People who know house music know exactly who Peggy Gou is.
The Korean-born, Berlin-based DJ has been a mainstay of the club scene for years. But last summer, she had a mainstream breakthrough with the pinging, percussive pop banger It Goes Like (Nanana).
“Even though I've been releasing music since 2015, last year really hit differently,” she says.
“I did not expect this song was going to get so much love, but it really changed a lot of things for me.”
Since the song hit the charts, she's graced the cover of Vogue magazine, been named the best house DJ in the world and linked up with Lenny Kravitz,
On top of that, she's just been voted into third place on BBC Radio 1's Sound Of 2024, which aims to predict the biggest crossover stars of the next 12 months.
“I can't believe it,” she says on a Zoom call from Dubai. “I want to say thanks to everyone who voted for me!”
In some respects, her place on the list is a surprise. Since it started in 2003, the Sound Of poll has championed newcomers – from the initial winner, 50 Cent, to the likes of Franz Ferdinand, Adele, James Blake, Stormzy and PinkPantheress.
No other nominee has ever been eight years into their career, but there's a sense that Gou's poised to break out of the dance bubble.
It's a change she's noticed herself. “Before, people knew about me before they knew my music. But after Nanana, I felt like people heard the music without knowing what I even look like. That's the big difference.”
The music speaks for itself. Bright, melodic and danceable, it has obvious mass appeal.
In the words of legendary producer Todd Terry, her interpretation of house is not just a style of music but a feeling in itself.
“I want to give people a really good energy,” she says. “After 50 years, I want people to say, ‘Do you remember that song? Do you remember that moment?' and talk about the memories and the feelings they had when they heard it for the first time.”
— CutC by bbc.com
