Its shaping out to be a big year for Fei-Fei. The genre defying producer and DJ is dropping her debut album in November, Pretty Girls Don’t Hallucinate, and hosting a new monthly party the last Saturday of every month at at downtown nightclub Lash.
To accompany the new release, Fei-Fei will be closing 2014 with shows in LA, Hawaii and the Midwest. We sat down her to hear what life lessons she’s learned through the dance music scene and why she doesn’t want to be anyone’s favorite female DJ.
How did you get into music?
I come from a really a musical family. My dad played classical piano, clarinet and oboe, and my mom used to be in the Chinese opera. I grew up playing music. They started me on the violin when I was four, and I hated it. When I was six I started piano, and I played piano for over 13 years. So I’ve always been kind of immersed in music, but more on the classical side.
When I started getting into electronic music was when I started going to underground parties. I was literally at my first party and I saw the DJ doing their thing. I was like I want to be the one doing that. I want to be the one making the music for everyone. I kind of taught myself how to DJ, and then began producing seven or eight years ago. That’s when I started taking music as a career seriously.
How would you describe your DJ style?
I’m very diverse. It’s a lot of bass music, but more outside of the box kind of stuff. Lately what I’ve been producing has a base of indie electronica—it’s music with a lot more feeling.
When I wrote a lot of the stuff that’s going to be coming out soon I was finding myself as an artist and a person. I guess the music that came out of me was a direct result of what I was going through, and it was kind of therapeutic.
It happened at a time where I just wasn’t feeling inspired by the “EDM scene.” Everything was starting to sound kind of stale. So I took some time off, and made music with no other purpose than making music that I enjoyed. Even though they might not be straight up club bangers, I feel like it’s more real and close to me. That’s why I’m really excited and scared, all at the same time, for everything to come out.
What’s it like being a woman in the DJ scene?
It comes with a set of things you have to go through. I feel like I’ve definitely had to work a lot harder to be taken seriously in this career, but it’s kind of a reflection of society too and gender imbalances. I try not to talk about it too much because I really dislike being known as a female producer or a female DJ. I think using the word female in front of something subcategorizes us.
No one says he’s my favorite male football player or he’s my favorite guy lawyer. So I’ve just got to be someone’s favorite producer or DJ, not someone’s favorite female this and that.
Tell us about your monthly party at Lash.
I just started those, actually, and just had my second one. It’s been great so far. I decided to throw a monthly party. I just really wanted a spot to call home where my friends can DJ when they’re in town, and my friends that live here can have a cool place to hang out and listen to music. It’s also small enough where if fans want to come talk to me I can get to know the people that come out.
It’s also fun programming the night. I like to be able to put together a diverse night of music, and maybe expose people to something a little bit different. In the future, it’ll also give the artists on my label, Feided, a place to play as well.
What are your favorite places to perform in LA?
I just played at the Belasco, which was an LED Goldenvoice show. That was a lot of fun. Insomniac festivals are always a whole different beast, but those are rad too. I played at Beyond Wonderland and Nocturnal Wonderland. I’m definitely biased to playing downtown because it’s nice to be able to walk home. That’s definitely a bonus.
What do you do in your downtime?
I actually really like going to farmer’s markets. As corny as it sounds, I’m big into organic food and cooking. I like going to the Torrance famer’s market on Saturdays. I go all the way down there because they have a really good mix of produce. I’m such a famer’s market nerd.
Since you’re such a foodie, what are some of you favorite restaurants in LA?
I cook a lot, so I don’t go out and eat too much. I really like sushi though, so Sushi Gen in Little Tokyo. Also, Ichiriki in Redondo Beach is one of my favorites. The sushi chef and I are homies, and every time I go down he’ll start making me random stuff and give it to me to try. I love it.
What’s next for you?
I’m about to go on an album tour. I have a new album coming out called Pretty Girls Don’t Hallucinate. It’s my debut album. Every thing is about to come out that I’ve been working so hard on, and it’s making me very scared and anxious, but also really excited.
