Founder of the legendary Girls, Girls, Girls night in Paris, continent-crossing club DJ, selector of choice at fashion’s funnest parties, resident on NTS radio, record store owner – Louise Chen has always had a lot on the go, hence her own pithy bio: ‘No sleep since 1999’.
After growing up in Luxembourg in a Franco-Taiwanese household, and coming up through the Paris scene, Louise is now resident in London…where she’s mostly hoping to have a rest. We caught up with her between gigs to see if she might take a few requests…
Quote to live by
As cheesy as it may be, Madonna’s lyrics ‘Only when I’m dancing do I feel this free’ from ‘Into The Groove’ have always stuck with me as being quite an accurate depiction of what effect music has on me. Sometimes, the release and escape one is seeking comes from within, and that’s what those lyrics remind me of.
Favourite museum/gallery
The Taiwan National Palace Museum. The building itself is so major: built on top of a mountain and containing thousands of years of Chinese history. As Chiang Kai-shek and the Guomindang fled mainland China in 1949 to find refuge in Taiwan, they took with them a lot of the historical artefacts, scared that Mao Zedong would destroy anything remotely traditional or reminiscent of the Emperor’s riches. So, weirdly, you can probably see a lot more of ancient Chinese art at the Taiwan National Palace Museum than in mainland China. My favourite piece is the iconic jade cabbage.
Favourite artist
Stevie Wonder: he’s pure creation to me. His musical range, how he channels his emotion into music making, it’s pure human expression, nothing gets in the way! Whether he’s on drums, keys, infusing R&B with latin sounds, gospel, or coming up with the craziest bass lines of all time on ‘Superstition’ – he’s my ultimate hero.
Accent/language that turns you on
British! I can’t quite explain it. It must be a mix of all the Hugh Grant Nineties rom coms, James Bond movies and Monty Python humour. At the school I went to in Luxembourg, we had fantastic teachers from all over the UK and Ireland and the kids I bonded with the most, as a teenager, were for the most part in the ‘anglophone’ section so I always felt drawn to the large variety of British-adjacent accents.
Favourite bar
Fréquence, in Paris. Three best friends opened this place in 2018 and filled it with their records, their love of music, food and tasty cocktails. They program DJs to play there over the weekend, it’s small intimate but honestly the only place in Paris where I want to spend the night and stay out late.
Favourite cocktail
A classic margarita, not too sweet.
Comfort food
My dad’s egg-fried rice. It’s what he used to cook for me whenever my parents would go out and let me stay home alone. It’s so comforting to me, my mouth waters as soon as I hear the crisp of the rice in the pan.
Most memorable meal
That one perfect margherita pizza I had in Copenhagen at Surt with my best friend Julien Pham in 2021. I still think about it regularly…
Worst holiday hangover
Palm Heights, Grand Cayman. I went there for my friend Clara Cornet’s hen do and the place is so magical and the team of hosts are so much fun. Our whole trip was fuelled by tequila shots. It felt like an endless party on the beach.
Best vintage/antique find
I’m a vintage music t-shirt collector. Or I was for a solid 20 years, so I’d scour the thrift shops for any sort of pop culture artefact. One of my all time favourites is this Jeff Buckley t-shirt I found in New York a few years ago. It was like it was just there waiting for me on the hanger.
Architecture that awes you
All the Artek Studio, Alvar Aalto stuff in Helsinki and around Finland. I find their architecture and designs to be an incredible insight into their minds. How they identified certain ‘everyday use problems’ and then went out of their way to think of a design that would be both beautiful and optimised for living.
For example, when you visit the Aalto house, you can see this deep round bubbly sink in their bathroom with which they were trying to mute the loud sound of water falling into a sink and solve the backsplash problem. Later, you get to test them out and use the same sinks for yourself when you go visit the design museum’s bathrooms. They are indeed silent and effectively contain backsplash!
Interiors you envy
Traditional Japanese homes with silent sliding doors, tatamis, and inbuilt wooden storage.
Souvenirs you hunt while travelling
Depends which part of the world I visit. For example, when I got to Taiwan, I love buying rice bowls, noodle bowls, serving bowls, chopsticks, and soup spoons that are harder to source in the West. The one time I went to Mexico, I came back with a series of colourful embroidered table sets, and when I last went to Helsinki I came back with my dream cutlery. But I mostly save the luggage space for records and books, if I’m honest.
Design decade you feel at home in
It’s a bit of a mix of mid-century clean lines that always somehow remind me of Asia, 1970’s Italian contrasting shapes and materials, classic southern European tiling and Asian practicality (I have a bit of an obsession with sliding doors).
Go-to spa treatment
I can’t get enough of micro-needling facials. I love the Face Gym for their standardised at-home micro needling kit, it really does wonders! And if I can get a lymphatic drain as soon as I land from anywhere, I know I’ll feel my best for a solid two weeks. Since Covid ended, I’ve been using the Urban app to treat myself to some at home treatments, it’s been a total game changer for my wellbeing.
How do you unwind
Unfortunately, when I need to be lazy I just binge watch TV and movies until my eyes hurt and snack sweet popcorn until my stomach hurts.
Your must-pack outfit
You can never go wrong with a great pair of jeans and a white t-shirt that you can style with a blazer, a suit jacket, ballet flats, moccasins, whatever white sneakers, big jumpers… It goes with everything and works for any occasion.
Most stylish place
La Colombe d’Or in St Paul de Vence with its signature blue-green pool, and its art from Picasso, Calder and Miró all over the rooms. My favourite part remains the restaurant terrasse where classic French dishes are cooked to perfection. I could hang out there all day with a book – it’s so peaceful, the rest of the world sort of dissolves.
City you’d move to
Copenhagen and it’s family orientated hygge lifestyle. I love how the city has designed public spaces for people to enjoy for free. All the solariums and canal jump-off points for casual midday swims. It really is a different kind of life when you can cycle everywhere and have a little dip in the water after work.
Best place you’ve ever swum
I somehow went to the Maldives with my parents when I was a teenager and the water there was so translucent and clean it was overwhelming. Its crystal blue would make your eyes cry!
It’s not a holiday without…
A 600-page novel to sink your teeth into.
Guilty pleasure
A late night ice cream walking around any city.
@account to follow
@hark.paris the record shop I helped open in Paris last June. You get a preview of all the new shop entries, the rarities, the gear we repair and the hi-fi systems we custom build.
Pool or ocean
If it’s not crystal clear Caribbean Sea, then I’ll choose a pool over the beach!
Define love in three words
Attraction, a little magic, and a good dose of humour.
Define sex in three words
Pleasure, pleasure, and more pleasure.
Louise was photographed by Lily Bertrand-Webb at Redchurch Townhouse.