COLD OPEN

The lights were low. The crowd was waiting. Anticipation was building.

This was it. LP’s favorite moment. The moment when all of her preparation, all the records she’d listened to, all the drum loops and vocal tracks she’d catalogued, all came together for one epic night.

She stepped out of the wings and onto the stage. The crowd roared.

LP climbed up into her booth at center stage as the lights blared down… she looked over her table, her deck, and her piano keyboard. Go time.

The crowd had been waiting for this – they jumped straight into dancing, their moves flowing with the tracks LP chose, each responding to the other. The lights flashed, the music played, and the dancing went on, everyone experiencing the music together.

This was where LP loved to be, where she felt most herself. She was home.
SHOW INTRO

I’m Sophie Hawley-Weld. And this is Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls.

ALT: I’m Sophie Hawley-Weld, from the band Sofi Tukker. And this is Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls.

A fairy tale podcast about the real-life rebel women who inspire us.

On this episode, LP Giobbi (LP Jee-oh-bee), classically trained jazz pianist, musical trailblazer, and worldclass DJ.

[SEGMENT 1]

LP was in the second grade, and she was on a mission. She had something very important to tell her parents, and she would not be taking no for an answer.

She wanted to start piano lessons. “Aren’t you a bit young for that?” They said. But even so young, LP was as persistent as a bulldozer. She gave her parents a presentation: all the reasons why piano lessons were such a good idea. She loved dancing at the concerts they went to as a family, feeling the way the music moved through her. She wanted to make that happen herself.

Whether it was through her logic or her persistence, her parents were convinced. They found LP a piano teacher, a woman named Carolyn. And she got started right away.

Through middle school, then high school, LP and Carolyn worked together. They practiced a lot, and sometimes LP would start to feel a little restless. There were friends to hang out with, concerts to go to! But Carolyn knew just what to do. She made sure LP never got bored. They’d listen to music together, play the piano in unexpected ways, even play the bongos sometimes.

Carolyn taught LP more than music. She left her with the idea that she was powerful, worthy and capable of anything she set her mind to. That was a lesson that LP took to heart as she took her next steps – from Oregon to California for college, where she’d major in music.
[SEGMENT 2]

LP studied jazz piano at UC Berkeley. She gained an even deeper understanding of the intellectual side of music – music theory and the classics. But something was missing.

After graduation, LP took a job in the music industry. Part of her job was going to different venues and shows. It was through one of these events that she first heard what a DJ could do. They could pull all the parts of a song – vocals, drums, any instrument they wanted – together all at once or totally separate, all from that booth onstage. She was fascinated – she had to try that for herself! And soon she’d have the chance.

LP was playing a jazz piano gig at a small venue in San Francisco when a man came and introduced himself. He helped make music for the electronic band Daft Punk, and wanted LP to try making that kind of music herself. He was putting together an all-female electronic band, and he wanted LP to join.

LP moved to LA, and learned how to play synth in a garage with her bandmates. The electronic instrument let her make all sorts of sounds and tones to fill out their songs. The band started recording in studios, working with producers in the booth, behind the glass. Around this time, LP read an article about another musical artist who was doing something LP hadn’t seen before – producing her own music. That’s when LP realized something… all the studio producers she and the band were working with were men. With her piano teacher’s voice in her mind, LP thought, “Why can’t I do that?”

LP taught herself how to use different software that producers need to make songs. She even started producing her band’s music. She could do anything she set her mind to. And this was just the beginning of her musical career.
[SEGMENT 3]

All of LP’s musical training and experience had prepared her to be an incredible DJ, but her DJ origin story was almost an accident! When a performer fell through at a music festival she was involved with, LP decided she could fill the slot herself, with a DJ set.

She’d never done it before, but threw herself into the performance, as she did with everything else.

The audience was tiny, which gave her room to play. And someone was watching her first set eagerly from backstage. Somebody named Sophie. That’s me.

Sophie was part of an electronic duo called Sofi Tukker. Sophie and her band partner, Tucker, were performing later that night. The two were headed out on a big tour soon, and were looking for an artist to play as their opener on the tour. That’s when Sophie saw LP. She was captivated. Sophie had never seen someone look so alive, so connected to the music.

A few days later, Sofi Tukker invited LP to go on tour with them, to DJ for crowds of thousands of people. How could she say no?

They traveled around the country, all packed into a mini van. Each night, LP would try out a new set. And each night, Sophie and Tucker would offer her feedback, tips and thoughts on what else she could try in her sets. Night after night, LP honed her own personal sound. Her classical jazz training came back into play. So did her childhood love of dancing. Finally, she’d found it. In the DJ booth was where she belonged.
[SEGMENT 4]

And luckily, she had a friend to help her along the way. From their first meeting on, LP and Sophie challenged and supported one another. Sophie and Tucker’s kind, but honest, feedback helped LP to hone her craft, and her music got even better. But Sophie and LP’s friendship went deeper than the professional.

When the creativity was flowing, LP could sometimes forget about the important parts of taking care of herself – eating, sleeping, taking deep breaths. A vital part of the creative process was leaving space to hear the muse, to feel the inspiration. Every time LP got swept up, Sophie was there to remind her that creativity requires rest and self-care.

The closeness of their friendship meant that LP felt safe to “breathe into her whole self,” and to tap into new places with her music.

With this support from Sophie, LP’s career took off! In time, LP was playing to crowds of tens of thousands of people. But once again, she wondered if there was something more.

[SEGMENT 5]

LP had played everything from classical jazz to electronic – all experiences that helped to prepare her for her successful career as a DJ.

But when she thought back to her early days of electronic music, all the producers she met were men.

LP had to teach herself to use the production tools! How much sooner could she have been making her own music if someone had helped her learn? What difference might it have made for her to see a woman in the recording booth, rather than a sea of men? To see herself represented in a male-dominated industry? All these questions pointed to at least one answer.

LP and her friend Lauren Spalding, aka DJ Hermixalot, started an organization called Femme House. Femme House would offer free education for music production and DJing, all to help build a more inclusive music industry. LP wanted to make music more welcoming for more types of people. That meant helping future musicians get an earlier start. And changing the industry along the way.

Take a few beats here

LP grew up with plenty of people who believed in her – her parents, who had faith their second grader knew what she wanted. Carolyn, the teacher who taught and inspired LP for more than a decade. Renowned professors at UC Berkeley. And still, it took reading about another woman producing her own music for LP to get the idea to do it herself.

Ever since then, LP has strived to be the example for girls who will come after her. They’ll see a woman DJ onstage, a woman producer in the booth. They’ll know they can stand in either place, and shine.

CREDITS:
This podcast is a production of Rebel Girls. It’s based on the book series Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls.

This episode was narrated by ME, Sophie Hawley-Weld. It was produced by Rebecca Chaisson (shah-sawn) and directed by Ashton Carter, with sound design and mixing by Carter Wogahn.

ALT: With sound design and mixing by Morgane Fouse.

The story was written by Rebecca Chaisson and edited by Haley Dapkus. Fact checking by Danielle Roth. Our executive producers were Joy Smith, Anjelika Temple, and Jes Wolfe.

Original theme music was composed and performed by Elettra Bargiacchi.

A special thanks to the whole Rebel Girls team, who make this podcast possible! Until next time, staaaay rebel!