Arca (musician)
A Venezuelan sonic architect who deconstructs pop, club, and identity into glitching, emotionally raw electronic music.
Born 1989 (age 37)·Venezuelan musician·Birthday: October 14·Millennials
Biography
Arca, born Alejandra Ghersi, builds worlds where sound is fluid and identity is a mutable construct. Emerging from Caracas and later New York's avant-garde circles, her early productions for artists like Kanye West and FKA twigs hinted at a mind capable of bending mainstream hip-hop and R&B into startling new shapes. But her solo work is the true manifesto: a corpus of unsettling, beautiful noise where rhythms stutter and synth textures feel corporeal. Her visual and musical persona underwent a profound public evolution with the 'Kick' series, aligning her art with a non-binary, trans feminine identity. More than a producer, Arca is a performance artist of the self, using blistering live shows and a deliberately fractured online presence to challenge the very frameworks of music, body, and genre.
Millennials
1981–1996
The first digital natives. Grew up with the internet, came of age during 9/11 and the 2008 crash. Highly educated, deeply indebted, slower to marry and buy houses. Redefined work, identity, and what it means to be an adult.
Arca was born in 1989, placing them squarely in the Millennials. The events that shaped this generation — the internet revolution, 9/11, and the 2008 financial crisis — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Arca Was Born
The biggest hits of 1989
#1 Movie
Batman
Best Picture
Driving Miss Daisy
#1 TV Show
Roseanne
Arca's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1989Born
Berlin Wall falls; Tiananmen Square protests
Gas: $1.00/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Look Away" — ChicagoBest Picture: Driving Miss Daisy
1994Started school
Nelson Mandela elected president of South Africa
Gas: $1.11/galHome: $90,400Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"The Sign" — Ace of BaseBest Picture: Forrest Gump
2002Became a teenager
Euro currency enters circulation
Gas: $1.36/galHome: $137,800Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"How You Remind Me" — NickelbackBest Picture: Chicago
2005Could drive
Hurricane Katrina devastates New Orleans; YouTube launches
Gas: $2.30/galHome: $167,500Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"We Belong Together" — Mariah CareyBest Picture: Crash
2007Could vote
iPhone released; Great Recession begins
Gas: $2.80/galHome: $172,600Min wage: $5.85/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Irreplaceable" — BeyonceBest Picture: No Country for Old Men
2010Turned 21
Deepwater Horizon oil spill; iPad launched
Gas: $2.79/galHome: $147,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Tik Tok" — KeshaBest Picture: The King's Speech
2019Turned 30
First image of a black hole; Hong Kong protests
Gas: $2.60/galHome: $224,400Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Old Town Road" — Lil Nas XBest Picture: Parasite
2026Age 37 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Produced or co-produced tracks for major artists including Kanye West's 'Yeezus' and FKA twigs' 'LP1'.
- Released a quintet of albums known as the 'Kick' series between 2020 and 2021, which received widespread critical acclaim.
- Her 2017 self-titled album 'Arca' marked a significant turn, featuring her own vocals prominently for the first time.
- Has performed live at prestigious institutions like the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles.
Did You Know?
She studied music at the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at New York University.
She initially released music under the alias 'Nuuro' before adopting the name Arca.
She is in a relationship with visual artist and photographer Carlos Sáez, who often collaborates on her visuals.
She composed the score for the 2021 film 'The World to Come'.
“I'm interested in the moment when something recognizable becomes alien, and the alien becomes familiar.”
