8 Things You Should Know About Turbo Goth
When electronic rock duo Turbo Goth hit the stage, it’s more than a concert, it’s an experience.
Paolo Peralta (guitar / electronic sampler) thrashes around with his guitar, in full rock star mode, with their personally arranged lighting making every stage feel special. Next to him, Sarah Gaugler (vocals) stands, statuesque in a pose, singing gorgeous, ambient vocals.
It may seem like an extreme juxtaposition, but their music, and their performances, have been flooring audiences since the duo's inception in 2008.
Back then they were living in their native Manila, and were the only electronic rock band in the Philippines. Paolo notes, “It was very unconventional at the time.”
Over the years they developed a following, performed at festivals all over the world, and in 2014 made the move to their new home of New York City.
Their performances are jaw dropping. At a recent show at Bowery Electric in the city there were audible wows from the crowd, and looks of sheer excitement, and enjoyment from people who were seeing them for the first time.
I caught up with Turbo Goth before that show, and found out the following eight things you should know about this dynamic duo.
The name Turbo Goth represents they way each of them perform
What about Turbo Goth is Turbo, and what about them is Goth? Paolo explains, “I’m Turbo because I, as the guitarist, I go wild and crazy on stage. Sarah’s the Goth, as if she was a Gothic church, with her stoic stances and poses, and icy vocals. She’s chill. I’m the mad scientist, and she’s the robot of beauty.”
The common thread through all their music is that it makes you feel
Turbo Goth spans the gamut sound-wise, with everything from aggressive, rock influenced songs like “International Misfits,” and “Love Will Always Be There,” to ambient fare such as “Ready For Something New.” Paolo notes that within this wide range of music the one thing that’s consistent throughout all their songs is they elicit feeling.
“Anything that makes you feel things, from being settled in the world, up to being fully alive, and energetic,” he says of the thread that runs through all of their music, “So you can find songs that are perfect for driving around and chilling, and vibing, and then there’s the rock ones which we perform live where we just celebrate the intense energy of music, and performing. Those things make you move, make you feel.”
They met because a friend of Sarah’s had a crush on one of Paolo’s coworkers
Turbo Goth owes its founding to one of Sarah’s friends.
Back when they were in Manila, Paolo was working in a fine dining restaurant “in an old, quaint house in the Philippines turned into a romantic restaurant.”
One day, Sarah paid a visit, although it wasn’t exactly her choice. “I was there because my best friend made me go there,” she explains, “She had a crush on the chef, and Paolo was the sous-chef.”
While her friend was talking to the chef, Paolo and Sarah hit it off. The two began hanging out, and one of the things that brought them together was music.
Sarah and Paolo bonded over shared musical loves
When Sarah and Paolo began spending time together, a pivotal moment happened almost immediately. Sarah remembers, “When we first hung out, the very first day, he played some music that I (also) had in my car. It means so much to me that we have the same kind of music. That’s a very deep level for someone to understand you.”
With a shared love of bands like Radiohead, and The Mars Volta, the two began introducing each other to bands they didn’t have in common. Paolo credits Sarah for turning him on to the music of The Legendary Jim Ruiz Group, The Magnetic Fields, The Sundays, and Club 8, while Sarah is now a fan of Mew thanks to Paolo.
The two continue to share a love of discovering new music together, with one of their recent favorites being the French electronic music duo Justice. Raving about the recent Justice show they saw in Brooklyn, Paolo said, “It’s an opera, so they played the navy shipyard. Six thousand people. Lights {pointing across the street} from this building to that building … and they’re standing there with their synths. Yeah, it’s heavy.”
The idea for Turbo Goth was born on a random drive
Paolo still vividly remembers the first time he thought he and Sarah might be able to create music together.
“One day we were driving along in the car, driving around, and I heard her humming to a tune, and I said – she has the look, and there’s something here. She can carry a note, and we’re just gonna get some clothes that will look cool, and I’ll teach her how to pose in a stance that’s rock star-esque, and let’s get a show, and let’s see what happens.”
More than 15 years, and countless shows later, it’s safe to say his hunch was a good one.
A different kind of art helped them book their first show
In addition to music, Sarah is also an accomplished tattoo artist, and fine artist, whose work has been shown in galleries throughout the city. It was the latter that helped Turbo Goth book their very first show, which took place when they were living in the Philippines.
For their first time on stage together they were the support act for a Filipino artist from a known band who was launching a new project. Sarah designed the album cover, which Paolo notes, won awards. That, he says, is how they landed the gig opening the evening’s proceedings.
Sarah remembers being extremely nervous the night of the show. “I was just so scared on stage,” says says, but she credits Paolo for getting her through it, “I just believed in myself because Paolo said, ‘You can do it.’”
The growth from their first show to the present has been huge. Sarah sees it in herself, saying, “From the very first time where I was just standing, like shaking, until now … music now, it was kind of going inside me before, and now it’s like I’m able to express (more clearly).”
There’s a bit of destiny to this for both Sarah and Paolo
Sarah keeps a photo from her youth on her phone that she now sees as an incredible foreshadowing of the adult she’s grown up to become.
She estimates she’s around six, or seven years old in the photo. In it she’s in her home, her homemade artwork hanging proudly in the background, she’s holding something that looks to be a microphone, or something she’s pretending is a microphone, and she has a fake tattoo on her arm. She notes, “There’s already a drawing on the wall, and I’m already singing, so I feel like everything started since (I was very young).”
For Paolo, music has always been one of his biggest passions, and even well before Turbo Goth he would always have his drum machine on him. “I used to play with a lot of other bands,” he says, “and the way I would write and arrange songs is through a Zoom RT-123 (drum machine), and I would program the beats there … that’s what I love to do.”
New music is on the way … once they take it for some walks
Turbo Goth kicked off their set at Bowery Electric with two new songs, and with 2022’s Awakened Imagination being their most recent album, they say a new project is on the way … just give them a bit of time.
Paolo explains, “To put it out there, it’s gonna be there forever, so it kind of takes time to curate, and really polish, and as my friends say – we take it for walks. We listen to it every time, and we feel it when it’s ready for release.”
He adds that Sarah has the final say, saying “It’s up to her, because if it was all up to me, I’d just release all of the drafts. She’s a good filter of perfection. I highly admire, and respect that.”
When it comes to what’s been inspiring their most recent work, Sarah says, “Reminders, and moments that are important.” Paolo adds some big themes are going to be, “That we are all gods, and we are all creators, and return to love. To remind everybody that we are all love beings, and to increase the rate of vibrational resonance of mankind.”
Since it’s Turbo Goth, you can be sure all of it is going to make you feel.
For more Turbo Goth, check out turbogoth.com.
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