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The vinyl word

Hooker's hooked on electro house. PHOTO: COURTESY OF HOOKER

Despite making up the eighth largest segment of foreign residents, according to the Ministry of the Interior (3,259 in 2005), Canadians have made a disproportionate splash on the local party scene.

This is evident in the crowded DJ circle as more and more Canadian DJs bag gigs at clubs and events while Taiwanese DJs might never have the chance. Though it may be pure luck for some, Dominik Tyliszczak, aka DJ Hooker, who's been active in the scene since 2001, got there through blood, sweat and tears.

As a regular foreign DJ at Luxy for the past couple of years, Hooker is better known to old-timers as a hard-core party promoter/VJ/party animal. With partner Shawn McClelland (Bliss Productions), the pair threw some of the most talked-about bashes in Taipei, including parties at the Asia World Hotel, The CatWalk Wednesdays (at 2F) and Sugar Wednesdays (at Luxy).

"The CatWalk ran for about a year and Sugar for a year and a half … . I think I've only missed four out of 130 Wednesdays," Hooker says proudly. "Parties are a passion. I guess you could get rich on it. But I doubt you could in Taiwan. It's about creating that perfect moment. Or to quote the movie Groove: 'It's about the nod.' So if you go to a good party, make sure to give that 'nod' to the people throwing it. They will appreciate it more than you think."

"[My] love for music drew me into organizing events," he says. "As I got into event organizing I also developed more understanding about the music. In the meantime, I started to VJ [under the moniker Dr DMT]. It was not till we opened Citizen Cain in 2003 that I got access to turntables. And with that came the vinyl addiction."

The story doesn't stop here; Hooker keeps his hands full with graphic and interior design, public art, music production and scriptwriting, besides his night jobs. "It seems like a lot, but to me it all ties in. I've had a number of mixed media exhibitions where I did the photography, video installations and even some of the background sound. Art is art, no matter what form it takes," he says.

Hooker has been promoting electro house recently. Though it's becoming more of a mainstream sound, his gigs stand out. "I try to keep my sets fresh and unique, pushing the boundaries as much as I can, but not preaching," he says.

As for his upcoming schedule, Dr DMT will be VJing at the Godskitchen Halloween Massive, Oct. 27, at the World Trade Center Hall 2 (台北世貿二館), 3 Sungliang Rd, Taipei (台北市松廉路3號). Visit www.halloween-massive.com for further details. Hooker is going to be "bringing people pleasure for money on a per-hour basis" at Luxy every Wednesday for the next few months. Bliss Productions is putting together a Halloween bash at Luxy on Oct. 31.

Meanwhile, Party Room debuts FWD tonight, a new weekly bash. The gig begins with Stereo:Types and will feature hip-hop, funk/soul, dancehall and old school. Next Friday Baby Yu, known as "The Remix Kid," from Toronto, Canada will provide the tunes. Party Room is located at the Core Pacific Mall, 12F, 138, Bade Rd Sec 2, Taipei (台北市八德路四段138號12樓). Visit www.partyroom.com.tw. Admission is NT$500 for men and NT$350 for women before 11pm, and NT$600 for men and NT$450 for women after 11pm. SoundMind Events, the organizers of FWD are giving away two pairs of tickets to the first two people to send an e-mail to soundmindevents@gmail.com naming one of the DJs that will be performing this month. Not so tricky.

- Queen Bee
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