SOHMI Stuns With ‘Recital’ And Talks Representation For Asian Americans And Women In Dance Music

SOHMI, known for her deep, stirring and sexy sound, always knew she would end up in the world of music. However, producing dance music is not what the artist had in mind from a young age.

The Korean-American producer, deejay and vocalist, legally known as Stephanie Oh, was introduced to music at the age of three when she began to be trained in classical piano. Her transition to dance music proves to have been worth it as she has performed at world-renowned venue The Brooklyn Mirage as well as acclaimed festivals such as Coachella and Electric Forest. The blossoming artist even boasts early co-signs with BBC Radio 1’s Danny Howard, Yotto, Booka Shade, Hot Since 82 and more. Her latest release, Recital, out today (April 7), further shows why Oh is one to watch.

The four-track body of work features minimal pop-tech, playful and tinkering synths, thumping bass, enchanting vocals, ominous build-ups, funky drops and more. Indeed, the EP showcases Oh’s masterful production and ability to transcend genres as each track has its own style.

Here, Oh shares with Forbes the inspiration behind Recital, representation for Asian Americans and women in dance music, how her classical piano training translates to her dance music production and more.

Lisa Kocay: Can you talk about the inspiration behind Recital?

Stephanie Oh: “I really wanted to pay homage to my childhood and use this EP as an opportunity to tell more of my personal story, as far as how I got into music in the first place. For me, that was really through my classical piano studies. I think I started playing piano at the age of three. For a while, I felt like I was on a path to maybe wanting to do classical piano very seriously. I had considered even going to a conservatory versus a regular university. So there was a time in my life when piano was really, really important and it was through piano that I really developed my love for and relationship with music.

“The word ‘recital’ obviously touches on that. I grew up doing a lot of piano recitals, and I think I had a love-hate relationship with them because you’re a kid and recitals are scary, but also they gave me the opportunity to get over that stage fright and perform. I feel like all of that has really helped me today to be the performer that I am. That was the impetus for making the EP.

“Each of the tracks on the EP sound quite different from each other. They are different pieces of, I’d say electronic dance-leaning music, but they’re not what you would maybe hear in the club per se at the moment. The music is all informed by club culture and whatnot but it’s a little bit different than the standard club music. I wanted to show my range and show people that my background comes from a different place than club music.”

Kocay: How was the transition from classical piano to dance music?

Oh: “It came very naturally, actually. I think it’s because one of the main things is that what you really need to be able to do in order to be a deejay or get into dance music is, and I’m half kidding, but you just need to be able to count to four and eight and 16. Because everything is four on the floor. So if you can do that, if you have a sort of strong internal metronome where you can feel that beat and you can count to four, then that’s a great starting point. In studying classical music, you’re having to deal with a lot more complex rhythms than just four on the floor or four by four. I think [by] learning how to read music and learning how to understand different time signatures, you get a great sense for the foundation of music that’s very transferable I think to then deejaying or producing dance music, which tends to fit within a tighter box.”

Kocay: Aside from the technical aspect, is there anything from your days in piano that you’re able to translate over to dance music?

Oh: “I would say that when you are a student of classical music and any classical instrument—whether that’s piano or violin or cello—there is a discipline that you develop, especially if you start studying that instrument young. I think it’s a really valuable skill that you develop through the hours of repetition and practicing, pushing through different humps and not being good at something, not being good at a particular passage or a piece, and you’re practicing through the pain of it. I feel that discipline is also really valuable if you can transfer that into studying how to mix and studying how to mix records on a pair of decks.

“From the beginning, I feel like I approached my practice on the decks from almost a classical instrument standpoint—just repeating sort of the same [thing]. I used to practice mixing the same parts in records over and over again until I felt like I had nailed the transition just at home. It would take me back to the way I used to practice on the piano. I think that discipline of practice and really getting to know the equipment like it’s a real instrument…I think that that instinct comes from studying classical piano or a classical instrument.”

Kocay: Can you talk about the video trailer for the EP?

Oh: “Because this EP is my most conceptual work to date, I felt that it deserved something a little special to go along with it visually, as well. I made this video to give my fans and the audience something to look at that visually really compliments the audio aesthetic of it. Something to finally bring to people’s eyes like, ‘Oh, okay. Wow. This is her internal world that she’s been picturing in her head and this is the internal world that the music that she’s made.’

“I’ve always had a deep, deep passion for film and cinema, and growing up I was very active in theater, as well. I would say theater was as big a part of my life as classical piano. I wanted to take this opportunity to show that side of myself. I know it’s not the same as theater, but I feel like film is adjacent. There are some parallels there. I really wanted to creatively stretch myself and show people what other aspects of art and creative mediums I’m into.”

Kocay: How do you hope to foster inclusivity and representation of Asian Americans and women within the dance music scene?

Oh: “I feel like a big part of it, for me, is being there and being here in this space and doing what I’m doing and not stopping and making my presence established. I think that provides that representation for other Asian Americans or women who will see what I’m doing and say, ‘Hey, look. She’s doing it.’ There’s one example at least because it’s hard to underestimate the power of even seeing one example of someone who looks like you, that’s doing what you’ve only dreamed of doing, but maybe felt afraid to try because you didn’t really see anybody else doing it that looked like you.

“I think of this year’s Academy Awards and seeing two Asian actors take home, finally, for the first time, awards in the main acting categories. Just seeing that, I almost felt like it was a small victory even for myself, which is so weird because I don’t know these actors personally. I’m not even an actor. But that representation of seeing Michelle Yeoh, just to see her up there, it gives me hope. That could be me or someone else someday. Because if she can do it, it can happen now. I think that by doing what I’m doing and not stopping and being here…I think it provides people the same kind of inspiration and hope.”

Kocay: I feel that’s definitely really important. How do you think the dance music scene is with inclusivity for women and Asian Americans? Do you think there’s anything that needs to change?

Oh: “I think that the dance music industry has become much more aware of its responsibility to foster diversity and to be inclusive of women, which is great. I always tell people it’s never been a better time to be a woman in dance music because there’s so much more awareness than there was even five years ago and I’m sure 10, 20 years ago. Is it perfect by any means? No. But there’s definitely progress being made and I’m really appreciative of that. It can always improve.

“When you look at any festival lineup, let’s take any dance music festival lineup, there’s a lot more women on it than there used to be, but that still doesn’t mean there’s a lot of women. I would say the ratio is still like 80/20, at best, male to female. I feel like things aren’t where they need to be until it’s 50/50, so there’s still that gap. I do feel that every year the industry is working to close that gap, and that’s really great.

“As far as support for Asian Americans, that I feel needs a lot more work than the support for women. I’m not sure if that’s because there aren’t enough Asian Americans pursuing this path. I don’t know if that’s a reflection of how small the pool is. I have some inkling that that’s probably a decent part of it because people from my background…we typically aren’t encouraged to pursue the arts. Asian parents typically don’t encourage these these kinds of dreams. There probably aren’t a ton of Asian American kids thinking that they can grow up and be a deejay or be an artist. So the lack of representation may be part of [why] there aren’t that many of us around. But I hope that me being an example of someone doing this can encourage more Asian Americans to even think, ‘I want do that, too.’”

Kocay: Do you remember the first song that got you into electronic music?

Oh: “It was actually at Coachella in 2016. I had never been to a festival before. Coachella was my first festival. I had never listened to underground dance music before, and some of my more informed friends dragged me over to the Sahara Tent to listen to RÜFÜS DU SOL. I want to say it was ‘Innerbloom’ by RÜFÜS DU SOL [that got me into dance music.]”

Kocay: That is a great track.

Oh: “If you’ve never really properly been exposed to deep house and then you are dragged to Coachella by your friends, you don’t know any better and you listen to something like that on that sound system with the production…it was like a religious experience for me.”

Kocay: What’s the biggest hurdle that you faced in life and how did you conquer it?

Oh: “I feel like there’s maybe two parts to that, and they might be related. Overarchingly, I would say self-doubt. I feel like my own self-doubt has been honestly my biggest hurdle. Then, part two of that would be…I love my parents and now they’ve come around and are so supportive of me, but there was a good period of my life where they were not supportive of these dreams and my desire to go down this path. I feel like I got a lot of mixed messages from my parents, my mom in particular, growing up, specifically around my abilities as a creative and as a musician. It was weird because she was the one that really stayed on top of me to stick with my piano studies. But then on the other hand, she was always a little iffy about me wanting to get voice lessons, for example, or she was always very wary of me wanting to pursue music past university or college. It was like, ‘Oh, well you don’t want to do that. It’s way too competitive.’ It always made me feel like, ‘Oh, do you not think that I could succeed out there, though? Obviously, it is competitive and it’s tough, but do you not feel that if I were to go out there, I could really do this?’ I think that that put a lot of self-doubt in my head.

“Overcoming that and quieting the voices that make me feel like an imposter and make me question, ‘Well, can I succeed my daily challenge?’ I think it’s sort of deeply rooted in what my mom made me believe. I feel so sad to say that because at the same time she’s now so supportive and so believes in me. It’s been weird. She’s come around, but there was a time where…I don’t think she meant ill, I think she was trying to protect me from disappointment in life, but it created some internal struggles within myself.”

Kocay: If you could go back in time to when you first started making music and give yourself one piece of advice, what would it be?

Oh: “If it sounds good to me, make it, put it down, record it and don’t question it. Don’t worry that it doesn’t quite sound like this other person’s record that you really admire because there’s a fine line, especially when you’re just starting out, between admiring someone else’s work and maybe using it as a reference for yourself and then getting too bogged down by the process as you’re trying to make your song and you’re referencing back to that other song and you’re like, ‘Wait, but this bit doesn’t sound exactly like their bit,’ and you’re obsessing over [it].

“There’s good value I think in the ear training of trying to recreate sounds. There’s definitely value in the technical process of getting good at that. But, from an artistic standpoint, I wish I had been less worried about that. Because at the end of the day, if you’re doing that, then you’re not really giving yourself the chance to be as unique as you could be. I would say if it sounds good to me, just keep going with it. Don’t worry so much if it doesn’t sound like someone else’s amazing record.”