Redfoo to heat up Seoul Jazz Festival
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Redfoo / Courtesy of Warner Music Korea
By Park Jin-hai
Seoulites, get ready to party.
Stefan Gordy, better known by his stage name Redfoo and for his shuffle dance moves, is coming to Seoul for this year’s Seoul Jazz Festival later this month.
The rapper, DJ and music producer, part of the Los Angeles-based electro-hip-hop duo LMFAO, will heat up the stage during the two-day annual music festival at Olympic Park in Jamsil, southern Seoul, May 28-29.
“There is definitely a party between me and Korea,” said Redfoo, 40, in an e-mail interview with The Korea Times ahead of his scheduled performance here. “Me and my Party Rock Crew, we just party and have a good time every time we were in Korea. I think I express myself very openly and that’s why people might like me for,” he said.
Together with his nephew Sky Blue, the duo’s chart-topping single “Party Rock Anthem,” released 2011, went viral, bombarding dance floors around the globe for the last five years. Its YouTube music video featuring the Melbourne shuffle has recorded over 1 billion hits so far.
His 2014 single “New Thang” was also included in his recent debut solo studio album “Party Rock Mansion,” gaining much popularity here, the song with its sexy and funny choreography to the sound of a saxophone being used in many parodies.
Adding that he is a big fan of K-pop, of its dancing, wardrobe and the sound, Redfoo said his inspiration comes from people. “Party people, sexy ladies, good music and DJs that play good music. That is where I get the energy from and I let it happen,” he said. “I do not let negative things weigh me down and make me tired. I let all that stuff bounce off from me like a rubber suit.”
Recalling his childhood as the youngest son of Berry Gordy, the founder of the Motown record label, he said growing up seeing such artists as Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson in a normal environment, not on stage, taught him a how to balance work and fun.
“It made me very comfortable and natural when I first started to do music knowing that you can be cool off the stage and do not need an ego and stuff,” he said. “I got to see how hard they worked when they were in the studio and do their videos, but also they liked to have fun just like everyone else, so that gave me the lesson on balance.”
In order to seek more creative freedom, Redfoo decided to work independently in 2012. In March this year, he released his solo album “Party Rock Mansion.”
He described it as a more personal and intimate experience. “If I describe the new album in one word, I would say ‘Party Train.’ It is a ride and a rollercoaster,” he said.
“I can express myself more about my personal experiences. For example, I can party with ‘Booty Man,’ ‘Party Train,’ ‘New Thang’ and go right to intimate, relationship stuff such as ‘Meet Her At Tomorrow’ and ‘Maybe’ to slow it down. I can really express myself more as Redfoo as a solo artist.”
Although he has met great success through his shuffle dance moves and is happy about it, he points out that the shuffle has in fact always been in the community. “I did not create the shuffle. The shuffle was in the community and I just said ‘Everyday I’m shuffling’ and put the dance in the video. I guess that helped the movement to go further.”
As for the performance in Seoul, he says he has a surprise for the audience. “We are always thinking what new moves we can unleash and unveil, to match new moves with new songs. There are always new dance moves every month… so you’ll definitely expect something new in Korea,” he said. “There are also a couple of Korean groups I have on my radar and I want to make it as a surprise. I can’t wait to do something creative and crazy with K-pop artists.”