The first couple of slim party weekends of the year are upon us. With not much happening, and after chronicling the recent departure of several foreign DJs, now is an auspicious time to introduce one back into the electronica fold: 006 aka Andrew Gilberds, who left Taiwan three years ago and returned last month.
Having originally washed up here seven years ago Gilberds, now 33, witnessed the Taiwan club scene wax and wane. “It ain’t what it used to be ... I used to love Texound, Purple, AXD and even 2nd Floor and Eden,” says Gilberds. “All those places are gone now … but I think people are hungry for that scene again. I hear rumors of Deep Inside starting again, which would be awesome.”
Gilberds, who took his DJ moniker from the James Bond baddie of 1995’s GoldenEye, is moving into new areas. “I came back for lots of reasons but the main one is to start a restaurant or club. I also came back because it gives me a chance to produce here and have other people to produce with. I plan on doing lots with Saucey, Hooker, Jimmy Chen, Shawn Kidd and SL.”
Gilberds’ ear has been around the block. “I used to play a lot more deep house and funky house, mainly ’cause of the time slots [I had] but I have always floated towards the dark side,” he says. “I love dark, 4am music ... and crossing genres. I guess my style now would be tribal, tech house and progressive.”
The Edmonton, Alberta, native puts the basic tenet of deejaying succinctly: “Nothing can replace a good ear. Whatever new fad comes out, a DJ’s music programming will always separate him from the rest. You have to be able to make people shake their ass.”
His next gig, lined up for next month, marks the return of an old night from Eden’s heydays of 2006. “I will be starting Interhouse again with DJ Saucey and Hooker at ... DV8 so stay tuned for that,” says Gilberds. “We are working on getting some of the Texound and AXD deejays down for a deep, dark and dirty tribal house night.” Interhouse was kept alive by Gilberds and Taiwanese legend Victor Chen when both lived in Vancouver.
Because of the lengthy wait for his next set, Gilberds offers some hot music tips, should you fancy a bit of fresh. “Producers I really like right now are Rick Pier O’Neil who has an awesome tribal sound with tight-ass drums … As well as Carlos Mancana, Dousk and Cytric, to name a couple more.”
If partying just for the sake of it seems a little dull or facile, Gilberds thinks he has a solution: promoting the Zeitgeist movement, a collective of activists that advocate social change along similar lines to the Venus Project.
Finally, this is a very special weekend, so make the most of it. As of Sunday, when a smoking ban comes into force, all bars and clubs in the country will be forced to smell of stale beer and sweat — if they obey the law that is.
You have been warned, especially habitues of Vibe. Smoke it up at Bliss tonight with Richie Partridge, formerly of Massive Attack, who spins his last set before heading back to England, with Greggo dropping dub afterwards.
Sharp Edges and Smooth Curves at Bliss. Tonight from 10pm until 3:30am. Bliss is at 148, Xinyi Rd Sec 4, Taipei City (台北市信義路四段148號). NT$200 to get upstairs. On the Net: www.myspace.com/006psylencer; thezeitgeistmovement.com.
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