Name: Lia Ouyang Rusli (a.k.a. OHYUNG)
Nationality: Asian American
Occupation: Musician, composer
Current release: OHYUNG new album You Are Always On My Mind is out March 28th 2025 via Phantom Limb & NNA Tapes.
Recommendation for Brooklyn: I got a really good tiramasu at Macosa Trattoria in Brooklyn.  I’d go eat that if I were you and in Brooklyn very briefly.
Things I rarely get to talk about: I’m lactose intolerant but I’d risk it all for a really good tiramasu like they got at Macosa Trattoria!

If you enjoyed this OHYUNG interview and would like to know more about their music, visit them on Instagram, and bandcamp. 
 


What were some of the musical experiences which planted a seed for your interest in electronic music?

My cousin taught me how to use a DAW in high school and I became hooked on producing and making beats.

After that listening to artists like RZA’s beats for Wu Tang Clan, Jay Dilla and Flying Lotus’s cinematic production. I also loved the Postal Service!
 
I grew up mainly listening to electronic music but have of lately, along with others I've spoken to, been somewhat disappointed by most new releases. I'd be curious about your own view on this, the “creative health” of the scene and potential reasons for the disappointment.

I’m not sure, I feel like these things come in waves? We listen to so much music and can get exhausted.

I also think that while everyone takes influences from each other, sometimes we get waves of derivative music, people trying to replicate a sound they were inspired by that doesn’t come naturally to them.

I also think in electronic music specifically it can be hard to find the “soul” in the music if that makes sense— like the spark that makes the music feel alive?
 
What were some of the recent releases, or performances of electronic music that left a deep impact on you?

I love ¥ØU$UK€ ¥UK1MAT$U’s DJ sets and was really moved by his recent boiler room. I love that he plays all genres of music, it reminds me of my favorite DJ Total Freedom who played mindbending sets in the mid 2010s.



Another recent release that I loved was Ka Baird’s Bearings: Soundtracks for the Bardos— all of their work is mindbending.



[Read our Ka Baird interview]
 
What kind of musical/sonic materials, and ideas are particularly stimulating for your work right now?

I think I want to be a pop star in the future, so I’ve been listening to a lot of infectious pop music— Doja Cat, Chappell Roan, Madonna and Bjork …

I’ve also been going out dancing a lot to hard techno and acid techno, as well as making my way through the Fast and Furious franchise which features a lot of great drum and bass sounds.

Music has become a lot more global, and incorporating elements from other parts of the world or the musical spectrum is commonplace. Do you still think there are city scenes with a distinct, unique sound? How does your local scene influence your work?

I’m not an archive of local scene sounds like some people I know.

But from my limited experience the local DIY / experimental / electronic scene in New York has its own sound and is a constant source of influence in my work. I feel like we’re all continuously growing and learning from each other.
 
How much potential for something “new” is there still in electronic music? What could this “new” look like?

I think there will always be potential for something new in music. I have no idea what the new will look like and that’s what is so exciting.
 
What were some of the recent tools you bought, used, or saw/read about which changed your perspective about production, performing, and making music?

I do a lot of feedback in my live performance with running my voice through guitar pedals, and am trying to re-incorporate that into my recordings.

I recently bought some weird pedals off of someone called ElectroLobotomy on Etsy who I think is based in Arkansas, their pedals sound awesome.
 
Do you think that there is a limit to what can be done in sound design – and what defines these limits?

No limit!
 
In as far as it is applicable to your work, how would you describe the interaction between your music and DJing/DJ culture and clubs?
 
My upcoming record You Are Always On My Mind is about raves making me trans.

I’m honestly shocked that anyone who dances a lot doesn’t leave in the opposite gender.
 
How, would you say are your live performances and your recording projects connected at the moment? How do they mutually influence and feed off each other?  

I’m absolutely a recording artist who has struggled in the past to bring my music to life on stage— I think I’ve figured it out in the past few years but it definitely starts with the recorded music.

Recently, now that I’ve become comfortable on stage, it’s started to feedback into my recordings as I’ve been using some techniques I’ve learned on stage back in the studio.

I know a lot of improvisational musicians who are the opposite, they are dedicated to the live performance and then struggle to capture it in a recording, which seems like the harder path honestly.
 
Even if AI will not entirely replace human composition, it looks set to have a significant impact on it. What does the terms composing/producing mean in the era of AI, do you feel?
 
Omg these questions are really hard lol. I’m honestly quite behind on the AI conversation, I barely know how to use Chat GPT.

I was thinking about this question just now, and I don’t think it entirely answers the question but I wonder if human music will just become incredibly odd and esoteric to sidestep AI music as it becomes better at copying genre music.

Are there approaches, artists, festivals, labels, spaces or anyone/-thing else out there who you feel deserve a shout out for taking electronic music into the future?

I released a record with Chinabot back in 2020 and I think it’s still one of the best labels out there - lowkey releasing the best and most experimental music by global asian diasporic artists.