Moving to London at 18, finding your feet in a new country and navigating the occasional disaster of being a young adult is plenty to be getting on with. AC (dot robot) has also been building a reputation behind the decks, playing high-energy sets that draw on techno, trance and hardcore. Her new EP, London 2026, reveals a rather different side.
Across four tracks inspired by the changing seasons, the Chinese-born, London-based artist works through homesickness, identity, heartbreak and the less comfortable business of admitting when you’ve been the one causing the hurt. There’s even a pipa in there, connecting her electronic productions to the country she left five years ago.
We caught up with AC to discuss the complications of calling somewhere home, the selective nature of nostalgia, making peace with your past and why putting your personal life into an EP might actually be a good idea.
You describe London 2026 as an audio diary, but diaries are usually private. Was there anything on this EP that you hesitated to make public once you realised other people would hear it?
I have asked this question to myself before. But for me, as an artist, I feel that this would be an essential risk I would take, and it can also lead me to a longer and wider path. Because of my personal experiences and insights, I have created these works that no one else can replicate. And these carefully crafted works, which carry my own symbolic elements, are exactly what aim to create as an artist. Besides that, if people can resonate with the music and receive love and healing, I think it is a very worthwhile thing to do.
“No Regret” looks back at five years that included discrimination, harassment, heartbreak and self-doubt, yet you’ve chosen to frame the track around having no regrets. Do you genuinely feel that way, or is “no regret” partly something you have to tell yourself in order to keep moving forward?
I truly believe that everything happens for a reason and that it is all benefiting me. Although sometimes things may seem “bad” on the surface, they have always led me to new experiences and learnings and helped me become mature and wise. Knowing how to face problems in life with a positive attitude and internalize them into strength is a blessing, so that i can move forward more firmly with no regret.
There’s an interesting shift in perspective between “No Regret” and “The Worst of Me”. On one you’re processing things that happened to you, while on the other you’re confronting the hurt you caused someone else. Was it important that the EP didn’t present you simply as the person who had been hurt?
Yes, it was very important for me to mention both sides. Humans are complex beings. If this EP just presents me as the person who had been hurt, it would be dull and simplistic, and it would not constitute the entire EP. Unlike “No Regret,” “The Worst of Me” reflects on the hurt I’ve caused to another person in an intimate relationship without even realising it. Nobody is perfect in this world. We all play the roles of “victim” and “perpetrator”. The important thing is that we learn from these experiences and introspect, heal and be the best versions of ourselves. All this while keeping ourselves safe and also not hurting others.
You moved from China to London at 18. Five years later, what does “home” actually mean to you now? Is it a geographical place, the people around you, a version of yourself, or something you’re still trying to define?
I think “home” is the combination of all factors. It changes and flows with me. In the past, China was where I grew up. It has my family, my memories, everything I am familiar with, even the smells of the air. But at the same time, I can’t look at it with the same perspective as when I was younger. Being away from home and coming to London, the influence of the environment, the people I met and the brand new version of myself changed how I think about “ home”. So “home” is the integration of everything. It’s my past, my present, and the future I am looking forward to. Home is me.
“Rocky” brings the pipa into a record otherwise rooted in electronic music. Did working with a recognisably Chinese instrument change your relationship with your own background at all? I’m interested in whether distance from China has made parts of your cultural identity feel more important, rather than less.
Yes. I think that when people are young, they tend to be curious about things they haven’t seen or places they haven’t been to, and thus overlook the beautiful things around them that belong to you. When I am in my own cultural environment, I often don’t think about it particularly, just taking it for granted. But when I left China, I became more aware of my language, food, traditional culture, and those subtle details that make me feel connected to my hometown, constantly reminding me that place is where I have lived for 18 years. Living abroad has not weakened my sense of cultural identity, but has instead allowed me to understand my Chinese identity in a more personal and delicate way.
“Summertime Daydream” starts from childhood nostalgia but eventually arrives at homesickness and adulthood. When you remember your childhood now, how much do you trust those memories? Do you think living away from China has made that earlier life seem simpler or more idyllic than it actually was?
I still believe in these memories. However, I also know that human memory is not so objective. Most of the time, what I remember clearly are actually the feelings at that moment and some very specific images, rather than the details.
Moreover, after being away from China for such a long time, I think I tend to think of my childhood as being simpler and more beautiful than it actually was at that time. After all, when people are far apart, many unpleasant things will gradually fade away, and what remains are often those warm things, such as family, familiar life, and some daily routines that we only realise are precious when looking back now. I know that I like to recall these with a nostalgic mood, but these are all the real memories left in my heart.
You’re known as a DJ for high-intensity techno, trance and hardcore, whereas this record gives considerably more space to vulnerability and reflection. Did you have to unlearn anything about what you thought an AC (dot robot) record was supposed to sound like to make this EP?
I have been keeping exploring and trying on this path. I don’t want to just stay in my comfort zone and always do things that I feel safe with but lack challenges, feeling smug about it. The core of AC (dot robot) remains unchanged; it will never change. The only change is exterior, like another outfit. Rather than unlearning anything about what I thought an AC (dot robot) record was supposed to sound like, extending, becoming more real, clear and profound is the way I want to move forward.
The four tracks capture four seasons, but also four versions of you. Listening back now, is there one of those versions of yourself that you find particularly difficult to recognise, forgive or let go of?
I listen to this EP every day. I still try to find the “imperfections”in it. But actually, it’s already at its best state. Appreciation and gratitude are abilities that I should practice. I am grateful for all the things that have happened to me, and I am also grateful that, at every stage and in different versions of myself, I did not give up on what I truly love.
AC (dot robot) – London EP is out now
