Back by popular demand, Liquid Lifestyle Promotions presents Flava Friday with QBert tonight at Luxy. Tomorrow the Filipino-American will head down to Taichung to play at Xaga in Taichung. The club is located at Tiger City, 120 Henan Rd Sec 3, Taichung (台中市河南路三段120號老虎城). Call (04) 2326-7373 or visit www.xaga.com.tw.
Although his percussive music is not to everyone's taste, the turntablist's scratching skills are impressive, and have raised the rafters on his previous visits.
And as Taichung's new addition to the fold, Xaga, puts a stamp on the local scene, the good people of Taiwan's third city can expect many of the top-notch DJs that play Luxy to make it down.
PHOTO COURTESY OF CUBE
Moving on to Taiwan-based talent, Michael Phonic started DJing over 11 years ago, playing ambient music to weary Toronto ravers. Then, when he moved to Taipei in 2001, he switched over to house and techno. What hasn't changed, however, is his belief in vinyl. Playing MP3s at clubs, he says, is a disservice to both clubbers and producers.
Staying true to his word, his latest mix CDs This City is Made of Light and La Fille aux Cheveux de Lin are MP3 free. Both double discs, they showcase the depth and breadth of Michael's record collection. The first, This City, is a romp through minimal, electro, and acid techno. Monstrous basslines, robotic sguiggles and blips, as well as New Romantic vocals feature throughout. Michael's capable mixing glues it all together, letting each track breath, taking us from minimal groovers to 4am club territory.
La Fille aux Cheveux de Lin is a completely different affair.
Warm jazz breaks from Rainer Truby and the Kyoto Jazz Massive begin the mix. From there, the beats go 4/4 and soulful vocals with organ melodies take over. The BPM jumps up when the Lawnchair Generals' micro-funk house drops by, but Herbert and Nouvelle Vague chill everything out in the end. It's an exciting and unique mix from a DJ who's obviously a diehard music fan with a deep knowledge of dance music. To snag a copy of your own visit web.mac.com/michaelphonic.
In what is being billed as the last beach party of the season, Summer Groove will provide three stages — two electronic music stages and a hip-hop stage — featuring “Taiwan's top DJ talent,” including Andrew Ford and Paul Energy. The first electronic music area also features a foam party. Admission is NT$350, or NT$300 when purchased in advance.
Admission includes access to all of Summerland and its activities, rides and facilities.
For discount pre-sale tickets, call Andrew 09 3344 6553 or send an e-mail to Andrew@DJAndrewFord.com.
Greenbay is located one hour outside of Taipei City. Take a bus from Taipei Main Station or on stops along Zhongxiao East Road bound for Jinshan (金山) to Greenbay (翡翠灣) in Taipei County. The stop is located in front of the Greenbay Howard Beach Resort. Summerland is a three-minute walk up the street. For more information, visit www.summer-aquarian.com.
Sept.16 to Sept. 22 The “anti-communist train” with then-president Chiang Kai-shek’s (蔣介石) face plastered on the engine puffed along the “sugar railway” (糖業鐵路) in May 1955, drawing enthusiastic crowds at 103 stops covering nearly 1,200km. An estimated 1.58 million spectators were treated to propaganda films, plays and received free sugar products. By this time, the state-run Taiwan Sugar Corporation (台糖, Taisugar) had managed to connect the previously separate east-west lines established by Japanese-era sugar factories, allowing the anti-communist train to travel easily from Taichung to Pingtung’s Donggang Township (東港). Last Sunday’s feature (Taiwan in Time: The sugar express) covered the inauguration of the
The corruption cases surrounding former Taipei Mayor and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) head Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) are just one item in the endless cycle of noise and fuss obscuring Taiwan’s deep and urgent structural and social problems. Even the case itself, as James Baron observed in an excellent piece at the Diplomat last week, is only one manifestation of the greater problem of deep-rooted corruption in land development. Last week the government announced a program to permit 25,000 foreign university students, primarily from the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia, to work in Taiwan after graduation for 2-4 years. That number is a
This year’s Michelin Gourmand Bib sported 16 new entries in the 126-strong Taiwan directory. The fight for the best braised pork rice and the crispiest scallion pancake painstakingly continued, but what stood out in the lineup this year? Pang Taqueria (胖塔可利亞); Taiwan’s first Michelin-recommended Mexican restaurant. Chef Charles Chen (陳治宇) is a self-confessed Americophile, earning his chef whites at a fine-dining Latin-American fusion restaurant. But what makes this Xinyi (信義) spot stand head and shoulders above Taipei’s existing Mexican offerings? The authenticity. The produce. The care. AUTHENTIC EATS In my time on the island, I have caved too many times to
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