The Vinyl Word

Taipei's Victor Cheng has been the relatively undisputed "king" of DJing in the capital city for some time now, though Edmund is now seen as the pretender to the throne and Chozie has been courting the popular vote.

The fairy godfather of house music in Taiwan was one of the first resident DJs at the Twilight Zone in mid-1990s Taipei, a small joint near the intersection of Songjiang and Changan roads that was later called the Underground and is said to be the place where electronic music got started in this country.

"Basically, I got into DJing in 1998, when I was 17, which was the first time I went to a club. I just watched the guy in the DJ booth. The next day I started to DJ on a traditional turntable. I taught myself basically," Victor said.

After progressing to two decks, a mixer and the rest, he started playing early dance and pop music to anyone who would listen.

"I heard about the Twilight Zone because I knew the owner and checked it out. It was the first electronic club to open in Taiwan, Maybe, on a weekend, there were 100 or 200 people. That was a lot at the time, I was used to playing in front of a very small crowd then, but it was a good atmosphere, a place to remember," Victor said. "Taipei started to have an electronic music market around 1994. Before this time I used to listen at home but never really played it."

"In the beginning I played a lot of handbag and then some nice, classy house music, kind of New York Junior Vazquez at the time (not now). I've slowly changed, '98 or '99 I was into minimal techno, but I've slowly come back to house in the last two years."

Victor's name is also linked with TeXound, the legendary sound system that organized some of the first raves in the country and then became the city's first superclub.

"Right now there are more clubs and more choices, we have more scenes, there is breakbeat, house, lounge, techno and so on. Each club is doing a different thing. It's more commercial and that's not bad but it's not what I'm about.

"I love music and sharing it with people who love it to. I'm not just a DJ who gives a crowd what they want, I like to balance that with what I like."

For his 60-second interview, Victor was given these words: Chinese girls: "Next."

Chinese food: "Sweet and nice."

First rule of Djing: "Sense of music."

Peer-to-peer file-sharing: "It depends on whether it's legal or illegal, but if it's stealing, that's not good."

George W. Bush: "No idea."

Pop culture: "Fun."

Christmas: "Not my thing."

DJ Tiesto: "Not my cup of tea."

Michael Jackson: "It's hard, and sad."

Cardinal sin of Djing: "Picking up the wrong record off the turntable [leaving the dancefloor silent]."

Best part of a woman: "I'm gay."

Best part of a man: "Wow! I cannot say."

Armin van Buren: "Not my cup of tea."