Dark-pop electronic artist Bonnie Li performs at High Tide DTLA this week, so we chatted about that and what the future has in store for this enigmatic artist…

L.A. WEEKLY: When did you start producing electronic music, and when did you realize it could be serious, a career?

BONNIE LI: I started producing almost 10 years ago. I think the moment I realized it could be serious was when I won the National Music Youth Price (France) and performed at Les Francofolies Festival in La Rochelle. And when it begun to materialize was two years ago, when I signed with at Icons Creating Evil Art, such a beautiful moment.

Describe your sound…

I play dark-pop Electronic music. I tell Short Stories in 3 languages, looping my vocals to create different levels of narration. The whole is based on broken pianos, glitch hop beats and powerful electronic bass lines.

I believe you’re currently based in Berlin — what is the music scene there like now?

The music scene is very eclectic today in Berlin. Like in most European capitals you can really find almost anything, meaning also a lot of crap but… this is still Berlin. There’s definitely a bigger scene for noise, experimental, dark wave, and of course techno music. That’s also why I feel at home there.

What can we expect from the L.A. set?

I’ll be playing a lot of songs from my debut album 我们 Wǒ Men that I released earlier this year, and I’ll embark you on a dark and electric journey aboard the Air Bonnie Li flight. It will be trippy and melancholic but also groovy and fun. I’m always excited to hit the stage but this time it’s really special as it’s my first solo tour.

When that’s over, what’s next for you?

I’ll be releasing new singles throughout 2020, so as soon as I’m back to Berlin I’ll be spending some time in the studio. I’ll also have to catch up on the post-production work left behind while I was on tour (with two of my friends, we opened Pavili Studio in September, a production and post-production audio studio in Kreuzberg). And finally, I’ll make a music residency in December to prepare the live set for my upcoming tours: I’ll start with a month long tour all over Italy in mid-January and at Spring I’m coming back to the U.S.! I’ll play on both East and West Coasts this time and I’m really looking forward to it ’cause I find the American public to be great listeners and really really fun. So, see you very soon 😉

Bonnie Li plays with Adult Bodies, Jame Doe and Moisture Boys at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, November 7 at High Tide DTLA.

 

Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.