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THE VINYL WORD

Zephec was on a roll last year. PHOTO: COURTESY OF ZEPHEC

Looking back, 2007 was the year that saw the head-shaking-club phenomenon totally collapse. Because of a widespread police crackdown on illicit drugs, all of those types of club were forced to shut down or disappear.

Yaotou (搖頭) means "head-shaking" and is the bizarre reaction of some Taiwanese clubbers to taking Ecstasy. Users believe that by continuously shaking their heads, a higher high can be achieved. Ecstasy is colloquially known as yaotou pills. Yaotou clubs flourished at the end of the 1980s and beginning of the 21st century.

However, the stereotypical image made infamous by those clubs (and dreadful Cantonese hard house music they played) has yet to be forgotten. Many Taiwanese people still think of electronic dance music as "head-shaking music" and believe people who listen to that kind of music must be on drugs. However, all in all, the quality of clubs in Taiwan has improved; all the better for the rotten apple having been discarded.

What took over is "hip-pop," the kind of music that was once popular in disco pubs in the 1990's and which has made a huge comeback. While the true hip-hoppers might not enjoy the MTV type of hip-hop most of the time, they still appreciated the opportunities (that came along with the trend) to see some of the best hip-hop acts from overseas. A small underground hip-hop scene is slowly developing with promoters like Soundmind and Groovewar throwing parties that feature non-mainstream music. On the creative side, underground hip-hop DJ Ghettochild has produced some impressive work (www.myspace.com/djghettochild), and performances by MC collectives such as THC (Taipei Hip-Hop Crew) and Tripoets have drawn praise.

Electronic dance music remained out of favor for clubbers last year, although that's not necessarily a bad thing. AgeHa and Jump are the only clubs in Taipei that cater to the electronic dance music crowd exclusively; at other clubs, the genre has been relegated to the side-room or featured only for special events. Electronic dance music, however, is still in demand at most one-off parties, for example at Halloween, and it's getting more common as many Mando-pop songs in the form of electronic dance music are increasingly popular.

Several new promoters, organizers and DJs made a splash last year: the outdoor psy-trance parties in Taoyuan (by 26D), beach parties in Sanzhi (三芝), Taipei (by 12") and Re:Action Xmas party in Taichung (by Boog!e) were remarkable.

A lot of DJs may have lost their club residencies as a result of waning interest in electronic dance music, but some managed to maintain their careers in music by creating their own tracks. New independent label Tripper Records showcased its fruitful results at the (Navigator) New Year's Eve party last weekend with live sets by Kotoswitch (who has released a record with Miami's dance music heavyweight Thomas Penton) and Zephec (whose debut album We Will Still Repeat Today won him free admission to Red Bull Music Academy in Toronto last year). In addition, DJs Elvis T, Code and Point have produced work that deserve special mention. 
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