‘Eugh, disgusting!’ exclaims Peggy Gou loudly. The petite, energetic 28-year-old springs up, knees to cheeks, her black Nike x A-Cold-Wall* trainers now teetering over the edge of a bench. It’s swelteringly hot, and we’re in a hotel courtyard just metres from Sydney Harbour Bridge.
The reason for her disdain? A pigeon, perched dangerously close above our heads. ‘This is what I hate. You just came here to poo? Disgusting,’ cries Gou again. She turns back to me: ‘Anyway, do you think I’m tanned? I got a good colour from Bondi Beach yesterday.’
While most DJs are familiar with the jet-lag-induced fatigue that their career demands, Gou appears immune. In fact, she’s currently running at 100mph. When we meet, the Berlin-based musician – dressed in bright, cloud-patterned trousers, multiple gold chains and rings, and her signature black, cat-eye sunglasses (which will remain on throughout our interview) – is in the middle of an Australian tour.
In the next three days, she will fly between Sydney and Melbourne twice before jetting off to Vietnam and Thailand. Not that you’d know. Gou is animated, enthusiastic and even a little hyper, alternating between warding off pigeons and asking her tour manager Florian for (another) coffee.
Still, she’s got a lot to be excited about. In 2018, Gou played nearly 200 shows (that’s one every 1.5 days), graced festival line-ups from Coachella to Dimensions in Croatia and was labelled the ‘most beloved DJ on earth’ by music bible Fader. Her eclectic sets are fearless – she’s become known for weaving between genres you’d typically have to visit several different clubs to hear.
‘I always try to change it up,’ she says. ‘I don’t play just one genre; I play disco, house, maybe techno.’
Last year saw her breakthrough as both a producer and vocalist. In March, she released EP Once, featuring standout track It Makes You Forget (Itgehane) – a catchy, mellow house classic on which Gou sings in Korean.
It was also the year that Gou-mania went global. Most DJs turn up and the crowd does its thing. With Gou, people come to see her. Fans wave giant giraffes in the air (Gou’s favourite animal; their peacefulness reminds her to ‘calm down’) or take off their shoes and chant ‘Peggy fucking Gou’ so loud she often can’t hear the music she’s playing.
There’s even an Instagram page (@Peggystshirts) dedicated to posting the best of fans’ T-shirts and posters, featuring puns such as ‘Goucci Gang’ and ‘Ready To Gou’. ‘Even my agent said to me: “Peggy, I’ve been partying for 2O years and I’ve never seen anything like this,”’ she smiles, almost not quite believing it herself. ‘I feel very lucky to have my crowd.’
Growing up, Gou wanted to be a singer. Born in Incheon, South Korea, she would walk around listening to K-pop and hip-hop on her Walkman. Her father is a professor and writer, her mother a businesswoman, but both loved music, singing and playing the guitar regularly. A classically trained pianist, she composed her first piece aged eight, while her brother (also a talented pianist) would shove headphones blasting Chopin or Bach into her ears.
Aged 14, Gou’s parents sent her to live in London for school. She stayed, studying styling at London College of Fashion, and it’s there that her love for music resurfaced – thanks to nights out at Soho’s hedonistic Cirque le Soir. Gou became friendly with the club’s promoter, who asked if she’d like to play.
‘Girl DJs weren’t common [then]; maybe they wanted some fresh faces,’ she shrugs. ‘I was so nervous for my first gig. In Korea, I never listened to house music – it was all EDM.’
After her degree, Gou applied to music school – but her visa was rejected by the UK government, so in 2014 she moved to Berlin, the (unofficial) techno capital of the world. ‘My mum was like: “We’ve already spent money on fashion school, what next?” But I said, “Please, if I fail, I’ll come back. Just give me one more year.” Asian parents are very strict. They didn’t want me to be a doctor, but they certainly didn’t want me to be a DJ.’
Luckily, things did work out – and fast. She found mentors in Italian dance duo Nu Guinea and disco DJ Daniel Wang, and by the end of 2016, she’d released an impressive four EPs (including the breakthrough Seek For Maktoop on record label Ninja Tune’s imprint Technicolour). After racking up support slots for The Black Madonna and DJ Koze, Gou began her own relentless campaign of gigs.
Does the punishing schedule take its toll?
‘Of course,’ she says. In the past Gou has struggled with depression and anxiety, so pays attention to taking care of herself: ‘One time I did four gigs, in four different cities, in one day. I realised I couldn’t carry on.’
Now she does ‘meditation and breathing exercises. I also try to be healthy. My rider has changed, too, from gin and tonic to coconut water and fresh juice. I’d been drinking a lot. Well, not a lot, but I’m Asian, so three [drinks] is enough for me.’ In her spare time she goes to the gym, sees friends or draws. She needs the downtime, she says, because her brain never stops.
At first, like most DJs, Gou dressed solely in black T-shirts for gigs. It’s almost an unspoken social rule in dance music, and she thought it would demonstrate that ‘I knew my stuff’. She’s since relaxed and embraced her fashion background.
As Gou puts it: ‘I don’t need to prove myself.’
Today, you’ll find her in everything from fluffy Acne jackets to pink Miu Miu hats. ‘If I post a picture of myself in a bikini, people comment, asking, ‘Are you still a DJ?’ she says. ‘They give me shit. In the end, I say [those people have] “Small Dick Problem”. Can’t DJs wear swimsuits? I want to look good and there’s nothing wrong with that.’
As it turns out, having a distinct look has been her USP. While playing at an Off-White x MyTheresa party in London in 2017, she was spotted by the brand’s founder Virgil Abloh. Afterwards, New Guards Group (NGG), the parent company of Off-White, got in touch and asked Gou to create a fashion brand.
‘They said, “We see Virgil in you.” What they mean by that is they think I’m nice, but that I’m a “good motherfucker”. People call Virgil that – he’s a really nice guy, but also ambitious and knows exactly what he’s doing.’
The result is Kirin (that’s ‘giraffe’ in Korean): a high-end streetwear label that launches soon. Gou says Abloh has been ‘very supportive’. The collection will feature ‘lots’ of two-pieces, kimonos and printed shirts because she’s ‘really into summer shirts’. ‘I think it’s important the designer likes… Wait, I wouldn’t call myself a designer, that’s so cheesy,’ she laughs. ‘I’m just doing what I love.’
It’s a mantra that clearly seems to be working. Every profile of Gou mentions that, as a DJ, she had one major goal: to be the first Korean woman to play Berghain. But Gou was always going to be the first Korean woman to play Berghain. She is incredibly self-assured, intuitive and knows exactly what she wants.
Take, for example, the fact that she doesn’t have a manager – despite being one of the most in-demand DJs in the world. ‘I don’t like it when people tell me what to do,’ she says, simply. In addition to her fashion line, this year she’s working on a ‘killer’ debut album (‘maybe I’ll rap, who knows?’), a live set and setting up her own music label.
Several years ago, when Gou partied every Sunday at Panorama Bar (the smaller, upstairs space in Berghain), she used to stand and dance in the same spot. She’d stare at the DJ, wishing she were the one behind the decks.
Now? Well, she rarely goes out clubbing anymore. She’s still in the club, of course, just in her preferred spot. But this is only the beginning. ‘I have plans,’ she says excitedly. ‘I don’t consider myself just a DJ – I think I can be more than that. I feel like I’ve found what I’m meant to do, and I want to do everything.’
This feature originally appeared in ELLE's April issue, out now.
