She was born in South Korea, sent to study Fashion in London, and eventually settled in Berlin, where she frequented the exclusive Berghain, a club that would see her as the first female Korean DJ to grace their decks. Her music is as fluid and transient as her upbringing- you can always hear House and Techno in her sets, but she’ll throw in a dash of Acid or Disco, constantly changing the pace and the mood. This year, she’s started her own record label, Gudu Records, as well a fashion line called Kirin, and she also saw the release of a critically acclaimed EP. She’s Peggy Gou, and her sound is as eclectic and beautiful as her style.
The 28-year-old DJ has seen her star rise in the last five years, with recent slots at festivals such as Glastonbury, Creamfields, and Time Warp. Fans have grown devoted to her unique sound, which first hit the airwaves in 2014 with her premiere track, “Hungboo”. The song, while a lower BPM than most house-heads are used to, is beautifully offbeat. It transports the listener with its pan flute and tropical birds, set against the backdrop of a rhythmic shaker, feeling more like a story than a song; fitting since the song is named for a character in a Korean fairy tale.
Peggy Gou’s sound has only grown more evolved since “Hungboo”. She’s released several EP’s since then, including Seek for Maktoop and Art of War Part 1 & 2. Her 2018 EP Once features her singing on a record for the first time, in what would become one of her most popular tracks, “It Makes You Forget (Itgehane)”. She would win an award for “Best Track” for the song at the Aim Independent Music Awards in 2018, and with good reason. Crooning in her native Korean, “It Makes You Forget (Itgehane)” is soft and deep with just the right amount of driving power in its percussion and consistent synth riffs.
Gou’s ethereal style translates perfectly from audio to video, best shown in her premier music video for her hit track “Starry Night”. The track, released in March off of her Moment EP, is a funky house number with Gou’s singing featured once more, her lilting vocals interspersed with driving piano chords. The music video is a whimsical love letter to her culture and to the music itself; shot entirely in her native South Korea, the track features sweeping shots of the countryside and the city, of people young and old dancing and losing themselves to the beat. Peggy Gou herself appears in the video, first clad in scarlet and surrounded by black fans as she sings the only English lyrics in the song: “Ocean, night, star, song, moment.” She appears again wearing a dress covered in silver sequins and dances under a street post, shining in the half-light, her own disco ball. Be sure to keep an eye on her as she shines in the dark.
You can listen to Peggy Gou here, check out future tour dates here, and watch the music video for “Starry Night” here.
