Meet the Queen Bitch of the Hardstyle Universe, Lady Faith

In an interview with Beatport, Headhunterz, one of the top hardstyle DJ in the world, once described the screeching, ass-kicking style of music as "hard on the outside, soft on the inside." The same can be said about Lady Faith, a hardstyle diva who calls herself the Queen Bitch of the Universe. In reality, Lady Faith is anything but a bitch; she's quiet, thoughtful, and even made a hardstyle song out of 19th century opera music. In other words, she's a lady in the Downton Abbey sense of the word.

Discovered while playing at LA's iconic Groove Rider record store, Lady Faith has since graduated to festivals on the international circuit like Defcon 1, and she'll be one of the headliners at LA's Q-Dance on March 8. Hardstyle is, without a doubt, screeching onto American shores, like a howling asteroid borne on the wings of phat pants-wearing demons. And Lady Faith is part of this crop of homespun DJs rising to serve the hordes of newly-converted shuffling devotees.

We talked to the Queen about being the only Persian female DJ in the industry, bringing a whip to her sets, and why Deadmau5's infamous trolling of the hardstyle community ultimately proves that hardstyle isn't crap.

THUMP: How did the name Lady Faith come about? 
Lady Faith: Well, I had to really believe in myself in order to become a DJ. My parents were supportive, but they were hesitant about the whole thing, because I am Middle Eastern, and [being an entertainer] isn't really a thing they like their children [to be]. So I had to have faith. It's a challenging thing performing in front of a huge crowd. I wasn't sure if I had it in me. I actually had to take some acting classes!

Did those acting classes teach you anything useful?

Well, every successful DJ has to have a character on stage. That character may not be who you are, but when you step on that stage, you become someone else. And that's why I became the Queen Bitch of the Universe. I'm a shy person, actually. I listen to people more than I talk. But I have a different personality on stage.

Queen Bitch of the Universe is amazing. 

I'm a closeted boss. And I do have this darker side. So I thought I'd bring that out in my music—my cheery, happy side and my angry, darker side. And after that song came out, everyone started calling me that. So I thought, okay, let's roll with it then.

Have you considered being a dominatrix?

Yes, [laughs] definitely. I'm still looking into how to incorporate that into my sets in stage.

Wait, you don't moonlight as a dominatrix… do you? 

No, I'm far too shy to actually do something like that. But on stage? You never know. Maybe I'll bring a whip with me and see what happens.

Everyone knows what a "house diva" is. But what exactly is a hardstyle diva?

It's all about going about your life the way you want, and not caring what other people have to say. Whether you're a female or male, doesn't matter. Diva isn't a negative thing to [call] someone.

You've said in other interviews that you tailor your music for American and European audiences differently. What did you mean?

I think Americans are into mainstream EDM, which is mostly trance and house… there is no rawness and darkness to [that kind of music]. They're fun and bouncy, and I feel like Americans are happier people when it comes to partying. Europeans are way more advanced than Americans, in terms of hardstyle. Their sound has developed, and they enjoy the darker side. As the genre grows in America, it will probably go towards a harder, raw sound.

Do you think American tastes will alter the sound of hardstyle as it gets more popular here? 

It can. It all depends on where the new American artists take the music. But I think the hardcore hardstyle fans will want the sounds to be original, and for us not to "downgrade" it because of the preferences of a few. I don't see myself, as a producer, compromising on that. I love how it is.

Why has hardstyle only seemed to have just arrived in America? 

It's definitely not a club sound. It doesn't go with people who like to drink a lot—I think it's too fast for them. It might even make them sick. And the only reason why it has comes above ground now is because people like Insomniac and Q-Dance coming through EDC took a liking to the sound.

How did you get into hardstyle?

Well, hardstyle wasn't really around when I got started. It was mostly hard trance and hard house. So that's what I started playing, and then I got together with my agent, who was a DJ at the time. And he used to spin jump and hardstyle. I listened to their sets, and just thought, wow, hardstyle is just so much more superior. That thumping kick—hard trance and house did not have that. I was like, I have to have that in my set.

Have you been following this Deadmau5 thing at all? 

I have. [Laughs] My motto has always been PLUR. I thought PLUR was what we were all about. And seeing this reaction online, it's kind of disappointing. But then again, we, as leaders and artists, should control the situation. And someone like Deadmau5—with all respect to him and everything he's accomplished—shouldn't stir the pot so much.

Deadmau5 seems to have emerged from like, the bowels of 4chan sometimes. 

Right, I think the whole [Wildstylez] thing was supposed to be a compliment to Deadmau5, and he shouldn't have reacted so badly to it. [But] in a way, it shows the EDM community that our music is not crap. And it's actually very difficult to do. We deserve respect.

Yeah, the most interesting thing to come out of this whole debaucle is that he had to admit it took him seven hours to learn how to make the hardstyle kick. 

And in the end, he didn't. [Laughs] What he provided on SoundCloud was just outrageous. It was nothing like what we do. And for him to say, "Hardstyle can be created in an hour, let me show you," it's kind of disrespectful to all of us. There are so many levels to what I do in a track. I refer to hardstyle as the classical music of EDM.

Huh. What do you mean by that?

We use lots of instruments in our tracks. And the way everything is put together, there's so much more depth to a song than you'd hear in a house or trance track. We use lots of real instruments that go into classical music, like the violin, guitars, flutes, and clarinets. My favorite song of all time is Carmen's Habanera. I got an opera singer to sing the whole thing and I recreated that in hardstyle. It's sped up with a hard kick in there, but there's a whole orchestra behind it.

You are probably the only Persian female hardstyle DJ in the industry. Are there certain expectations you feel like you have to live up to—or defy?

Yeah, it's kind of an amazing feeling that I'm the first Persian female DJ who's really made it as far as I have. I don't know of any Persian DJs that have any sort of popularity. So it's a huge honor to be representing my people.

Does Iran have an EDM scene? 

Not at all. [Laughs] There's nothing, unfortunately. Because of the government, you're not really allowed to have any parties to even listen to music all that much. If they do have singers, it's mainly men. Women can't sing in public. All we can do is perform in an orchestra, but we have to be covered.

Do you have fans back in Iran? 

I do, actually, which is amazing. There are a few hardstyle fans there, and they hit me up once in a while. But the majority of my followers are in America, Europe, or Australia.

If you had the opportunity to play a hardstyle show in Iran, would you do it?

I would love to. That would seriously be a dream come true. But unfortunately, I don't see it happening. And at this point in my life, I refuse to go to Iran unless things change, unless the government changes, and the people become more free. I don't like people telling me what to do and how to act in public. So the fact that you have to cover yourself there is a huge issue for me—I won't do it.

That's very hardstyle diva of you. Thanks for chatting with us! 

Catch Lady Faith at Q-Dance on March 8. Check out the lineup and get tickets here. 

Michelle is the Queen Bitch of the Twitter universe - @MichelleLHOOQ