ARTICLE + PHOTOS BY CHRIS MØLINA/AUBURN SKY IMAGING
It’s a picturesque Wednesday afternoon in the Arts District in Downtown L.A. A light, soothing breeze travels through the echoing industrial hustle of the city, as LP Giobbi and I take our seats on the outdoor patio campus of 3BLACKDOT. LP is a burst of sunshine — quite literally — with her sun-kissed complexion and radiant smile, as well as her infectious hunger for life. Small, whimsical tattoos are peppered across both of her arms, illustrating her free spirit and passion for music. Personally, it’s a welcomed change of pace compared to those with the all-too-familiar cynical and sometimes self-deprecating mindset. In addition to being a multi-instrumentalist, DJ, and producer, she is a staunch feminist, which makes her ideal for the number of side projects she’s juggling at any given moment.
It’s no wonder then that electronic duo Sofi Tukker took LP under their wing. LP’s palpable energy and production chops are a no-brainer with a winning combination of possibilities. In fact, after watching the docuseries The Defiant Ones, LP declares: “I called Sofi and Tukker and said, ‘We should start a record label. Anything is possible!’” Thus, Animal Talk Collective (a touring neon-jungle rave and a publishing company) was born and continues as a thriving hub of artists who support each other.
As we ease into the interview, LP tells me it all began in her hometown of Eugene, Oregon.
LP Giobbi In second grade I started playing the piano with my teacher Carolyn Horne, who is the reason I am here today. Carolyn only accepted fourth graders, but I was a weird kid and showed up wearing a court jester hat. As I walked into her studio — BOOM! Our two souls connected. If my music interest ever drifted, she’d switch things up. We’d play with the inside of the piano, play the bongos, or just dance for hours. She was remarkable at cultivating creativity. Our job as an artist is to stay attached to our inner child, to create freedom and space.
Chris M. It’s about rekindling that unbridled sense of wonder and awe.
LP Totally! I wouldn’t be able to do what I’m doing now if I had not found that freedom and joy. I studied classical and jazz piano in high school and did all the band stuff. Then I moved on to jazz performance at UC Berkeley. Music was my identity at this point, and I made it — thanks to my dad’s advice. There was also an electronic music program at Berkeley, and I wanted nothing to do with it. I was a jam band kid and raised by Deadheads!
Chris M. It’s settled! You’re a neo-hippie.
LP My parents fell into Eugene, Oregon, because they were following the Grateful Dead and selling grilled cheese sandwiches. That’s who I am and where I come from.
Chris M. You gotta respect the Dead.
LP On Sundays, instead of going to church, my dad would pull out live Grateful Dead records, and we’d listen together as a whole family. That was church. (Laughs.)
Chris M. The church of Jerry Garcia! Do you fancy the Dead & Company?
LP I do when reconnecting with my parents and the community that basically raised me.
Chris M. Electronic music seems out of your sphere of everything.
LP It wasn’t until post-college that I became familiar with electronic music by watching the movie Drive.
Chris M. Whoa! That’s not too long ago!
LP I remember thinking in the theater, “What are these sounds?” At that point, I started going down the DJ rabbit hole through some friends. I went to an Ableton course in San Francisco, where I was the only girl out of 250 guys, which was eye-opening. “Wow! I need to learn more about this.” The female representation is not equal. In some ways, the feminist inside me fueled my electronic music production desire.
Chris M. Now we understand your inception into the electronic genre, but I’d like to get a sense of how you defined your current upbeat style. Was this approach inherent from the beginning?
LP Not at all. When I first moved to L.A., I was part of an all-female electronic band that was put together by producer Peter Franco [of Daft Punk and Justice]. He had approached me after playing a solo jazz gig at a San Francisco bar. I didn’t even know what a synth was, but Peter told me not to worry. As long as I understood music theory, I could learn everything else. The first synthesizers I ever touched were the Moog voyagers from the Daft Punk Pyramid Tour.
Chris M. Hey, I saw that tour in Berkeley at the Greek Theatre. The Rapture was the opener.
LP The Rapture was part of my rabbit hole into electronic music! I heard real instruments in their music, but it also had dance elements, and that’s what kept me going toward electronic music.
Chris M. What tools and platform were you using once you started producing electronic music with this all-female band?
LP We were combining live percussion and electronic elements with Protools on Macintosh. This is where I started making weird, dark experimental electronic music.
Chris M. Kind of like sound design, film soundtrack shit, right?
LP It was very cinematic. Every song was 15 minutes long. But later on, I was playing a solo set at a festival — thinking, “What am I doing with my life?” — and it felt like a low point. No one was there except my mom, who was only there to feed me chicken nuggets. Afterward, I got an Instagram DM from Sofi Tukker asking if I wanted to go on tour with them as a DJ. I didn’t even know how to DJ and thought, “Is this a joke?” They believed and saw something in me, even through the dark music. A few months later I was on the road with Sofi Tukker and having a conversation with Tucker, who said, “You are this joyous bright unicorn. Why don’t you make music that reflects that?”
Chris M. A mind-blowing epiphany, yes?
LP What a novel concept! And that’s when I started creating upbeat dance music, which led to the first song I made called “Amber Rose.”
Chris M. “Amber Rose” feels like a signature LP Giobbi sound, but I’m personally a fan of “Dejala Pasar.” Where did the Latin motif come from?
LP I remember loading drum [plug-in Contact] into an Ableton session, and I started feeling out the direction. I played these drum loops to my producer colleague, Joe, who suggested we record using the actual Latin percussion instruments he owned. We built the track using the MIDI I had originally laid out.
Chris M. How did you meet Within, the vocal on the track?
LP A couple of hours after my SnowGlobe Festival set, he approached me, saying, “Your set spoke to me. We have to work together.” He really made me believe we could team up. We swapped info, and that’s how we started collaborating.
Chris M. Coming back to the Sofi Tukker tour and your setup, it’s a live sound with DJing?
LP I added a piano/keyboard to my DJ set to reconnect with the live sound design aspects I did in my electronic band days. This is plugged in with three CDJs, which are run through the fourth mixer channel. I used to tour with a vintage KORG M1 synth until it broke during a gig in Canada. Being vintage, there were no parts readily available. That’s when I accepted reality, went to Guitar Center, and bought a $100 Yamaha keyboard. That now runs through the mixer where I EQ the sound. If it breaks, I can go buy a new one in any city. For this next tour, I am adding a drum machine and a Moog!
Chris M. Moogs are classic and badass.
LP Have you ever been to Moog Fest?
Chris M. I wish.
LP The 2019 Moog Fest changed my life. It’s for nerds and band geeks. It feels like where I belong. I had played the Heineken House at Coachella the week before, and it was a totally different crowd. Moog Fest are my people, but I think they’re going to hate what I play now. But I asked to borrow a Moog after doing a video interview earlier in the day. I added it to my set and played tracks that were longer and more minimal — that allowed me to just jam. I’d transition back into club bangers. … I’ve never felt so present in my life. When the lights hit, I had tears streaming down [my face]. I had tapped into such a collective consciousness that the Moog staff felt I’d be a good fit to rep the brand.
Chris M. That’s what it’s all about, isn’t it? Creating an inexplicable experience that moves an entire space.
LP It’s so powerful and scary. At that point, I didn’t care about how many flights [I’ve been on], lost sleep, or missing important life events … this feedback cycle is everything. I will spend the rest of my life chasing that moment.
You can see LP Giobbi live in Los Angeles at Shrine Expo Hall on Friday, October 18th, supporting Galantis. She will also be playing the dates below.
October 17 - Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall*
October 18 - Los Angeles, CA @ Shrine Expo Hall
October 19 - New Orleans, LA @ Joy Theater*
October 21 - Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West*
October 23 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club*
October 24 - Brooklyn, NY @ Great Hall at Avant Gardner*
*Sofi Tukker Support
Wow! Damon is live here. I'm really shocked!
Posted by: Ayub Ansary | Sep 07, 2020 at 09:38 PM