A native of North Bay, Ontario, Canada, 28-year-old Carlo Chiocchio first became interested in DJing while studying geography at Toronto’s York University.  After graduation, he decided to follow his passion to Miami Beach, where this young, up-and-coming DJ has been able to achieve so much in a very short amount of time.

Although Chiocchio — which rhymes with Pinocchio — had chosen to use his last name as his nom de DJ, he realized that the Italian spelling was confusing for English speakers.  The decision to simplify led to Chiocchio’s rebirth as Kiokio;  he has been appearing in venues across the United States ever since.

Kiokio began his coming out party with a two-and-a-half-year residency at Pump, a popular after-hours spot in Miami Beach.  Pump served as a tool in Kiokio’s career, allowing him to hone his skills while working crowds of clubbers into a frenzy with his unique style of progressive house.

With Miami Beach’s role as a center stage for DJ talent, Kiokio has had the privilege of hearing and learning from some of the greatest producers/DJs in the world.  This exposure has resulted in Kiokio’s own style of music, combining deep progressive house with a flavor of tribal and classic house.  Kiokio’s inspirations include Danny Tenaglia, Junior Vasquez and Little Louise Vega.  Each of these DJs has contributed to Kiokio’s style, whether through an evening of talented mixing or a form of production. 

An evening with Kiokio — hopefully the gig is longer than five hours, as he loves playing long sets — would include a variety of music and a great deal of creativity. Stepping back from the dance floor to watch this DJ in action, one would see that Kiokio is constantly working in the booth.  As a result, a musical journey is created in which the crowd becomes his focus.

In the three short years that Kiokio has been spinning, his talents and creativity have taken him from his Miami Beach base to venues in such diverse cities as Los Angeles, San Diego, Dallas and Atlanta.  New Year’s Eve, Halloween and Labor Day are some of the holidays when he has wowed huge crowds.

Kiokio has taken it upon himself to approach the next step in his DJing career.  Music production is an area where he feels that his creativity and knowledge of music will explode.  Remixing is inevitable, but creating new sounds and producing original work is more his priority.  Following his mentors, Kiokio would like to eventually prepare himself for a more global scene, touching a variety of crowds and taking more of a responsibility when it comes to the expectations of large events.

Having recently finished his tenure at Miami Beach’s Frequency,  Kiokio now resides in Los Angeles.