Victor was justly crowned Taiwan's Top DJ by Taipei Times readers in our second annual popularity poll of the country's deck technicians. The uncontested champion scored a knockout 3,168 votes, beating friend and club AXD partner Stone by nearly 300 votes.
He ascends the throne vacated by last year's winner, Nina, which is just reward for his elegant rule of the country's dancehalls in 2005, including Taipei's Room 18, Luxy, Purple, Eden, even MoS. He was also a guest star at the biggest clubs outside the capital, in Kaohsiung, Tainan and Taichung, and played festivals at Kenting (墾丁), Green Bay (翡翠灣) and Baishaiwan (白沙灣).
But it is at AXD where he plays most and arguably best. It is where his large fan base loyally gathers 52 weeks a year. The superclubs pull in punters with big names, but Victor is the only local DJ who has the clout to attract punters week in, week out. They go for the music.
There are few, if any, DJs who would seriously dispute Victor's win. He is consistently rated the best by his peers and is one of the architects of dance music in Taiwan, starting his musical career in the late 1980s when he was at art school.
The 36-year-old played at the seminal Twilight Zone club on Bade and Songjiang roads, was a resident at the Underground, the Edge on Jinshan South Road, @live and 2nd Floor. His most important clubland association was, however, with Tiger, the owners of Texound and their stable of DJs. Texound became one of the leaders of what was then an underground dance music scene. It now runs AXD.
"It started with dance and pop," Victor said. "Then I started listening to house in the late '80s, until the first electronic club opened. Around 1996 or 1997 I started to play minimal techno, playing that until around 2001 and then slowly changing it back to house music again, but a bit darker, maybe tribal and tech house. Now I'm concentrating on electro and tribal and even a few breaks or gay anthems ... But, I never play anything I don't like or is too cheesey."
Victor has released two albums, the 2002 Texound Version 002 and Ricochet last year, which was probably the best mix CD ever made by a DJ in Taiwan. It effortlessly showed why he is so highly regarded by those who know his music.
Victor has similarities with London's Trade DJ Tony de Witt, one of the finest DJs I have known. The mixing is usually sinuous and flawless, but he's not afraid to experiment. He builds his sets intelligently and there are always vocal and sampled cues to point you in the direction of a journey as the music unfolds.
Charming to talk to, polite and modest, Victor is openly homosexual and has supported Gay Parade marches and other linked rights issues, but is not overtly political.
"I don't have strong feelings in my head about these issues. Gays should have the same rights as everyone else, that's all. It's not so bad here, but some people are still scared. I do not have a lot of theories. Basically, I follow my heart. There are two main things in my life [DJing and graphic design]. They are my jobs and my interests."
Dedication involves perspiration and when you add Victor's talent you have a DJ of international stature.
The supporting cast of DJs at AXD were among the most other popular spinmeisters in the Taipei Times Top DJ Poll. They include the island's top five DJs, respectively, Stone, Tiger, Blueman and Jimmy Chen.
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