In a culture where you’re expected to study for more hours every day than you sleep, it takes a lot of determination and some serious time management skills to follow your dreams. DJ Chida, born Shinsuke Chida, did just that and his story begins in Sendai, Japan.
“When I was a high school student, I was really into music,” said Chida. “I had a part time job but it wasn’t enough money to buy a mixer and turntables, so I just kept on buying records. Then I’d meet DJs at clubs and go to their house after work to practice mixing records.”
But Chida’s dreams were bigger than Sendai and in 1992, he moved to Tokyo where he met DJ Kent. The two went on to garner a reputation for pioneering the underground scene in Japan.
Photo courtesy of Rieko Omori
“I don’t think I’m that big in Japan,” joked Chida modestly. “I just kept doing my thing in the underground scene as best as I could. I wanted to make a difference.”
Soon after the move, Chida landed a job at a record label that would later serve as a gateway into Japan’s music industry and eventually, inspire him to launch his own label.
“Ever since 1999, I knew that I wanted to help expand the Japanese music scene because there were so many unique and cool artists making good music,” said Chida. “Also, there is so much good music made in Japan and I wanted to keep it all on records, so I started my own label.”
Photo courtesy of Mark Doyle
Perseverance paid off in 2009 when Chida launched Ene Records, an exclusive label widely known for its dedication to vinyl. “Vinyl is so important to me so we have to find ways to make it survive and keep pressing it,” he said. “At most, sales are a tenth of what they were 10 years ago.”
The label has had a number of big releases like The Backwoods in 2010, which is one of DJ Kent’s side projects. It was at this time that together, the pair caught the attention of the rest of the world.
Chida, who is known for his unique take on classic house music and nu-disco, has since appeared on Tim Sweeney’s illustrious New York based radio show Beats in Space and has a track on Ministry of Sound. Together with DJ Kent, the two will tour Europe this summer.
“We just kept sending our music releases everywhere,” he said. “It’s the power of music that connected us with the world.”
Back at home in Tokyo, he says that the underground music scene is still really small, so besides his label, he also works on making fliers, sleeves, CD jackets and is preparing to launch and online store.
“This is my story. I may not be the most famous or popular DJ, but I’m happy that I was able to keep doing the one thing that I loved for 20 years, and that’s dance music.”
Catch DJ Chida presented by Bass Kitchen tonight at G-Six Club, 249 Fuxing S Rd, Taipei City (北市復興南路一段249號). Admission is NT$600 at the door, which includes one drink.
Also tonight, the man responsible for Hed Kandi introduces his new company, Fierce Angels, to Taiwan at Room 18.
“Fierce Angel is a record label and events company that continues my love of everything to do with music and clubbing,” said DJ Mark Doyle in an interview with the Taipei Times. “We created the brand five years ago after I left Hed Kandi.”
Mark says that his main focus since leaving Hed Kandi is to focus purely on the music. “The inspiration was easy as I wanted to continue with the work I began at Hed Kandi but I didn’t want to be restricted by working for a big company that demanded we make lots of profit regardless of quality,” said Mark.
Just because Mark is no longer with Hed Kandi, it doesn’t mean you aren’t going to get the look and feel that you know and love.
“I was responsible for choosing the music on the compilations, presenting the radio show and pretty much everything to do with [Hed Kandi],” he said. “That feeling and musical style has continued with Fierce Angel … and the sound of Fierce Angel is very close to what I did when I was there.”
“You can expect a totally hands in the air, non-stop anthem filled night of pure energy,” he continued. “My DJ sets focus on making sure everyone has an amazing time so there will be lots of vocals and epic moments through the night.”
DJ Mark Doyle plays at Room 18 tonight, B1, 88 Songren Road, Taipei City (台北市松仁路88號B1), tel: 0958-111-188. Doors open at 10:30pm. Doors open at 10:30pm. Admission is free for ladies and NT$1,000 for men, which includes three drinks.
In late October of 1873 the government of Japan decided against sending a military expedition to Korea to force that nation to open trade relations. Across the government supporters of the expedition resigned immediately. The spectacle of revolt by disaffected samurai began to loom over Japanese politics. In January of 1874 disaffected samurai attacked a senior minister in Tokyo. A month later, a group of pro-Korea expedition and anti-foreign elements from Saga prefecture in Kyushu revolted, driven in part by high food prices stemming from poor harvests. Their leader, according to Edward Drea’s classic Japan’s Imperial Army, was a samurai
The following three paragraphs are just some of what the local Chinese-language press is reporting on breathlessly and following every twist and turn with the eagerness of a soap opera fan. For many English-language readers, it probably comes across as incomprehensibly opaque, so bear with me briefly dear reader: To the surprise of many, former pop singer and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) ex-lawmaker Yu Tien (余天) of the Taiwan Normal Country Promotion Association (TNCPA) at the last minute dropped out of the running for committee chair of the DPP’s New Taipei City chapter, paving the way for DPP legislator Su
It’s hard to know where to begin with Mark Tovell’s Taiwan: Roads Above the Clouds. Having published a travelogue myself, as well as having contributed to several guidebooks, at first glance Tovell’s book appears to inhabit a middle ground — the kind of hard-to-sell nowheresville publishers detest. Leaf through the pages and you’ll find them suffuse with the purple prose best associated with travel literature: “When the sun is low on a warm, clear morning, and with the heat already rising, we stand at the riverside bike path leading south from Sanxia’s old cobble streets.” Hardly the stuff of your
Located down a sideroad in old Wanhua District (萬華區), Waley Art (水谷藝術) has an established reputation for curating some of the more provocative indie art exhibitions in Taipei. And this month is no exception. Beyond the innocuous facade of a shophouse, the full three stories of the gallery space (including the basement) have been taken over by photographs, installation videos and abstract images courtesy of two creatives who hail from the opposite ends of the earth, Taiwan’s Hsu Yi-ting (許懿婷) and Germany’s Benjamin Janzen. “In 2019, I had an art residency in Europe,” Hsu says. “I met Benjamin in the lobby