The world first metgyrofieldbecause of a joke.
She had 2,000 Soundcloud followers.
That was a good time, she says with a smile.
Nicholas Hadfield*
I was feeling like anything could happen.
I just had to make the music to see.
They took the formula and recorded their own voice talking into a cheap microphone.
I was a complete outsider to dance music, they say.
I was like, drum-and-bass?
Fast rhythms, lots of synths, high energy and all that.
I didnt know the roots of the culture.
I thought it was, like, hilarious, but also kind of good, Li says.
I wasnt completely serious with it.
This wasnt something I wanted to do.
Its both funny and a little bit discouraging, they add.
If this is your entry point to the gyrofield story, beware.
Their catalogue is dense with curveballs, handbrake turns, hellish atmospheres, and batshit beats.
At 22, shes the kind of talent that only comes along so often.
They discoveredSkrillexat age 10 and decided they wanted to be a musician.
I was left to figure it out on my own.
Music came into the picture for me like a great wave of escape.
Nobody understood, including her teacher.
Eventually the internet provided a community, in the shape of like-minded teenage hopefuls producing music for SoundCloud.
Comments sections birthed excited conversations about EDM, anime, Japanese ambient, and Berlin techno labels.
Im still in touch with a number of them.
Some of them have become my closest friends.
Soon Li discovered another artist who would redefine what she thought music could be:Sophie.
It was like a cognitive dissonance, Li says.
The first track I heard of hers wasLemonade,and I was just completely speechless.
The Scottish producers 2018 full-length debut,Oil of Every Pearls Un-Insides, was even more inspiring.
So it was a really big moment for many of us who were having struggles with our identity.
Meanwhile, Li continued to struggle with her own identity.
She eventually dropped out of school and went days at a time without speaking to anyone.
I completely broke down and never really went back to school again.
I think she didnt really understand.
I was scared of communicating.
I used to write everything to her on WhatsApp and just not speak much.
It was a weird time.
While there, their music career took off in earnest and they soon abandoned studying.
I laugh at it sometimes, they say.
How Ive managed to drop out of both high school and uni.
There was also an EP on Deadmau5s mau5trap and, last year, the incredibleThese Heavenson XL.
It came from a very challenging period for me, she says.
Dealing with repercussions of trauma.
She hints at a trip to the hospital during the records conception.
I had an emergency appointment with the NHS … Its a treasure trove that suggests an artist who may be around for years.
