TOKiMONSTA | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Jennifer Lee |
Born | Torrance, California, U.S. |
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Occupation(s) |
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Years active | 2008–present |
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Website | www |
Jennifer Lee, known professionally as Tokimonsta (stylized as TOKiMONSTA), is an American record producer and DJ based in Los Angeles.[3] She has collaborated with artists such as Anderson .Paak, Earthgang, Isaiah Rashad,[4] Selah Sue,[5] and ZHU. Additionally, she has done a number of official remixes, a few being Beck,[6] Duran Duran,[7] Olafur Arnalds,[8] Disclosure, Sia, the Netflix show Squid Game and Odesza.[9]
In 2019, TOKiMONSTA was nominated for "Best Dance / Electronic Album" at the Grammy Awards for her album Lune Rouge.[10] She was the first female Asian-American producer to receive a nomination in this category.[11]
TOKiMONSTA grew up in Torrance, California.[12] Her parents immigrated to the US from South Korea; thus, she is first generation Korean American.[3] She was raised by her mother who ran a small business to support their family.[13] As a young child, her mother tasked her with classical piano lessons. Lee has noted disliking lessons as a child, though she appreciates the structural foundation it created for her approach to composing and producing.
She graduated from University of California, Irvine.[14] While studying, she first began producing music, using the Fruity Loops Studio digital audio workstation (DAW). She later progressed to producing using the Ableton Suite as her primary DAW. She participated in beat cyphers and battles at Leimert Park's Project Blowed and Low End Theory.[15] Upon graduating, she worked for a video game publisher while continuing to make music and perform as a hobby. She would later be laid off due the US economic recession, and would decide to pursue music full time.[16][15]
Lee was invited to attend the Red Bull Music Academy in London in 2010.[17] She was the first woman to sign to Flying Lotus's Brainfeeder label and released her first album, Midnight Menu, in November 2010 on Brainfeeder.[18] She was rated the number one Hottest Los Angeles Lady DJ by LA Weekly in December 2010.[19] She released the EP Creature Dreams, also on Brainfeeder, in 2011.[20] The next year, she released Boom, an 11-track collaborative project with Suzi Analogue as Analogue Monsta.[21]
In 2013, her second album, Half Shadows, was released on Ultra Records.[22] In 2014, she released Desiderium on her own Young Art Records.[23] She returned to the Red Bull Music Academy that same year as an alumni lecturer.[24] She produced Gavin Turek's You're Invited in 2015 on Young Art Records.[25] On September 9, 2015, she announced on Twitter the release of her solo album Fovere and she will be out on tour in support of her new album starting November 9, 2015.[26]
Lee was profiled in the 2020 documentary film Underplayed, in which she elaborated on the issue of diversity in the electronic dance music industry.[27]
In December 2022, Lee performed at the inaugural LA3C festival at the Hot Import Nights stage alongside EDM artists Freya Fox, DJ Peach, Meirlin, DJ Accia, Lucid Lolo, DJ Rose Gold, and many others.[28][29][30]
The name TOKiMONSTA originates from the Korean word for rabbit (tokki), which she took from a Korean's children's song, "San Toki".[31][32]
Lee was diagnosed with Moyamoya disease in late 2015. After undergoing two brain surgeries, she briefly lost language and comprehension skills. Once these were regained to a degree, Lee eventually began work on her 2017 album Lune Rouge, despite not being able to fully understand music while recovering. She has noted that this album was her most personal piece of work due to the difficulties she experienced prior to making it.[33]
She discusses surmounting these challenges in Vox's Netflix series, Explained (season 1, episode titled "Music")[34] and the Great Big Story miniseries Soundwave.[35]