One of the pioneers of the rave/club scene in Taipei during the late 1990s alongside contemporaries Allen and Victor Cheng, Jimmy Chen (陳怡成) is a true veteran and leading activist of dance music. Longtime partygoers will tell you that this is a man you can trust when he steps up to the turntables.
Having been the promoter/resident at @live, TeXound and AXD, Chen is credited with bringing international DJs like Frankie Knuckles, BT, John Digweed, Adam Beyer, Victor Calderone, Satoshi Tomiie, Murk, Richie Hawtin and Superchumbo to Taiwan.
His mix CD Mint Taipei 101 (2004) featured on Tom Stephan’s Kiss 100 Radio Show in the UK and was played at the renowned San Francisco dance club The Endup.
Well-known for his tribal house sets, Chen is adding new elements including minimal techno, tech house and electro to his mixes these days.
“I still have a soft spot for soulful house,” he told the Vinyl Word. “It’s just too bad that there seems to be nowhere to play that kind of music now.”
Earlier this year, Jimmy held a joint anniversary party to celebrate “two decades of deejaying” with Victor Cheng. So what’s next? “I guess I’ll keep deejaying until no one wants me to play anymore!” he says.
Jimmy Chen’s upcoming gigs:
* Every first and fourth Saturday of each month at Jump, B1, 8, Keelung Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市基隆路一段八號 B1)
* Tomorrow at Black & White (Taichung). Tickets: NT$500. Send a text, including your name, to 0936-212-066 to get party location
* Dec. 26 at Winter White G5 at Luxy, 5F, 201, Zhongxiao E Rd Sec 4, Taipei City (台北市忠孝東路四段201號5樓). Tickets: NT$900
My head hurts when someone asks me to recommend a “good” hip-hop club in Taipei. After all, don’t they all play the same tunes? Fortunately, every once in a while there’s an event like tomorrow’s Hip Hop Winter Clash at VU Livehouse.
This gig features some of the country’s to expat hip-hop artists. Lineup: Marcus Aurelius, Sofa Kings, Mixter-T, Shaman and Black Reign International Sound. Tickets: NT$350. VU Livehouse (地下絲絨), B1, 77, Wuchang St Sec 2, Taipei City (台北市武昌街二段77號B1).
Meanwhile, over at Copa (B1, 2, Ln 137, Yanji St, Taipei City, 台北市大安區延吉街137巷2號) from Tuesday to Saturday, well-known and up-and-coming Taipei-based DJs will be in the mix playing everything from funky club music to sexy chilled-out grooves. No cover charge. On the Net: www.copataipei.com.
Upcoming events at Copa: Tonight Jimmy Quinn; tomorrow, AL and Fion; and Taka on Wednesday.
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