About 500 years ago Michelangelo unveiled the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel to the world. Tonight in Taipei, Keith Saunders will do much the same at Underworld when he holds a drum 'n bass party to show off his own masterpiece.
It took the US art college graduate and DJ over a year to paint the walls, ceiling and toilets of the legendary basement club.
"It was a total body job," Saunders says. "Usually when I paint it's my feelings, I just paint spontaneously. That's why it takes a long time."
Talking about the response to his work so far, Saunders said: "People say they like it better, that it's not quite so dark and that it's more comfortable for females."
Saunders has been living in Taiwan for a little over three years and has made an impact through his music as a member of the Hsimen Spiders and Kola. He is also a cartoonist and says he "studied art in college, then reverted to natural tendencies. My stuff kind of blurs the line between art and cartoon."
Saunders describes his work as "graffittiesque and I suppose the influences are Chagall ... and then Zen art work, a bit of ethnicity and a heavy dose of cartoons and pop art, mixed up with psychedelia."
As for the party, it will be DJ Dee and his friends, who are visiting from Hong Kong. DJ Dee is on the recent Silent Agreement Compilation CD that has rocketed to number four in Taiwan's Top 10 -- a big surprise for an Asian electronic album that veers toward the experimental.
The artist formerly known as DJ Saturn and Kola are coming along, so expect "the evolved spy-surf-drum 'n bass of the Hsimen Spiders and add monster movie sci-fi soundtracks to the mix," says Saunders, adding, "It will be improvised and a bit exciting and there will probably be guest appearances."
The fun starts at 9:30pm and goes on until midnight, officially, but "It could go on til Monday. Who knows?"
Admission is NT$250 and includes a drink. Underworld is located at B1, 45, Shida Rd., Taipei (
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