Peggy Gou is a South Korean-born DJ, producer, and songwriter based in Berlin. During the 2010s, she became internationally renowned for her energetic DJ sets, which dreamily flow through various styles of techno, house, and electro. A 2019 volume of the DJ-Kicks series demonstrated her eclectic approach. Her own tracks, such as the acclaimed 2018 single “It Makes You Forget (Itgehane)” and 2021’s “I Go,” are vibrant, joyous productions that echo vintage deep house and post-disco without sounding like throwbacks. Taking her sound in a more accessible direction, she released the dance-pop single “(It Goes Like) Nanana” and the Lenny Kravitz collaboration “I Believe in Love Again” in 2023. Both tracks were featured on I Hear You, her 2024 debut album.
Gou seemed to appear out of nowhere in 2016, releasing no less than four 12″ EPs of bright, slightly hazy house tracks during the course of the year. In actuality, she had been producing and DJing for several years — she learned to beatmatch in Korea in 2009 and resumed the hobby a couple years later, when she was attending the London College of Fashion. After racking up gigs during the next few years, as well as moving to Berlin, she made her breakthrough in 2016, releasing two Art of War EPs on Radio Slave’s Rekids imprint, “Day Without Yesterday” on Phonica White, and Seek for Maktoop on Technicolour. She also played dozens of gigs across the globe, including dates with Moodymann, the Blessed Madonna, Jackmaster, and others.
Following an even busier 2017, which included her first American tour and a month-long BBC Radio 1 residency, Gou returned to the studio. Her Once EP was released by Ninja Tune in 2018, led by “It Makes You Forget (Itgehane),” a catchy single featuring Gou’s Korean-language vocals. “Travelling Without Arriving” was issued by Phonica White soon afterward. In 2019, she released the two-song Moment EP on her own Gudu Records, as well as her first mix CD, a volume of !K7’s long-running DJ-Kicks series. She was featured on “Jigoo,” the lead track from Maurice Fulton’s Gudu-issued Earth EP, in 2020. The following year, Gou released the downtempo single “Nabi” (featuring OHHYUK) and the electro-disco tune “I Go.” Remixes of the song, by Soulwax, DJ Koze, and Fulton, appeared in 2022. She remixed “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” by Kylie Minogue the same year.
Gou made her mainstream breakthrough in 2023, when “(It Goes Like) Nanana,” a Euro-dance-influenced single issued by XL, went viral, eventually topping club and pop charts around the world. She followed the hit with “I Believe in Love Again,” a collaboration with Lenny Kravitz. I Hear You, Gou’s debut full-length, appeared in 2024, including both previous singles as well as the trancey, festival-sized anthem “1+1=11.” ~ Paul Simpson
