The last time DJ Shortkut (Jonathon Cruz) was in Taiwan, he toured packed venues playing electropop in Taichung, Jhongli, and Kaohsiung. He’ll be doing double duty this today and tomorrow night at Marquee and going back to his roots by playing nothing but the classics.
The Vinyl Word caught up with Shortkut by e-mail to ask him about his previous experiences in Taiwan. “I’ve always loved Taiwan as a place to perform,” Shortkut said. “The crowds have always been receptive since the first time I toured there in 1995.”
For Shortkut, the music that he loves has bridged many gaps when he’s been on the road. “Hip-hop has introduced me to like-minded folks around the world, some of whose language I can’t even speak, but share the same love for the culture,” he said.
Photo Courtesy of The Blast
Being a veteran in the DJ game, Shortkut knows that one of the biggest skills a DJ can acquire over the years is knowing how to please any audience. “As a DJ, I believe in being well-rounded and playing for any crowd that’s in front of me,” he said. “I also know how to pick my battles. If I’m in a situation where the crowd seems to be more pop, I’ll play what they want, then after they’re open to me, I’ll try to play some stuff they’re not used to hearing and get ‘em open.
Classics are definitely my area of expertise, but I also believe in staying in touch with what the new generation of club goers are into.”
The party’s hosts, the Blast Crew, have a reputation for keeping it real, so Shortkut plans to do the same by playing “timeless hip-hop, future classics and everything in between” both nights. But he guarantees that his music collection is so diverse that tonight and tomorrow will be very different.
He said, “Friday will be for the music heads.Saturday is an ‘anything goes’ night. My music library runs deep so whatever the night calls for, it’ll be played.”
The Blast presents DJ Shortkut tonight and tomorrow night from 9:30pm to 3am at Marquee, 16-1, Xinyi Rd Sec 5, Taipei City (台北市信義路五段16之1號). Call (02) 2729-5409 for reservations. Admission is NT$1,000 for men and free for women.
Men get two drinks with the price of admission.
For the past five years, the Taipei Country Club (台北鄉村俱樂部) has been home to pool party after pool party. It was the perfect venue because it was easy to reach but far enough from the city, with views of palm trees, mountains and Taipei 101.
Lawsuits and awful management have drained the water out of pool parties there, but a new venue is trying to resurrect that feeling. The Happy World Riverside Pool (大新店游泳池) will be home to a host of pool parties this summer from the bar MiCasa and the event company Party Taiwan. Even DJ NekBrace will be dipping his toes into the promotional waters. The venue, while not quite as nice as the Taipei Country Club, has a number of pluses including waterslides, basketball hoops on the side of the pool and a massage pool area. This weekend, Robi Roka’s Happy Endings teams up with MiCasa for Summer Splash 2012.
Summer Splash 2012 is tomorrow from 1pm to 10pm at Happy World Riverside Pool (大新店游泳池), 112-1, Huanhe Rd, Sindian Dist, New Taipei City (新北市新店區環河路112-1號). Admission is free from 1pm to 2:30pm. After 2:30pm, admission is NT$250 for ladies and NT$350 for men. These prices include one drink.
Oliver Harley (also known as Lion) is a multi-talented DJ, producer and drummer. He first started playing with the O-Brothaz, then his crew expanded to the Black Reign Sound System, and now he is in Roots Rebellion, which plays a mix of dancehall and reggae tomorrow night at La Caja de Musica.
“The band was something that we always had in mind from the beginning,” Harley said in an e-mail interview with the Taipei Times. “It was just a matter of the right time for it to manifest and for the right people to fall in at the right time.”
Harley believes there is a big difference between playing other artists’ tunes through CDJs and performing songs live in a band. “They are two different animals, for real,” he said. “When people dance to original tunes it is like you share a piece of yourself with those people in the room. They are transported into your world. When you deejay, you connect with the people, for sure, but in a different way. It’s not so personal.”
Island Jam presents Roots Rebellion tomorrow from 8:30pm to 11:30pm at La Caja de Musica, 18, Alley 3, Ln 138, Changan W Rd, Taipei City (台北市長安西路138巷3弄18號). Admission is NT$250 and includes one drink.
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