Paulo Nupi

UPCOMING EVENTS

What does he play?
House, deep house and techno focused on the dancefloor, with sets built around rhythm, control and progression. His sound also moves through disco and groove-led selections, always adapting to the space and the energy of the people in it.

Sound Design

Alongside his work as a DJ, Paulo Nupi studied Sound Design and Music Production, developing strong capabilities in composition, foley, sound effects, mixing and mastering. He brings this expertise to projects in video games, film, animation, radio, advertising and other audiovisual contexts.

Selected Work

Happy Hour (animation) — sound design, foley, mixing and mastering for the film.

• YouTube

Available for commissions and collaborations.

• Work with me

Selected DJ SETS

• SoundCloud

• MixCloud

Past Events

Lux Frágil

Background

Paulo Nupi is a Portuguese DJ and sound designer based in Lisbon. His work is defined by musical depth and a sharp intuition for the dancefloor. More than just a selection of tracks, his approach is built around the concept of “Music for Travellers.” For him, music is a journey and a way of stepping outside oneself in search of liberation and catharsis. He is driven by the power of sound to create connection, communion, and togetherness through a shared experience of movement and listening.Born in Portalegre, his relationship with music began as a natural instinct. He attended the local conservatory, developing the musical ear and formal grounding that remain central to his work. Even as a child, he had his own ideas about the music playing at family gatherings or friends’ parties, simply wanting to see everyone get up and dance.At the age of four, his favorite track was Flash by Duke of Burlington, which was one of the many singles his parents had at home. By six, he was visiting record shops to listen to whatever he could find, fascinated not only by the music itself but also by the sight of a record in motion. Around the age of nine, at a cousin’s house, he discovered Kraftwerk’s Radio-Activity. This encounter with electronic sound felt strange yet compelling enough for him to listen to the album from beginning to end.At ten, during his first visit to a club with his parents, he became curious about how DJs kept music flowing without gaps. This led him to discover the magic of pitch control. These years were further shaped by listening to cassette recordings from Nabab, a club in Benidorm, brought back by his sister and cousins, and by regularly tuning in to the radio show Discoteca on Rádio Comercial. His first maxi-single was Prince’s When Doves Cry. This choice set him apart at the time, as many of his friends were immersed in alternative rock like Echo & the Bunnymen, The Cure, and The Cult, while Paulo was already drawn to the rhythms and synthetic sounds of electronic music.At eighteen, he moved to Lisbon to study Chemical Engineering and quickly became immersed in the city’s music scene. His first official DJ set took place at A Capela Bar in Bairro Alto, and he later established a presence at venues including Lux Frágil. He still carries a vivid memory of a bold mix from his first set on the club’s main floor, where he blended Lil Louis’s French Kiss with Donna Summer’s Love to Love You Baby.Over the years, Paulo Nupi has built a reputation for reading the energy of a room in real time. Moving across House, Deep House, Techno, and Disco, he has performed across mainland Portugal and the islands of Madeira and the Azores. Internationally, his work has taken him to Madrid, Washington, Paris, and Luanda.Alongside DJing, he has collaborated with musicians to create electronic foundations for live performance and has taken part in artistic residencies focused on intercultural and multidisciplinary work.He later returned to higher education to study Sound Design and Music Production at the Polytechnic Institute of Portalegre, completing the course with merit. His final project was an online radio platform centered on interviews and curated musical programming. This project was later implemented in Castelo de Vide with municipal support and led to an eighteen-month tenure at Online Youth Radio. During this time, he was the station’s main content creator and was responsible for all audio production, ranging from jingles to technical server operation.This experience expanded his practice beyond the booth by bringing together musical curation, technical implementation, and sound design across radio and audiovisual contexts. He is particularly drawn to creating sound for film, animation, and games, focusing on the precision and technical detail needed to make every sound feel physically real. For Paulo, the work remains a continuous evolution and a lifelong work in progress, driven by a constant need to keep on moving forward.

Interview — Rádio Oxigénio

Interview with radio host Isilda Sanches on Rádio Oxigénio (Portugal) discussing DJ culture, electronic music.

Press

Le Cool Lisboa (2013)

Le Cool Lisboa — Editorial Feature (2013)
Editorial coverage highlighting DJ Paulo Nupi performing at A Capela and Zero / Playground in Lisbon’s nightlife scene.Written by Marcelo de Magalhães.

As Escolhas de Nupi
Umbigo Magazine
Rubrica editorial

• Ler na Umbigo

• Viral Agenda

in the movies

Deux from Werner Schroeter with Isabelle Huppert

artistic residencies

Berlin - Schloss Bröllin

Artistic residency involving vocal performance, band rehearsals and the recording of a live show.

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