Remixing Biographies: Peggy Gou
This is a rewrite of Peggy Gou’s biography, using material found in a Mixmag feature, a New York Times article, a profile in The Business of Fashion, an article in the Guardian, an article in Vice, a feature in Bandcamp Daily, and an interview in Vogue. An attempt at improving the basics — using the active voice, removing clichés, putting the emphasis on the right places, fixing punctuation and spelling, and generally shortening things — it is also a personal exercise in applying “The Elements of Style”.
Berlin-based Peggy Gou is a rare bird within the global dance music community: dedicated to the underground styles of house and techno, she enjoys mass appeal and an enthusiasm among fans normally reserved for pop stars; music history may well remember her as the quintessential crossover artist in the genre.
Born in South-Korea, Peggy spent her teenage years in the UK living with host families. After graduating high-school, she returned to her hometown of Incheon but soon decided she felt more comfortable in the cosmopolitan London; an enrollment at the London College of Fashion followed. As a student, Peggy discovered house music in the local underground club scene; it was love at first sound and the launch of her career as a DJ.
Her love affair with music deepened when Peggy moved to Berlin, a city dubbed the Capital of Electronic Music. Playing the local underground club circuit, Peggy also started releasing music of her own — productions reflecting her exploration of other strands of dance music. The “Seek for Maktoop” EP released in 2016 contains various references to earlier pioneers: “Gou Talk” is reminiscent of the work of Metro Area, “Maktool” is influenced by the acid house of Roy Davis Jr., and the third track “Rose” adds her own hypnotic vocals— elements Peggy would use in later releases to develop her unique style.
Seeking further artistic independence, Peggy launched her own imprint: Gudu Records. The home of artists of her own generation, it also released new work, including a collaboration with Peggy herself, from Maurice Fulton — an unsung hero of 90’s dance music. Her education in fashion also paid off with the 2019 Paris fashion week debut of her own label: Kirin.
With her millions of followers on social media, it is easy to be distracted by the hype surrounding Peggy. But look closely and you’ll find her personality expressed in all facets of her work: the cover art by Jee-ook Choi and Inji Seo, the mastering by Frank Merritt at the Carvery Studio, and the typography from Colin Doerffler and Eugene Angelo — all has been carefully chosen to match her aesthetic sensibilities.
And while it may appear as if Peggy has burst into the limelight out of nowhere, a nine year old post on her SoundCloud reveals a well-executed vinyl mix; recorded in an unassuming East-London location, and tracklisting classics such as “Day” by Omar S — evidence of having not only developed a good taste early on, but also of having put in the hours to become an expert at her craft.
Her success occasionally attracts detractors and controversy; Peggy’s consistent response has been a well-known expletive followed by “it” — an attitude borrowed from Michael Jordan, whose feature in the documentary “The Last Dance” inspired her to ignore that which she cannot control, and focus on knowing her own truth instead.
Her pluckiness is also reflected in her music: Peggy wrote the song “I Go” in memory of a moment of exhaustion during a stopover at an airport, in between international gigs. Barely recognizing her tired face in the mirror of a public washroom, she would hum to herself the words: “I go, I go, I go,” finding the inner strength to keep going.
Love her or hate her, ignoring her is not an option anymore; as Gou Mania sweeps across global dance music, Peggy pulls an ever larger and more diverse audience into her orbit.
