rather than treating those influences as separate chapters, PELE DE MAR brings them together as different parts of the same identity.
Even the album’s title reflects that idea. PELE DE MAR has no direct English translation, but can be understood as “the skin of the sea.” For ØTTA, the phrase imagines the ocean itself as a layer connecting the countries and cultures that have influenced her life and artistic development.
That concept comes into focus immediately with “RIO,” the album’s opening track and one created entirely in Rio de Janeiro. Built around percussion and rhythm, the track functions as a musical love letter to the city and its culture. Brazilian vocalist Clara Ribeiro re-delivers the legendary Elza Soares verse, “Rio de Janeiro gosto de você,” giving the track an immediate connection to Brazilian musical history.
From there, PELE DE MAR continues to shift between cultures and sounds. “GATA FINA” brings a fast, high-energy club sound together with the unmistakable attitude of Argentine artist Fiah Miau, while “REBOLA DE SALTO” pairs Portuguese lyrics from Lua de Santana with Brazilian funk.
On “4X4,” Bibi Babydoll’s phonk-driven energy meets ØTTA’s rave-focused production, creating another collision of sounds that might otherwise exist in separate scenes. Together, these collaborations reinforce the album’s central idea: different places, voices, and musical traditions can exist within the same creative world.
The record also looks back toward the cities that have played important roles in ØTTA’s development. “PULSO.” combines sensual house and Latin rhythms with bass-heavy grooves, while “FRIO” connects the UK garage influences she absorbed during her years in London with the harder techno sound that has become part of her identity.
“THAT SNACK” offers a more introspective moment before “SAUDADE” brings the album to its conclusion. Propulsive rhythms are paired with beautiful guitar melodies, giving the final track a warm and evocative quality as the record’s journey gradually comes to an end.
Although PELE DE MAR marks ØTTA’s first full-length album, music has been part of her life for much longer. Before emerging as a club artist, she spent six years playing in an orchestra before moving into art and architecture studies. That background introduced her to ideas of symmetry, repetition, and structure — concepts that continue to influence the way she approaches sound.
Her transition into electronic music eventually led to her breakthrough Plus One EP in 2020, where her high-energy approach began attracting wider attention. That momentum continued with her breakout Boiler Room performance in Manchester, establishing her as an artist capable of turning her hybrid influences into a distinctly physical live experience.
Her creative philosophy has also expanded beyond her own productions through HOTTIES, the label and event series she created to foster creativity within her community. The platform has become an extension of the same open-ended approach found in her music, providing space for different artists, sounds, and ideas to meet.
With PELE DE MAR, ØTTA brings those different parts of her story together for the first time in a complete album. The eight tracks are not simply a collection of club records; they map out the places, relationships, sounds, and experiences that have shaped her over the past 12 years.
From the rhythms of Rio de Janeiro and the influence of Brazilian funk to the UK garage of London and the cultural roots of Portugal, PELE DE MAR reflects an artist whose identity has never been confined to a single place. Like the ocean at the heart of its title, the album connects those worlds rather than separating them — creating a borderless body of work built for movement.
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