The community of Jackson was recently treated to a pop-up live performance by one of electronic dance music’s biggest stars. LP Giobbi is a DJ, producer, label owner, pianist, and activist who has played at high-profile festivals including Coachella, Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, and Electric Forest.
(Left to right) LP Giobbi and Mascolo perform live in the Center for the Arts loading dock parking lot during their “All in an Airstream” set. (Jack Catlin/KHOL)
Known for her thrilling live performances, the Oregon-born, Austin-based artist incorporates her classically trained skills on piano to add a unique improvisational element to her sets full of jubilant house grooves.
Giobbi’s “All in an Airstream Tour” was born from the desire to perform in non-traditional places while forming deeper connections with family, fans, and nature. After successful shows in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and Whitefish, Montana, the famed airstream pulled into Jackson for a live outdoor DJ set. Co-presented by KHOL, Ox Presents, and the Center for the Arts, the free, all-ages show held in the Center for the Arts loading dock parking lot was a great opportunity for the community to come together and dance in the sun after a seemingly endless winter.
In advance of the show, LP Giobbi and Yes Yes Yes labelmate Mascolo joined KHOL Music Director Jack Catlin for a chat and to play some exclusive unreleased songs.
I won the lottery twice
LP Giobbi’s musical journey began with her playing the piano in the second grade under the tutelage of teacher Carolyn Horn, who along with her parents, Giobbi credits with cultivating the creativity and talent inside her from a young age.
“I always say I won the lottery twice,” Giobbi said. “Once when I was born to my parents and once when I found this piano teacher, Carolyn Horn. But I didn’t start making electronic music until later in life, and that was really out of, just a feminist force because I didn’t see enough of me represented in this space as producer.”
Jamming with Jerry
Giobbi developed her sound and style during the pandemic while streaming her live sets on Twitch. Realizing that a lot of the same people would tune in consistently she wanted to get more exploratory in her performances so that her fans were experiencing a different show each night. Once she obtained music track stems from classic Grateful Dead material things took off. Giobbi’s parents are longtime devoted “Deadheads” so playing around with Grateful Dead’s music in her unique way brought her closer to her family during a time when in-person visits were not an option.
“I started warping and re-pitching those [stems] to weave throughout the sets because I missed my parents,” Giobbi said. “There was a moment where I had Jerry [Garcia]’s guitar going and I was jamming on the piano and I was like ‘this is as close as I’ll ever get to improvising with Jerry.’ And so that was a fun learning lesson for me to sort of use the decks in a more improvisational way.”
LP Giobbi performs next to her trusty Airstream at the Center for the Arts in Jackson, WY. (Tom Haigh)
Outside, in nature
With the pandemic in the rearview, LP Giobbi embarked on a whirlwind schedule of endless touring over the next two years. The hard-working artist was on the road for about 300 days in the past year. The constant packing/unpacking and jetting around the globe was both exhilarating and exhausting. Wary of potential burnout and filled with a desire to slow things down to reconnect with what’s important to her, Giobbi created the “All in an Airstream Tour.”
“I wanted to play music for people outside in nature and be with my family. My dad drives the Airstream, my mom slings merch out of the back of it. So it’s sort of like our own little microcosm of doing weird things,” Giobbi said. “The shows have less pressure on them. We are a little bit more experimental and the sets get better because we can try out new things. [Plus] we can sit and talk to the folks that come.”
Femme house
Giobbi also helms a non-profit organization called FEMME HOUSE whose mission is “to build community and inclusion in the world of dance music.” With 98% of music producers being men, FEMMME HOUSE aims to change that by teaching women and nonbinary individuals the ins and outs of the record industry to “further visual representation and amplify the voices of marginalized communities.”
“There is a lack of safe spaces to learn this stuff, how to produce, and visual representation. So, we partner with Insomniac, Hulaween, Groove Cruise, and a bunch of festivals to do stage takeovers where we get to book all female and gender-expansive lineups.”
Dear DOTR
As for what’s next for LP Giobbi, she is working hard on her second album “DOTR,” set for release later this year.
“When I was young, I used to write love letters to my parents and sneak into their bedroom and put them on their pillows,” Giobbi explained. “And I’m still to this day, the worst speller. I thought you spelled daughter d-o-t-r. They thought that was really cute. Still, when they write me birthday cards or whatever, they say, ‘Dear DOTR.”
The record is a heartfelt homage to all the powerful women, living and deceased, that shaped who Giobbi is today. She made it a point to feature two prominent voices as the bookends to the new album “DOTR.”
“My fiance’s mom died last year and the last voice message she sent me was on my birthday. And so that’s how the album starts,” Giobbi said. “And then the album ends with my piano teacher (Carolyn Horn) who also died last year. She’s one of the most influential people in my life. I had the wherewithal to record my last lesson with her. And her voice is throughout that whole last track.”
Listen above for KHOL’s full conversation with LP Giobbi & Mascolo.
