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The Vinyl Word

Lounge lizards have been getting more than their fair share of Sona's tunes.

As most of the really good out-of-town DJs rarely stay in Taiwan longer than 48 hours, Taipei is blessed to have Texas house ambassador Sona as a resident.

Sona hails from Dallas and moved here after last year falling in love with Taiwan and his now-wife. He lives quite a busy life shooting commercials as a professional "freerunner," producing music and deejaying on weekends. It doesn't seem to bother the versatile DJ/producer that his mixing talents are wasted on small lounge bars where the noise of people talking and rolling dice is sometimes louder than the music he plays. It does, however, irk deep-house lovers who have not been able to fully enjoy sets at a "real" dance event where music is the main focus. Because of that, the ending of his Saturday residency at Naomi is not to be lamented. Sona can be contacted at sonaeyambe@hotmail.com or www.myspace.com/djsona.

What with the inflation rate rising to a 13-year high last month and sluggish economic growth, some of the non-all-you-can-drink clubs in Taipei have been losing patrons and are seeking ways to boost business. Japanese dance club Ageha is about to make a major change. Besides having last month ditched its Friday hip-hop nights, booking local DJs and modifying other policies to specifically target the electronic music crowd, the club will undergo renovations beginning next week. So, after this weekend's Tokyo Underground Spectacular party, which features some of the most popular club acts in town and Ryusuke Nakamura from Ageha Tokyo, the club will temporarily close.

The capital's nightclub giant Luxy has also seen a decline in numbers in the Onyx Room on its regular nights. As one insider told the Vinyl Word, "There are no every-Friday or Saturday-night party people anymore."

After commissioning market research, the club found many people don't appreciate electronic dance music because of misconceptions and prejudice about the genre. Luxy's answer is a new electronic dance music introductory night called 5F, which begins next month. It's a night to educate the masses about the kind of house music that's more on the deep, soulful and groovy side. It may be simpler and more profitable to switch to a music genre that people enjoy.

With some special events coming up, tomorrow looks like an ideal night to be out and about. In addition to the party at Ageha, Open House party is back again at Plan B (29-1, Anhe Rd Sec 1, Taipei, 嚙綞嚙稻嚙踝蕭嚙緩嚙瞎嚙踝蕭@嚙緬29嚙踝蕭嚙踝蕭1), featuring everything from old school funk and electro to funky house and breaks. At Gamer, a cozy lounge/arcade, DJs Al and Fion are throwing their second VIP party. If you like the intimate atmosphere of house parties, send an e-mail to bpmdj@hotmail.com to get on their VIP guest list. Gamer is located at B1, 147 Longjiang Rd, Taipei (嚙綞嚙稻嚙踝蕭嚙編嚙踝蕭嚙踝蕭147嚙踝蕭B1 ).

In Taichung, ManEaters, an all-female-DJ party presented by Aphrobet Production is going down at The Zoo, 68 Takuan Rd, Taichung (嚙綞嚙踝蕭嚙踝蕭嚙篌嚙稼嚙踝蕭68嚙踝蕭) and the Swank crew's 5th year anniversary party is taking place at Liquid Lounge, 98 Chungming S Rd, Taichung (嚙綞嚙踝蕭嚙踝蕭嚙踝蕭嚙踝蕭n嚙踝蕭98嚙踝蕭). Rob Solo and Hooker are spinning at Roof Park (15F, 165 Linsen 1st Rd, Kaohsiung, 嚙踝蕭嚙踝蕭嚙踝蕭嚙盤嚙誼賂蕭@嚙緬165嚙踝蕭15嚙踝蕭), the best venue in Kaohsiung, which boasts a stellar sound system.
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