Peggy Gou talks techno & Korea with the Oxford Union
The DJ was invited to the prestigious society in February
On February 25, the Oxford Union invited Peggy Gou to answer questions from one of their mediators as well as an audience. Last week, a video of the discussion was released.
In the 49 minute video, the Korean DJ talked about her fashion brand, her label, her mentors, global warming and her life in Berlin. She also tackled some more personal subjects, like the state of techno in South Korea, and the role of female Korean DJs in shaping the world.
She also explains that, as a female Korean that arrived in the West when she was only fourteen, she faced a lot of obstacles. On starting to produce, she said: “My opinion was not valued and people wanted just to tell me what to do.” She added that she managed to fuel her work with these criticisms. “I love to prove people wrong,” she explained, smiling.
Peggy added that was part of the reason why she started producing lyrics in Korean. According to her, singing in her native language makes her songs unique and precious, even though she wasn’t sure of that choice at the beginning. She wondered: “How are people going to think of my voice? How is this language going to sound? But I think I was brave enough, because you don’t know if you don’t try... And I think I kinda made K-house.”
Peggy indeed made K-House the genre it is today, and inspired a new wave of artists, such as Yaeji, Closet Yi, Park Hye Jin and Didi Han. Seeing this scene blooming inspires her to do more, especially with her record label 'Gudu Records'. Peggy added that she instructs her team to search for rising female DJs : “I think we’re on a good path, a lot of new female DJs are coming up. I’m trying to look for newcomers from my country.”
This K-house movement may seem anecdotal for some, but is truly an achievement for Peggy Gou. Now 29, she was reminded of a 19-year-old version of herself, when she was told by a friend and fellow Korean DJ that he forced himself to play EDM in South Korea: “I wish I could play techno in Korea but it’s not the right place at the moment,” he said.
Well, it seems that the time has come for Korean and Asian techno. And it is sure for the best. Watch the full video below.
