Indie electronica/rock duo Astro Bunny (原子邦妮) is that rare thing: a band with a storyteller’s point of view.
The outfit will perform one set for its debut concert at Riverside Cafe (河岸留言) on Wednesday evening. The group is comprised of vocalist/lyricist Lena Cha (查家雯 a.k.a. 查查) — the former front-girl for the indie band Cherry Boom (櫻桃幫) — and bassist/producer Jay Cheng (程杰).
“We named the group ‘bunny’ because I love bunnies and I forced him to like them too,” Cha laughed in an interview with the Taipei Times three weeks ago. “I picked the word “astro” because I’m an anime and computer game geek.”
Photo courtesy of Astro Bunny
The group released its first EP What If There’s No Tomorrow (如果沒有以後) a month ago and will support the release with this concert.
“The astro bunny will lead you to a parallel universe where the ancient and the modern clash in a musical atmosphere,” Cha said, explaining that their electronica is crafted through the juxtaposition of literary ancient Chinese prose and contemporary electronica melodies. The resulting music is a combined composition.
“Because of the neutral nature of the synthesizer used to create electronica sounds, this seemingly lifeless music doesn’t feed you with predetermined themes,” Cha explained. “Rather, it allows you to interpret and imagine meanings according to your mood at the time.”
Photo courtesy of Astro Bunny
The five-track EP is conceived as a concept album and a storybook. The Intro depicts the beginning when nothing exists. Then an explosion takes place, followed by the track The Milky Way (銀河). With the title track What If There’s No Tomorrow, the two imagine the apocalypse of 2012, but resolve to hold on to their love. Flower Blossoms and Moon Round (花好月圓) was originally written by Cheng for indie icon Sandee Chan (陳珊妮) but is transformed into an electronica gem with literary lyrics. The closing track That Day (那天) is an electronica ballad about encountering a former lover and reminiscing about what might have been.
“Electronica is a form that demands a mixture of visual and musical presentation,” Cha said. “We want to bring video artists, VJs and lighting designers together to enhance the experience of our concerts in the future.”
On the cover and inside illustration of the EP there are photographs by Cha taken with an iPhone app that transforms them into designs. She plans to push this concept further to release a photo album with iPhone shots and also a storybook album.
“The possibilities of electronica are endless,” she said. The group plans to release its first full-length album at the end of this year.
Late last month Philippines Foreign Affairs Secretary Theresa Lazaro told the Philippine Senate that the nation has sufficient funds to evacuate the nearly 170,000 Filipino residents in Taiwan, 84 percent of whom are migrant workers, in the event of war. Agencies have been exploring evacuation scenarios since early this year, she said. She also observed that since the Philippines has only limited ships, the government is consulting security agencies for alternatives. Filipinos are a distant third in overall migrant worker population. Indonesia has over 248,000 workers, followed by roughly 240,000 Vietnamese. It should be noted that there are another 170,000
Hannah Liao (廖宸萱) recalls the harassment she experienced on dating apps, an experience that left her frightened and disgusted. “I’ve tried some voice-based dating apps,” the 30-year-old says. “Right away, some guys would say things like, ‘Wanna talk dirty?’ or ‘Wanna suck my d**k?’” she says. Liao’s story is not unique. Ministry of Health and Welfare statistics show a more than 50 percent rise in sexual assault cases related to online encounters over the past five years. In 2023 alone, women comprised 7,698 of the 9,413 reported victims. Faced with a dating landscape that can feel more predatory than promising, many in
“This is one of those rare bits of TikTok fitness advice with a lot of truth behind it,” says Bethan Crouse, performance nutritionist at Loughborough University. “Sometimes it’s taken a bit too literally, though! You see people chugging protein drinks as they’re scanning out of their gym.” Crouse recommends the athletes she works with consume 20-30g of protein within 30-60 minutes of finishing a resistance training session. “The act of exercising our muscles increases the breakdown of muscle proteins,” she says. “In order to restore, or hopefully improve them — and get gains such as increased muscle mass or strength —
Enter the Dragon 13 will bring Taiwan’s first taste of Dirty Boxing Sunday at Taipei Gymnasium, one highlight of a mixed-rules card blending new formats with traditional MMA. The undercard starts at 10:30am, with the main card beginning at 4pm. Tickets are NT$1,200. Dirty Boxing is a US-born ruleset popularized by fighters Mike Perry and Jon Jones as an alternative to boxing. The format has gained traction overseas, with its inaugural championship streamed free to millions on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram. Taiwan’s version allows punches and elbows with clinch striking, but bans kicks, knees and takedowns. The rules are stricter than the
RSS