Fisher
Peggy Gou — is a South Korean DJ, music producer, vocalist and songwriter whose real name is Kim Min-ji. She was born on 3 July 1991 in Incheon, South Korea. House forms the foundation of her music, complemented by elements of techno, electro, disco and dance music from the 1980s and 1990s. A distinctive feature of her catalogue is the use of Korean-language vocals and references to Korean culture in both her music and the visual presentation of her releases.
Peggy Gou gained international recognition in the second half of the 2010s through club releases on Rekids, Phonica and Technicolour, followed by the EP Once and the track It Makes You Forget (Itgehane). Her audience later expanded significantly with Starry Night, I Go and especially (It Goes Like) Nanana. In 2024, she released her debut studio album I Hear You on XL Recordings.
Early years and London
Kim Min-ji grew up in Incheon. She began studying classical piano at around the age of eight. At 14, her parents sent her to London to study English. She later returned briefly to South Korea before moving back to the British capital and enrolling at the London College of Fashion.
Gou initially considered a career in the fashion industry, with interests in design, photography and styling. However, it was in London that music gradually became her main professional focus. She later worked as the London correspondent for Harper's Bazaar Korea before fully turning to electronic music.
She was first introduced to DJing around 2009 through an acquaintance from Korea. She began taking music production seriously several years later, learning Ableton Live and other production tools.
Berlin and the beginning of her production career
After London, Peggy Gou moved to Berlin. The local club environment became an important part of her professional development, as she focused on DJing, collecting music and studio work.
Gou completed her first track, Hungboo, around 2014. The title refers to a character from traditional Korean folklore. However, her official discographic debut came later — in January 2016, when Rekids released the EP The Art of War Part 1.
2016 was a particularly productive year: Gou released several EPs on different labels. Phonica White issued Day Without Yesterday / Six O Six, while Technicolour, a Ninja Tune imprint, released Seek for Maktoop. These records established her position within the European house and techno scenes before the arrival of her more mainstream hits.
Gou later became the first Korean female DJ to perform at Berlin's Berghain, one of the best-known clubs in contemporary electronic music.
Once and It Makes You Forget
In March 2018, Ninja Tune released the EP Once, which became an important stage in Peggy Gou’s development as an independent artist.
The central track was It Makes You Forget (Itgehane). It was on this release that Gou used her own voice in a studio recording for the first time. The vocal is performed in Korean, while the musical foundation combines a house groove, keyboard parts, percussion and elements of acid house.
In 2018, It Makes You Forget (Itgehane) won the AIM Independent Music Award for Independent Track of the Year. The track also appeared on numerous year-end electronic music lists and became one of the defining works of Peggy Gou’s early international period.
Gudu Records and Starry Night
In 2019, Peggy Gou founded her own independent label, Gudu Records.
Its first release was her two-track Moment EP, issued in April 2019. It included Starry Night and Han Pan. Both tracks continued Gou’s combination of house music with vocals in Korean and English.
Starry Night became one of the producer’s most recognisable works. The track is built around piano chords, a house rhythm and a minimalist vocal part centred on short words and images.
Gudu Records subsequently developed from a platform for Gou’s own releases into a full-scale label. It has released music by DMX Krew, Mogwaa, Hiver, Salamanda, Alinka and other electronic artists.
DJ-Kicks
In June 2019, Peggy Gou curated the 69th instalment of the DJ-Kicks series for !K7 Records.
The 73-minute mix demonstrated a much broader range of musical interests than her own popular singles: the tracklist included Aphex Twin, Kode9, Pearson Sound, Kyle Hall, I:Cube and other artists spanning house, techno, electro and experimental electronic music.
Gou became the first Korean woman to record a DJ-Kicks instalment. For the release artwork, she chose an image of a tiger — a reference to Korean culture.
Nabi and I Go
In June 2021, Gudu Records released Nabi featuring OHHYUK, vocalist of the South Korean band HYUKOH. The title means “butterfly” in Korean.
A month later, Peggy Gou released I Go. The producer connected the track with 1990s dance music she had listened to when she was younger, as well as with her own memories of an era whose club culture she had not been able to experience directly in the UK.
Both tracks were released in 2021 — the frequently repeated dating of them to 2022 is incorrect.
(It Goes Like) Nanana
In summer 2023, Peggy Gou released (It Goes Like) Nanana — the biggest commercial hit of her career.
The track is built around the aesthetics of 1990s European dance and house music: a synthesiser riff, a straight rhythm and a simple vocal hook. It gained widespread attention even before its official release through recordings from DJ sets and social media.
In the United Kingdom, Nanana reached number 5 on the Official Singles Chart, spent 12 weeks in the Top 10 and topped the Official Dance Singles Chart.
The success of the track significantly expanded Peggy Gou’s audience beyond the club scene. Pitchfork noted that the single reached number one in five countries.
I Believe in Love Again
In November 2023, Peggy Gou released I Believe in Love Again with Lenny Kravitz.
Gou associated the sound of the track with the influence of R&B and 1990s dance music, specifically citing Kravitz’s album 5 as one of the important records for her from that period. Kravitz recorded the vocals and contributed to the lyrics and guitar part.
The single was later included on Peggy Gou’s debut album.
I Hear You
On 7 June 2024, XL Recordings released Peggy Gou’s debut studio album I Hear You. The record contains ten tracks and marked the culmination of nearly a decade of standalone EPs, singles and remixes.
The album includes the previously released (It Goes Like) Nanana, I Go and I Believe in Love Again, as well as 1+1=11, Lobster Telephone, Back to One, Purple Horizon, Seoulsi Peggygou and other tracks.
Guests on the album include Lenny Kravitz and Puerto Rican rapper Villano Antillano. The track Seoulsi Peggygou (서울시페기구) is notable for using the traditional Korean instrument gayageum alongside elements of jungle and electronic dance music.
Musically, I Hear You draws heavily on the house and dance aesthetics of the 1990s, including organ basslines, classic drum machines, breakbeats and bright synthesiser parts. At the same time, the album is not confined to a single club genre.
Performances
By the end of the 2010s, Peggy Gou had moved from club performances to major international festivals. She has performed at Coachella, Glastonbury, Primavera Sound, Dekmantel, Sonar, Ultra Music Festival and other events, while continuing to play clubs and shows in Ibiza.
In 2024, Gou returned to Coachella and also performed at Primavera and Glastonbury. In August, she played what was at the time her largest headline show in the UK at London’s Gunnersbury Park.
Kirin and work in fashion
Peggy Gou’s connection with the fashion industry began long before her international success in music: she studied at the London College of Fashion and worked in fashion journalism.
In 2019, Gou launched her own clothing line, Kirin, created with the support of Italian company New Guards Group. She was introduced to the collaboration through Virgil Abloh.
The name Kirin comes from the Korean word for “giraffe” — Gou’s favourite animal.
At the time, New Guards Group also worked with Off-White, Palm Angels and other brands, but Kirin was not a Peggy Gou collaboration with Off-White or Louis Vuitton. Her connection with Louis Vuitton was primarily personal: Gou was friends with Virgil Abloh and regularly appeared at the brand’s events.
In 2024, Peggy Gou was announced as a global ambassador for Maybelline New York.
Musical style
House remains Peggy Gou’s primary genre. Techno and electro are also prominent in her early discography, while later releases make active use of piano house, disco, Italo, Balearic and various forms of 1990s dance music.
Rather than using the overly broad description “Eastern influences”, it is more accurate to refer specifically to the use of the Korean language and elements of Korean musical culture. Korean vocals appear in It Makes You Forget, Starry Night, I Go and other tracks, while traditional instruments also appear on I Hear You.
In her DJ sets, Gou does not limit herself to her own discography: her DJ-Kicks mix and club performances demonstrate an interest in Chicago house, acid house, techno, electro, breakbeat and more experimental forms of electronic music.
DJ Mag Top 100 DJs
Peggy Gou first entered the DJ Mag Top 100 DJs in 2019 at number 80. Her position rose significantly in the following years.
In 2023, she climbed to number 9 and was named DJ Mag World's No.1 House DJ as part of the ranking. In 2024, she placed at number 10, and in 2025 — number 12.
2025–2026
Following I Hear You, Peggy Gou continued primarily with a singles-focused release schedule and international touring.
In June 2025, she released D.A.N.C.E — her contribution to the F1 The Album soundtrack for the film F1.
During the same period, Gou released new remixes, including her own version of like JENNIE.
In 2026, I Feel So Free (Peggy Gou Energy Mix) and a remix of Where Do We Go appeared, while on 26 June 2026 Peggy Gou and Nigerian singer Ayra Starr released Wo, man (Edit) on XL Recordings. As of August 2026, it is one of Peggy Gou’s latest official releases.
