One of the biggest challenges promoters face is popularizing indie music from around the globe to a scene that is years behind.
DJ/promoter Spykee Fat, real name Chin Hung-chieh (金弘杰), does his bit for the cause by pushing only artists that are little known to Taiwanese audiences.
In 2008, he brought Steve Aoki to The Wall (這牆), a gig attended by 500 people.
Photo Courtesy of Kyohei Nishimura
Three years later, Aoki played for thousands at the Halloween Massive on his third trip to Taipei. But Spykee had got there first.
His newest salvo is Gan-Ban Night at The Wall, featuring London-based DJ Erol Alkan.
But just what is Gan-Ban Night?
Photo Courtesy of Decked Out
“Gan-Ban was first a record shop based out of Shibuya, Tokyo. It imported indie-rock and dance music. It became such an icon of Tokyo’s music scene that they launched a party series called Gan-Ban Night. Now, it has evolved so much that is has become the official party night of Fuji Rock Festival,” said Spykee.
Gan-Ban night has hosted electro stars like Justice, Boys Noize, Simian Mobile Disco, Busy P, Sebastian, Brodinski and Scissor Sisters. And now, it’s coming to Taiwan.
“For the first time, we have a really famous international indie-dance party series imported into Taiwan,” said Spykee. “Maybe this party will be the most suitable for The Wall’s vibe thus far.”
Erol Alkan, who is of Turkish descent, agrees.
“I feel that you have more opportunities in a small club, more options to experiment and take risks. As much as I love festivals, they are a celebration of a time and place, and your parameters are decided by that,” said Alkan in an interview with the Taipei Times.
In 1997, Alkan founded the London club Trash. To commemorate the venue’s closing in 2007, the Guardian published a story glorifying Trash’s 10-year stint, calling it “the place to see and be seen.”
During the club’s legendary run, it helped break artists like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Peaches and Bloc Party. Its guest list was strict and the likes of Courtney Love and Marilyn Manson were turned away.
Between playing festivals like Coachella and producing songs for the Klaxons and Franz Fredinand, he has released official remixes for MGMT, Justice, Hot Chip, Scissor Sisters and Daft Punk.
“There is more music with Boys Noize, as well as some original music from myself, coming very soon,” said Alkan.
Alkan has an alter ego. He plays in the band Beyond the Wizards Sleeve.
“It’s just me and Richard Norris and [we do it] out of love for the psychedelic sounds and attitudes of a distant era. We released plenty of re-animations where we tried to bring the values of that time to modern music, and a modern approach to music of the 1960s,” says Alkan.
Dance Rock Taipei presents Gan-Ban Night featuring Alkan, Renaissance Man, Rory Philips, Spykee, Freaky Squeaker, Swing Child, Kurt and Inn tonight at The Wall, B1, 200, Roosevelt Rd Sec 4, Taipei City (台北市羅斯福路四段200號B1). Tickets are NT$1,400, available at the door.
If that’s not enough electro, Agnst Asia and Dance Rock Taipei are teaming up to host an afterparty at China White tomorrow night. The lineup includes Kurt from Clash the Disco Kids in Singapore, Swing Child, Inn, Spykee, and Freaky Squeaker. China White is located in the alley beside Carnegies at 2F, 97-101, Dunhua S Rd Sec 2, Taipei City (台北市敦化南路二段97-101號). Entrance is NT$400 with a drink, and if you keep your stub from Gan-Ban night, admission is NT$300 with a drink. Doors open at 10:30pm.
Sept.16 to Sept. 22 The “anti-communist train” with then-president Chiang Kai-shek’s (蔣介石) face plastered on the engine puffed along the “sugar railway” (糖業鐵路) in May 1955, drawing enthusiastic crowds at 103 stops covering nearly 1,200km. An estimated 1.58 million spectators were treated to propaganda films, plays and received free sugar products. By this time, the state-run Taiwan Sugar Corporation (台糖, Taisugar) had managed to connect the previously separate east-west lines established by Japanese-era sugar factories, allowing the anti-communist train to travel easily from Taichung to Pingtung’s Donggang Township (東港). Last Sunday’s feature (Taiwan in Time: The sugar express) covered the inauguration of the
The corruption cases surrounding former Taipei Mayor and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) head Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) are just one item in the endless cycle of noise and fuss obscuring Taiwan’s deep and urgent structural and social problems. Even the case itself, as James Baron observed in an excellent piece at the Diplomat last week, is only one manifestation of the greater problem of deep-rooted corruption in land development. Last week the government announced a program to permit 25,000 foreign university students, primarily from the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia, to work in Taiwan after graduation for 2-4 years. That number is a
In a stark demonstration of how award-winning breakthroughs can come from the most unlikely directions, researchers have won an Ig Nobel prize for discovering that mammals can breathe through their anuses. After a series of tests on mice, rats and pigs, Japanese scientists found the animals absorb oxygen delivered through the rectum, work that underpins a clinical trial to see whether the procedure can treat respiratory failure. The team is among 10 recognized in this year’s Ig Nobel awards (see below for more), the irreverent accolades given for achievements that “first make people laugh, and then make them think.” They are not
This Qing Dynasty trail takes hikers from renowned hot springs in the East Rift Valley, up to the top of the Coastal Mountain Range, and down to the Pacific Short vacations to eastern Taiwan often require choosing between the Rift Valley with its pineapple fields, rice paddies and broader range of amenities, or the less populated coastal route for its ocean scenery. For those who can’t decide, why not try both? The Antong Traversing Trail (安通越嶺道) provides just such an opportunity. Built 149 years ago, the trail linked up these two formerly isolated parts of the island by crossing over the Coastal Mountain Range. After decades of serving as a convenient path for local Amis, Han settlers, missionaries and smugglers, the trail fell into disuse once modern roadways were built