Brett CallwoodFaith in the Lady: Lady Faith is, by all accounts, the number one hardstyle DJ and producer in the States. For the uninitiated, hardstyle originated in Europe in the ‘90s, it has evolved to the point that it now clocks in at a swift 150 BPM. “Modern hardstyle can be recognized by its use of synthesizer melodies and distorted sounds, coupled with hardstyle’s signature combination of percussion and bass,” says Wiki.
Born in Iran, she’s clearly had quite a journey — figuratively and literally. The artist was introduced to music at a very early age.
“As a Persian girl who was born in Iran, we are a very musical people and I was constantly surrounded by music from the moment I opened my eyes,” Lady Faith says. “I studied music and learned to play the guitar and clarinet, but my musical talents really emerged in the production of EDM music. For the most part, I grew up loving heavy metal, speed metal and gangster rap, with a bit of classical music. I think it is that rebellious music that fascinated me as a kid and is a big part of my love for hardstyle, which is considered the rebellious genre of EDM.”
Faith left Iran when she was 7 years old and moved to Portland with her family. When she reached her teens, she moved to Los Angeles with her older sister.
“I went to school and got a job in the IT world, working as a network specialist for the Getty Museum,” she says. “It was a heck of a transition, that came with many challenges, but as per my current attitude in life, I just powered through those challenges and made the best of my situation with lots of faith in my heart. Once I became a professional DJ, I finally felt that I now had a purpose. It has become much more intertwined with my identity now and I feel blessed every day that a female, born in one of the most restrictive environments on earth, can now entertain tens of thousands of festival goers every year. I’m extremely grateful for every opportunity that I have gotten and have always tried to give hope and set a good example for the ones that look up to me and hope to follow in my footsteps.”
The good Lady started DJing over a decade ago.
“When I first started, I learned the art of mixing exclusively on vinyl,” she says. “I would spend my time at a local record store where I would frequently spin music for patrons of the store or people who walked past the store during the day. It was here that I met my first agent. From a production perspective, I spent many hours learning from a Dutch producer who lived in the United States at that time by the name of JDX. He is a legend in the hardstyle scene, and I am greatly appreciative of the skills he gave to me that have aided my career.”
(Anthony Sibrian – @tonysib_visuals)
Her sound has evolved in those 10 years.
“When I first started as a DJ, I was playing hard house and hard trance, both originating from the UK,” she says. “After a couple of years, I was introduced to hardstyle. I completely fell in love and hardstyle quickly became my genre. I have continuously experimented with my sound throughout the years and now I’m in a phase in my career where I like producing fun party tracks. My Faithful fans seem to love it also.”
Lady Faith says that she will never forget her first set, which took place at a show called Sin City in San Bernardino in 2010.
“Another DJ could not attend and somehow my name was brought up,” she says. “I was set to open the show and expecting maybe 20 people in front of me. Instead, I was greeted by maybe a thousand or more people hungry to get their night started with some hard dance. It was a very intimidating experience, yet I performed flawlessly and quickly came to realize that this was something I could do, even in front of some pretty big crowds. It was definitely a situation of being thrown into the deep end of the pool and it really helped me at the beginning of my career.”
Her first release was a track called “Donyaye Man,” created with JDX in his studio. “I wrote and recorded the vocals myself in Farsi,” she says. “I tried to feature some Persian instruments and show where I originally come from and how amazingly beautiful those sounds are. I don’t play it much anymore, but it will always have a very special place in my heart.”
Fast-forward to now, and her most recent release is the “Strike Gold” track.
“It’s a party track, released with Scantraxx main label,” she says. “The theme is basically about having confidence in yourself and going for gold when the opportunity presents itself. As per usual, my experimentation continues with this track, as I’ve brought in some Hard Techno influences into it. The response to the ‘Strike Gold’ was great and I hope to do more like it.”
In January, Lady Faith will perform at the Observatory in Orange Country, and the whole set promises to be a banger.
“As usual, I’m going all in and giving my Faithful a set full of energy,” she says. “I have a few unreleased tracks and remixes I’m excited to play for them. It’s going to be a night of authentic hardstyle music from euphoric to raw. A powerful musical story that will shake you to your very core. If you have never heard hardstyle live before, grab a ticket and get ready for the night of your life. See you there.”
At the time of writing, we’re preparing to welcome in the new year, and Lady Faith has plenty planned for 2024.
“I have so many plans for 2024, I cannot talk about them at the moment,” she says. “My number one plan is to release more music this year, but I am working on some really fun stuff. Stay tuned.”
Faith in the Lady: Lady Faith performs at 8 p.m., on Saturday, Jan. 13, at the Observatory.
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