Austin DJ Turito Moreno was desperate for a rebrand after eight years of evolving Y2K’s stage persona. In March of this year, the three-time Austin Music Award nominee took the stage for the first time as an official South by Southwest performer as Turito (a lifelong nickname based on his real name Arturo).
With three upcoming EPs and several anticipated collaborations with LGBTQ+ producers in and out of Austin, the former 21st Street Co-op booker and founder of the Cyber Queen Music Showcase has a new It emerges in a more vulnerable time.
Q: You mentioned that you felt stuck in the Y2K persona. Why did you feel that way?
A: We started this project in 2015. I really liked it, but I couldn’t brand it because it can’t be trademarked. Y2K already exists. I too was stuck in this cyber, internet beeping box. Acting under my own name gives me more freedom to do what I want with my music. You don’t have to stop at this electronic hyper pop box.
Q: How has your new onstage persona changed your sound as an artist?
A: Turito is more rave music. The vocals are pop-punk vocals with Latin influences. We performed our new song for the first time at South Buy, and it was very well received, so I’m really looking forward to actually releasing it. I’ll have to fine-tune it before releasing it.
Q: Was the change from Y2K to Turito a reflection of a change in your own life, or was it a creative change?
A: When I first started Y2K, I always wore a lot of pink and dressed very femme. I started writing more songs during the Covid-19 pandemic, and it was still 2000… I was wearing all black and all silver. Maybe it has something to do with the novel coronavirus, but I evolved into this dark personality. Turito is an even darker version. In their last EP as Y2K, they released a Y2K song featuring Turito. A new persona was introduced, but the old project was also removed. It’s like Turito is a human who’s been playing this AI virtual reality game of his all this time and didn’t realize until he woke up from it. Y2K was his VR AI game.
Q: How does it feel to be such a prominent figure in Austin’s queer nightlife scene?
A: Me and one of my main collaborators here in Austin, p1nkstar, were always doing music when we first got into the nightlife scene, but everyone thought of us as drag. Either they just wanted to book or they didn’t understand what we were doing. It was different from the traditional bands here in Austin. There weren’t many bookings for music shows. We felt like we didn’t belong anywhere, so we started producing our own events, getting musicians and drag dancers and putting it all together in this big party. Thus were born Cyber Queens and Cyber Babes, who have since become popular. I love Austin’s queer community. It saved me.
Q: What are your plans for the near future with Turito?
A: We are currently working on three EPs. The first one will be out soon. This is the music we played during Southby and we’re making some final adjustments before launching it into space forever. Also, I can’t go into too much detail, but we have some pretty cool collaborations coming up that I’m really looking forward to. Hopefully it will change my life forever.