“Legend” is a word that is liberally sprinkled across promotional material for parties. This weekend, three so-called legends are in town. But do they live up to the hype?
Spinbad (real name Chris Sullivan), who displays his skills tonight at Luxy, got into deejaying in the mid-1980s in the heart of hip-hop: New York City. He built a name for himself because of his technical mastery of cuts, blends, beat juggles and mixing.
Spinbad is best-known internationally for his 1980s mix, Rock the Casbah, which has been called “the most bootlegged mixtape of all time” (it can be downloaded for free along with his masterful 90s Megamix and more at spinbad.com/category/mixtape/). He has appeared on every major late-night talk show in the US, toured with Moby and No Doubt, and has hosted prime-time radio shows on New York City’s biggest radio stations.
Photo courtesty of Spinbad
Busy on his Asian tour, Spinbad said his aim for tonight’s show is to please the audience. “I left that whole ‘keep it real’ attitude behind long ago,” he said. “Hip-hop started as party music and sampled pop songs. I enjoy playing all types of music like electro, Top 40, and rock.”
Verdict: One of the true legends of the game.
■ Luxy Girl Crew Party featuring Spinbad, tonight from 10pm to 4am at Luxy, 5F, 201, Zhongxiao E Rd Sec 4, Taipei City (台北市忠孝東路四段201號5樓). Call (02) 2772-1000 or 0955-904-600 for reservations (English service available). On the Net: www.luxy-taipei.com. Admission is NT$600 before 11pm, and NT$800 after
Photo courtesy of Tranquility Bass
Drum ’n’ bass party promoter outfit Tranquility Bass printed the word “legend” at the top of its promo materials for Matrix (Jamie Quinn), who will be headlining Luxy tomorrow. But can a person that many people have never heard of be a legend?
After rifling through biographies and discographies and listening to his mixes, the answer is yes. Matrix has been producing drum and bass and remixing tracks since 1994. He’s worked with the cream of the crop in the drum and bass world, including Ed Rush & Optical and Adam F, as well as dabbled in the pop arena by remixing the work of Annie Lennox, Robbie Williams and Tony Braxton.
Verdict: Passionate drum ’n’ bass heads shouldn’t miss this show.
■ Tranquility Bass presents Matrix tomorrow from 10pm to 4am at Luxy, 5F, 201, Zhongxiao E Rd Sec 4, Taipei City (台北市忠孝東路四段201號5樓). Call (02) 2772-1000 or 0955-904-600 for reservations (English service available). On the Net: www.luxy-taipei.com. Admission is NT$300 before 11pm, or NT$600 after
In Taiwan, it seems that anyone who is an early adopter gets called a godfather. @llen (專訪) threw the first DIY rave party in Taiwan in 1995, and has been labeled the “godfather of the electronic dance music” for more than a decade. This weekend, he returns to play at Pipe for Organik’s The Light Church party.
Influenced by full moon parties in Thailand and raves in Europe, @llen followed his passion for electronic music and had a big hand in creating the scene in Taiwan. He’s released two mix CDs and wrote a book about electronic music. Four years ago, @llen had the opportunity to work for a club in China, so he took his records and made the great leap forward. Since then, he’s toured all over the country and has been the musical director of various venues in Beijing.
Verdict: A true local legend returns.
■ Smoke Machine presents Organik 007 The Light Church (有機派對007光之教堂) with DJs @llen, Tiger, A-Tao, Yuho, and Kenneth. Tomorrow from 9pm to 4am at Pipe, 1 Siyuan St, Taipei City (台北市思源街1號). Admission is NT$800 at the door and NT$600 in advance. Tickets are available at Species Records, 2F, 20, Ln 96 Kunming Street (台北市昆明街96巷20號2樓), tel: (02) 2375-5518
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