Eastern Resonance, 1st Harmonic: An In-Depth Interview with rEmPiT g0dDe$$

Eastern Resonance, 1st Harmonic: An In-Depth Interview with rEmPiT g0dDe$$

by ESS Curatorial Fellow James Gui

Leading up Eastern Resonance, the October 30 Quarantine Concert featuring experimental pop and club musicians from Asia and the diaspora, Curatorial Fellow James Gui sat down with each of the performers to get an idea of their background and thought process behind their music. The first interview of six is with Victoria Yam, performing as rEmPiT g0dDe$$; she describes finding a rave community in Singapore, the working class background behind her moniker, opening for Dis Fig in Thailand, and more!

Can you introduce yourself first and how you got your start with music?

I'm Victoria. I run two projects: one is VIKTORIA and the other is rEmPiT g0dDe$$. I've only started rEmPiT g0dDe$$ very recently, about four years ago. So when I started out experimenting with music, I was making like just deconstructed covers of pop music. I was posting on SoundCloud, and then I started experimenting with my own music and that was when a local music platform in Malaysia discovered me.

And that was when I started being involved in the local music industry. But at the time, because I was surrounded by mostly rappers, I didn't feel like I belonged because I couldn't rap *laughs*. So I just felt very odd in that space and things didn't really work out with that music platform. So then I just did things independently after that. I kind of stopped making music for a while because I wasn't sure with the direction that I wanted to take.

It was about two years that I was directionless and just wanting to quit, not being sure if everything I was doing was futile. But my breakthrough was, if you've been to my SoundCloud page, the first three tracks. They were just produced simply on a cracked version of FL studio. I was just experimenting, producing using factory samples and I posted those three tracks to my SoundCloud thinking that it was not gonna go anywhere. But an underground rave organizer in Singapore called Horizon99 discovered my tracks and they asked if they could use them in a mix.

And of course I said yes. That just changed my direction, it was really my breakthrough, because right after the mix, they told me they were throwing a rave in Singapore and I was like yes, I'm coming. So I took the cheapest bus from KL. If you don't know how the cheap buses work, from KL to Singapore it's cramped up and the driver is also reckless and sometimes at the immigration center, if you take too long to check in, he just leaves you *laughs*. So that was my experience most of the time, and I just kept going.

I loved the underground scene because it's very DIY, it's very experimental and the philosophy is that they're not bounded by genres, so it's a very free space. Anyone can play whatever they wanna play. I really loved that and I felt like I belonged. They saw themselves gathering and raving as a political act and I felt that was very important. But when the pandemic happened, actually one day before the borders closed, I was in Singapore, was playing at this club called HQ and they were announcing that they were gonna close up the borders the next day.

I had to rush back. So ever since then, I haven’t been to Singapore. And there haven’t been any events going on and stuff because of the pandemic in Malaysia, it's just constant lockdowns.

But the pandemic has kind of been like a blessing in disguise as well. It was terrible, but there was just a lot of networking that happened over the Internet. Like, you know Eastern Margins found me. And also this London collective queer collective, they invited me to be part of this online fundraising event with some really cool DJs in the UK.

Would you consider yourself more connected to this international, diasporic network  of underground musicians rather than the scene in Malaysia? 

Definitely. I mean, I used to not understand that part. Because it felt like in the beginning it felt like it was more of a me problem. I was just a very odd person, and I thought maybe the music I made was just too odd. But I'm trying my best to do what I can here. I've been more involved with the art community in Malaysia, collaborating with local artists and creatives. Hopefully that is also like a way to help me kind of build something here!

I noticed that you have something called “Magazine for Young Girls” tagged in some of your posts, is that something that you're also involved with or helping to run?

Yes. So Wei Ting, who founded Magazine for Young Girls, we met at one of the raves in Singapore that I mentioned earlier. We had a mutual friend and she invited me to play for her Instagram livestream for MFYG last year during the pandemic. Ever since then, she's been asking for my help to do this and that. One of the things we collaborated on was for Shanghai Fashion Week, she did an exhibition and needed my help to curate a mix for her. So because we vibed a lot and we talked about K-pop a lot, we just decided to work on many other things together. Eventually she hired me as the music editor [for MFYG].

It seems like there's a thread... Horizon99 with their politics of raving and MFYG being this empowering thing. How do you think your work in music and sound can be a force for positive change?

I dunno if you know what “rempit” is, but it’s actually a derogatory term for a group of illegal bikers in Malaysia. I grew up in a very working class environment; I didn't really have the privilege of growing up in a comfortable environment. So I wanted to use the term “rempit” because not only does it symbolize anarchy on the streets, but it’s also a symbolism for the working class. In Malaysia, if you wanna call someone out negatively for looking dodgy or looking indecent, you call someone “rempit”.
So my creative director, Sarah Hanan (she does most of my artworks), was doing her study abouts rempits because most of her artworks involve bikes. So we were trying to use the bike as a symbol of freedom. These illegal riders on the streets, the act of riding away from where they come from. It’s kind of a symbol of them moving away or escaping the oppression of capitalism. We saw that partying was kind of like the same thing. We’re escaping whatever oppression that we come from, and we're going to this safe place where we can party and be our true selves. I don't wanna say I empower people, but being able to DJ and just like play all this music, I think it helps people rediscover themselves.

Wow, I didn’t know any of that. I love how you reclaim that term and juxtapose it with “goddess”. You said in the first few tracks you made you sampled factory sounds, right? Is that a callback to where you grew up, a sonic interest, or a little bit of both?

So I recently just moved into my own place in KL and just outside my window, they are building a flyover. It's so noisy, but as a musician, I just enjoy sounds. It’s funny because when my friends come over, they will complain. But to me, it just sounds like the latest tracks from SVBKVLT *laughs*. But I didn't notice this until my friend said that, you know, you grew up in very industrial areas. Around me there were always factories and there were always just sounds from machines and stuff like that. It wasn't something that I noticed until very recently that people started describing my sound as industrial. 

So what does “experimental” mean to you?

It's kind of ironic because you hear all these sounds and you're like, okay, this is a niche. And you kind of wanna make music like that.You wanna make music like Hyph11E, like 33EMBYW, you know, and all those people from SVBKVLT. But I also realize that if I were to kind of model myself around these OG underground producers, then I would kind of be missing the point as well. It wouldn't be experimental, it would just be me following the steps of others.

And I remember Jlin was doing this interview and she said when she started making music she was also trying to follow the footsteps of other producers, but her mother asked her, “But what is your sound?” That really stuck with me for a really long time. I always get so frustrated because I always hear producers using very interesting sounds. And I try to kind of figure out their formula, but then I realize like that, like there shouldn't be like a formula to begin with. And that’s how I do my music. It's just like a blank page. And then I start to figure it out, piecing together the puzzle. 

What does it mean to you to be a part of this international scene of Asian diaspora musicians? 

In the beginning of my party life, not even DJing life, I heard a lot of people say they wanna go to Berlin. The end goal is partying in Berlin. And so that kind of just feels like we don't believe that there's actually culture in Asia itself. That was just my first thought, you know, there’s no interesting night culture in Asia. But when I joined the underground scene in Singapore, there were a lot of Singaporeans who were studying and working abroad. That was how I was able to network with more people and know more about just Asia in general, because a lot them are also involved with other parts of Asia.

Recently for MFYG we got one of the Nhac Gay founders, Cel-T, to make a mix for us and we're getting Puppy Ri0t as well. It’s very exciting because there's always female figures in all these scenes and they're doing so many amazing things. 

It's like a pretty awesome moment!  Have you been doing any other cool sound projects lately?

I've been experimenting more with films and producing scores. I've been working on that and trying to pick up sound design.

Is there a different process for you when you're like scoring a film versus like producing a club banger?

Definitely. I think with club bangers, it's a lot more straightforward. But with film scores it’s different. The first film I scored was just using piano and I thought since it was just piano it should be easy. Right. But I was producing it for my friend and the first three times, he wasn't happy with it. He said it had no soul. And for a while, I struggled with my own ego. And, but we just kept trying until we both really liked it. I think with experimental music or like dance music in general, the narration is very ambiguous. The story is just like an open-ended question. But I think film’s unique to what the visuals allow, especially when the visual itself has a story.

Changing topics a little, have you played it anywhere besides like Malaysia and Singapore that have been memorable?

I played in Thailand about three years ago. I was opening for Dis Fig, and the event was supposed to be hosted by Boiler Room but that didn't end up happening. We were about to cancel the trip because it was just gonna be a normal party, but we were like, it’s gonna be our first Thailand gig! So I was like, let's go, let's go. And it was memorable because obviously I got really drunk *laughs* and Thailand’s amazing.

Is there a dream spot that you'd like to play?

I definitely want to just go around Asia. I wanna go to Shanghai, I wanna go to Taipei, I wanna go to Vietnam, especially Vietnam. 

Is there anything that you'd like to share that you didn't get the chance to say?

Well, I just sent my demo for my album to eastern margins like yesterday. And I recently collaborated with Ican Harem from Gabbus Modus Operandi and worked on a track I'm planning to release on my birthday in November!

What can people expect from your ESS set? 

I think I’ll play a lot of industrial club, experimental sounds from Southeast Asia. We have amazing producers here, like Wanton Witch, San Jonas and Loreng from Indonesia and Puppy Ri0t from Vietnam. I’ll be playing mostly stuff like that!

That's gonna be super fun! I'm very excited!

Thank you, I'm excited too!