Want to sample the latest music from Taiwan’s indie bands? Look no further than tomorrow’s Taiwan Band Festival (台灣樂團節) concert.
Currently in its third edition, the festival was initiated by the Government Information Office (GIO) to promote independent bands and fund new work.
To apply for subsidies to release their music, bands must submit a demo and proposal to be reviewed by a panel of industry professionals chosen by the government. Earlier this year, 15 bands were picked to receive NT$400,000 each to produce and release a new album.
To cap off the past year’s hard work, 14 of these groups will perform highlights of their music in a marathon free concert, which runs from 2:30pm to 9:30pm at Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall.
The festival’s organizers aim to arouse public interest in the bands, whose music runs the gamut from disco rock and punk to acoustic folk and electronica.
“It’s important to encourage indie bands because mainstream music is very limited,” said Terri Wu, project planning executive of the Taiwan Music Culture International Alternation Association (台灣音樂文化國際交流協會), which was commissioned by the GIO to organize the festival. “Indie music is the arena in which musicians can experiment ... and that innovation can then be borrowed by the mainstream.”
This year, the association helped bands such as Go Chic and Telephone Booth (電話亭樂團) finish debut albums and assisted veteran bands such as Marty Young and Double X (which is returning to the music scene after a 20-year hiatus) reconnect with their fans.
At the request of the GIO, the Taiwan Band Festival has decreased the number of bands it subsidizes from 27 groups in its first year to 15 this year.
2:30pm to 2:55pm
Come On! Bay Bay! (來吧！焙焙！) (indie pop)
3pm to 3:25pm
Stay Cool (folk rock)
3:30pm to 3:55pm
Miss Silk Stockings (絲襪小姐) (indie rock)
4pm to 4:25pm
The Girl and the Robots (electro-pop)
4:30pm to 4:55pm
Punkhoo (胖虎樂團) (punk)
5pm to 5:25pm
Nature Morte (靜物樂團) (concept rock)
5:30pm to 5:55pm
Telephone Booth (電話亭樂團) (indie electronica)
6pm to 6:25pm
La Petite Nurse (小護士) (indie pop-rock)
6:40pm to 7:05pm
Go Chic (electro-rock)
7:10pm to 7:35pm
Passiwali (巴西瓦里) (acoustic folk )
7:40pm to 8:05pm
Marty Young Band (instrumental rock)
8:10pm to 8:35pm
The Chairman (董事長樂團) (indie rock)
8:40pm to 9:05pm
Double X (post punk)
9:10pm to 9:35pm
Cosmic Man (宇宙人樂團) (disco rock)
This downsizing is being publicized as a choice of quality over quantity.
“The main goal of this event is to help the groups produce and release albums,” says Wu. “We decided to limit the number so that each group could have more money for their production.”
For Wu, the health of the independent music scene can be gauged by how prosperous the “live house” scene is. “These days, there is literally a performance available on any given night in Taipei,” he said.
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