Akriila
July's Artist Spotlight
At just a few years into her career, Akriila has emerged as one of Chile's most compelling new voices. Blurring the lines between trap, reggaetón, alternative pop, and electronic music, the Santiago-based singer-songwriter and rapper has built a sound that feels both futuristic and deeply personal. Her music lives in the space between vulnerability and confidence, pairing dreamy, synth-driven production with lyrics that dive into love, heartbreak, desire, and self-discovery.
Born Fernanda Sepúlveda in Maipú, Chile, Akriila grew up in a family where creativity was always close at hand. Her mother worked as a preschool educator while her father, a university professor, played music alongside her older sister. Although she learned guitar at a young age, music wasn't initially the path she envisioned for herself. She had written a handful of songs for her then-girlfriend, but it wasn't until the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted her high school years that she began taking songwriting seriously.
Inspired by the DIY mixtape culture of Chilean artists like Princesa Alba and Gianluca, Akriila uploaded her first song, "Dando Vuelta," to the internet in 2020. What began as an online experiment quickly evolved into something much bigger. After releasing a string of singles and her mixtape 001, she found herself gaining momentum across Chile's alternative music scene. In one of the more surreal moments of her early career, she discovered she had been booked for Primavera Sound Chile in 2022 only after the festival's lineup was publicly announced.
While her earliest releases leaned heavily into trap, Akriila refused to stay confined to a single lane. By 2024, her music had evolved into a more melodic, genre-fluid sound that fused reggaetón, alternative pop, and electronic influences without sacrificing the raw honesty that first drew listeners in. The result was Epistolares, her debut album, a project she spent over a year crafting. Released in August 2024, the album showcased an artist unafraid to experiment, weaving together reggaetón rhythms, shimmering pop melodies, and touches of drum and bass into a project that feels both intimate and forward-thinking. Its deluxe edition, released the following year, expanded the album with collaborations from BB Trickz and Latin Mafia, further cementing Akriila's place among Latin music's next generation of innovators.
That same year, she performed at Lollapalooza Chile and Argentina, bringing her genre-defying sound to some of the region's biggest festival stages. Rather than chasing trends, Akriila has continued to build her own creative universe. In 2025, she teamed up with acclaimed producer and Lotus Records founder Dinamarca for the three-track EP headphones!, further exploring electronic textures while maintaining the emotional core that defines her music.
Her artistic vision extends well beyond songwriting. Akriila has said her creative process is "60% music and 40% visual," a philosophy reflected in every release. Growing up immersed in K-pop, anime, and pop-punk culture, she developed an aesthetic that feels just as intentional as her production. Her signature bright red hair, adopted after a designer encouraged her to create a more recognizable visual identity, has become one of her defining trademarks.
That same year, she performed at Lollapalooza Chile and Argentina, bringing her genre-defying sound to some of the region's biggest festival stages. Rather than chasing trends, Akriila has continued to build her own creative universe. In 2025, she teamed up with acclaimed producer and Lotus Records founder Dinamarca for the three-track EP headphones!, further exploring electronic textures while maintaining the emotional core that defines her music.
Her artistic vision extends well beyond songwriting. Akriila has said her creative process is "60% music and 40% visual," a philosophy reflected in every release. Growing up immersed in K-pop, anime, and pop-punk culture, she developed an aesthetic that feels just as intentional as her production. Her signature bright red hair, adopted after a designer encouraged her to create a more recognizable visual identity, has become one of her defining trademarks.
Words by Ana Oquendo
Photographed by Steven Esperanza