I: Can you describe your upbringing and childhood experience as a first generation Filipino growing up in The Valley in the 90s?

Farrah Sabado: I remember it being very hot all the time. I remember the ice cream truck coming around a lot (sings melody out loud). I remember my family hosting a lot of barrio fiestas at our house on the cul de sac, celebrating patron saints of the Philippines. 100 relatives and a priest would show up and we would hold a big Catholic mass and procession around the neighborhood. My aunts would come over days before the party and start cooking. The house wafted of fried garlic and onions, pancit, adobo, tocino, lumpiang shanghai, dinuguan, that sweet creamy soup with the little chewy balls that my Auntie Maring used to make, ube, leche flan, suman, all Kapampangan style. Damn, I'm hungry. Filipinos love the tradition of cooking and gathering around food and prayer. That pride is very much embedded in me. There was always music, dancing, and karaoke; exuberant energy. My aunt would put me in a matching dress ensemble and my mom would make me get on the mic and sing Tagalog ballads for everyone, while the other kids played tag and hide and seek around the cluster of parked cars that went all the way down to the other side of the cul de sac. This was the downside of my upbringing. I felt left out. I remember going to school that following Monday with tupperware full of leftovers and heaps of white rice. All the kids in class had Lunchables and bologna sandwiches on Wonder Bread. I just wanted that. I was embarrassed by my home cooked meals. I loved (and still love) my cultural heritage, but as a kid, I just wanted to fit in and be like everyone else… 

I: During your childhood, teenage, and early adult years, what type of music influenced you? How did you come to find out about new music? What was the party scene and dance music scene at that time?

FS: Growing up, my mother would blast oldies around the house and sing and dance while she did house chores. I know all those songs by heart. My father was obsessed with Engelbert Humperdinck. I always thought that name was stupid. He loved the greats like Roberta Flack and Whitney Houston. My older siblings and cousins got caught up in street gangs - really dangerous, especially during the 90s in LA - but they brought home all that juicy music from the hood. A lot of freestyle at the time (makes sense since our neighborhood was primarily Latin) and I ate it up since I was stuck at home buried in piano practice and not allowed to leave the house. When I got old enough to start sneaking out, my high school boyfriend and first love Kevin Preston introduced me to the punk/ska scene and we were that cute punk couple from rival high schools bouncing around the valley together going to shows and causing a ruckus. The scene was rich in the 818 back then, unsure about now. We frequented the Sunset strip and the OC for shows too. I remember Kevin came over one night to see me and my father heard us canoodling in the backyard in the dark. He thought there was an intruder, called him out, and pulled a rifle on him. Told him to get the fuck off his property or he’ll shoot. Kevin was in full punk gear (hair, chains, studs, the whole thing) and I knew my crazy ass dad would pull the trigger so I jumped out of the shadows in front of him and told him it’s not how it looks (it’s actually worse lmfao), and to put the gun down. My father was pissed and forbade me to never see him again, mostly because he was not Filipino. I deliberately disobeyed. Tiger Beat did an article on interracial couples overcoming discimination later that year and featured my story with Kev; it was tender. After high school, he continued down his rockstar path while I went off on my solo journey of self discovery and healing, eventually landing on underground dance music and moving to NYC. The scene felt a lot like punk to me; it was comforting. Dance music has shaped me into the person that I am today. It has taken me all over the world and opened my eyes to so much. Nothing compares to your first molly experience when you pop that pill on the dance floor and feel absolute transcendence and oneness with the music. I wish I didn't miss the rave scene in the 90s, but I was too busy stage diving to Weezer.

I: Can you tell us a bit about your journey as an artist and musician? We want to know about the challenges you faced and what you had to do to overcome them. 

FS: It’s been exactly that, a journey. I never had enough confidence to believe I could do it, so when opportunities came I made excuses or pushed them away, even though the talent and the drive were there. My self-worth was destroyed at a very young age from… (take a wild guess, you’re probably not wrong), and every time I was on the brink of breaking through, I subconsciously sabotaged because I had a deep set belief that I did not deserve good things. I have been a tortured soul dealing with all kinds of trauma, past and present. I realize my life up until recently has been one big coping mechanism, just trying to survive and make it through the day. It’s not a way of life that I condone, but it has turned me into the resilient resourceful person that I am today with a ton of tools under my belt that I can deploy when I fall off the path. I am highly sensitive and internalize everything, which has served me well in the conceptualization of new material, although my output is on the slower side (working on changing that). I just want to make music that moves people. I want to capture an accurate account of my sentiments at the moment, like my own musical journal of life. I want to share stories. I want to make good art. I want to be an authentic expression of my true self and contribute to raising the collective vibration through my art. I’ve never chased money, fame or power. I know that my purpose in this lifetime is to break the chain of cycles I was born into- I know I’ve been doing that. I want to make the path easier for disadvantaged women trying to follow their dreams and for little girls to feel safe and empowered.

I: Having already broken through the industry, but still waiting for your “moment,” where do you hang out now to consume music? Who are your influences? What are your short term and long term plans?

FS: I love supporting my dance music community here in Brooklyn when I’m in town. There are so many great parties and amazing talent coming through. I love seeing what people are doing and how the kids are responding. The community feels like an old family: Resolute, Golden Record, Friend Zone, Nightmoves, The Lot Radio, Public Records, H0L0, Apollo, Elsewhere, Basement, Good Room, Nowadays, Black Flamingo, Jolene, too many gems to name. It's always great to run into the usual suspects when I go out. I often roll solo because it’s easier to maneuver when I’m on own, plus I dislike being talked to on the dance floor. I love a cozy house party, those are my faves. I used to throw a lot of those at my spot in Bed-Stuy, made a lot of memories and cultivated community doing that. I look back at that time very fondly and wish one day I could open up my own little microclub multi use music venue and curate intimate experiences again. I’ve always thrown parties, had a bunch of residencies and a music podcast called Saturday Mass… but since the pandemic I’ve been pretty quiet. Planning a comeback for next year releasing new music, a new party series, reigniting the podcast, getting my record label Overplayed Records off the ground… it’s gonna be nuts. I’m currently wrapping on some studio projects this year so gigs have been slow, but I’m scheduled to play the Art with Me festival in Miami Dec 8-10 and SXM Festival this March 2024 in St. Martin. And if space allows, I would like to bring back my live show concept: The Sabado Special. Think Prince, plus DJing and dynamics.

I: We heard that in addition to music, you’ve had a successful career in acting and modeling. Can you describe how you got into that and how it relates to dance music and DJing if at all?

FS: When you’re from LA, the industry is everywhere and integrated into daily life. You can’t escape it. I was a theater freak in high school and landed my first national commercial for McDonalds when I was 17. That same year, I was a finalist in a nationwide model search for Seventeen magazine x CHANEL. They brought me and seven other finalists to New York City for an exclusive magazine shoot, and that’s when I fell in love with this place. If my younger self only knew I’d be coming back ten years later to be doing what I’m doing today (shakes head and laughs). Have you ever heard of parts modeling? Like for hands, legs, feet, eyes, lips? Well it’s a huge component of the modeling industry, and I’ve been doing it professionally for as long as I’ve been DJing. It was not intentional, it was a complete accident, a happy little accident as Bob Ross would say. I mean, it’s so obscure and absurd, you can’t possibly think I’m serious. But believe me, it’s a thing. I’ve done campaigns for all the big brands - AMEX, Maybelline, Revlon, Neutrogena, Target, Tom Ford, La Mer, Cartier, Tiffany’s, Drunken Elephant, Grey Goose, Haagen Daazs, J Crew, Louis Vuitton, Christian Louboutin… the list goes on. My hands have been on billboards overlooking Times Square, Penn Station and Madison Square Garden. You’ve seen my eyes on packages. I’ve done countless non-recognizable commercials. I’m everywhere and nowhere, the anonymity serves me well. Vogue calls me a parts supermodel, it’s both ridiculous and amazing. I should teach online DJ tutorials featuring my hands LOL, or an only hands fan page at a premium price. Let’s go!

I: Final question for fun, are you dating anyone? What can you tell us about your love life? 

FS: I am dating someone…We met at my apartment in Bed-Stuy 10 years ago during one of my after parties. He’s been asking me out every year since then and I’ve turned him down each time… until this year. Now we’re pretty full on and madly in love, it’s been the most heart opening experience. I guess there’s something to be said about timing and persistence: keep trying, don’t give up, trust your intuition, stay focused. If you really want to know, you might want to ask Samir about it… Hi babe! Look, we're in Flaunt!