When the “godfather of Taiwan’s electronic dance music” throws an underground rave party, you know it’s going to be good whether you know where it’s going to be or not.
@llen (real name Allen Chen, 陳文宏) has been busy plotting The Lost Paradise Project — Jailbreaking Taipei Clubland and it’s finally happening somewhere near Taipei’s Nangang MRT station (南港捷運站)” tonight.
A real pioneer on the scene, @llen organized the first-ever rave in Taipei 16 years ago, and the rest is history.
Photo Courtesy of @llen
“This is something of an effort to relight that spark … It’s time to take the party spirit back to its roots, to the ruins, to a hard-to-find, hidden location to rekindle that rave ethos that clubland has effectively killed, or something to that effect,” he told the Vinyl Word when we caught up with him earlier this week.
Vinyl Word: What do you think about the dance music scene in Taipei?
@llen: I think that because dance music has become mainstream globally, it’s lost the underground, cutting-edge appeal that it used to have in the ’90s. When speaking of “electronic dance music,” young people nowadays just think of David Guetta and Lady Gaga sort of music. Walking into any clubs in Taipei, all you hear is the moronic, so-called “electro-hop.”
Taiwan still hasn’t got a big enough underground scene. Before 2000, there used to be outdoor raves and good underground-vibe parties at clubs from time to time. But now, it’s hard to find good parties that are really underground.
However, there are more and more independent promoters such as Agnst.Asia, Smoke Machine, Bass Kitchen, E for Electro, and Spunite. Besides throwing parties, they also invite international acts to Taiwan. That’s the most surprising thing I’ve found since I got back from Beijing in July. If it keeps going and never gives in to commercialism, it will become a strong driving force.
VW: What do you think about the scene in Beijing?
@llen: It’s a big international city and even more commercialized than Taipei. There are many independent party promoters, and lots of music festivals, especially in recent years. The audience is growing bigger and bigger with that, and the scene is progressing rapidly and positively.
VW: What kinds of music are you spinning these days?
@llen: I usually play according to the party, and I like to mix different kinds of genres such as house, techno, tech house, electro tech, dubstep … For my residency at Club Myst, I take it back to my roots, blending rock, hip-hop, new wave, ’70s disco, funk, reggae ...
VW: Tell us about the secret venue for the party. What can we expect?
@llen: We stumbled across this abandoned industrial space, and we’re going to do something interesting with it, like the rave/warehouse parties in the early ’90s. We’re not going to publicly disclose the location, so anyone who wants to find it will have to call for directions. Music-wise, it’ll be various, including drum ’n’ bass, dubstep, UK bass, techno and electro.
The Lost Paradise Project — Jailbreaking Taipei Clubland tonight from 8pm to 4am with @llen, Discoattack, Lai, Kile, INN, Mad Brain and more. The location is near Taipei’s Nangang MRT station (南港捷運站). Not only is the venue a secret, but so is the ticket price. Call 0983-562-615 for details.
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