Pop newcomer Nylon Chen (陳乃榮) will perform in a concert, titled One Man Nakashi (一個人的那卡西), in support of his sophomoric album Same Species (同種異類).
Chen will bring two albums’ worth of songs and his acting experience to his Legacy Taipei concert today at 4pm.
“Writing a song is like falling in love,” Chen told the Taipei Times. “You have to safeguard that precious instinct or the politics of the music business will rob you of it.”
Photo courtesy of Rock Records
The actor/singer/songwriter released his debut album Paradise in 2009, and quickly achieved pop idol status. Determined to become a bona fide songwriter, he spent three years writing one song per week, accumulating over 100 songs before releasing his follow-up album Same Species.
The title track is a rock-tinged anthem that asserts Chen’s determination to pursue his music dream. Heard (聽見) is a J-pop influenced ballad about receiving the pledge of a lover. Despite his good looks, the albums’ songs reveal a musician dealing with personal struggles.
“There is only one song that you could call happy,” Chen said. “I’m the sort of person who is always contemplating and questioning.”
Chen calls himself a “musical zhainan” (音樂宅男) because similar to zhainan (“home boys”) — so-called because they live with their parents and play computer games all day and night — he spends his whole day playing and writing music, often forgetting to eat meals or go to the toilet. “If not for acting and commercial gigs, I’d never leave the house,” he quipped.
Because of his matinee idol good looks, Chen has acted in numerous television commercials as well as seven television dramas, including Beauty’s Dragon Hot Spring (美人龍湯).
Still, Chen is not your average packaged pop star. He enjoys the spontaneity of performing live, and has spent a lot of time playing in bars and clubs to perfect his stage persona.
“I love the organic feeling of performing live and interacting with other musicians,” he said.
One Man Nakashi (一個人的那卡西), today at 4pm at Legacy Taipei (傳音樂展演空間), located at Huashan 1914 Creative Park (華山1914), Center Five Hall (中五館), 1, Bade Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市八德路一段1號). Tickets are NT$600 and NT$800, and are available through 7-Eleven ibon kiosks or at www.tickets.com.tw.
June 23 to June 29 After capturing the walled city of Hsinchu on June 22, 1895, the Japanese hoped to quickly push south and seize control of Taiwan’s entire west coast — but their advance was stalled for more than a month. Not only did local Hakka fighters continue to cause them headaches, resistance forces even attempted to retake the city three times. “We had planned to occupy Anping (Tainan) and Takao (Kaohsiung) as soon as possible, but ever since we took Hsinchu, nearby bandits proclaiming to be ‘righteous people’ (義民) have been destroying train tracks and electrical cables, and gathering in villages
Dr. Y. Tony Yang, Associate Dean of Health Policy and Population Science at George Washington University, argued last week in a piece for the Taipei Times about former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) leading a student delegation to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) that, “The real question is not whether Ma’s visit helps or hurts Taiwan — it is why Taiwan lacks a sophisticated, multi-track approach to one of the most complex geopolitical relationships in the world” (“Ma’s Visit, DPP’s Blind Spot,” June 18, page 8). Yang contends that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has a blind spot: “By treating any
This year will go down in the history books. Taiwan faces enormous turmoil and uncertainty in the coming months. Which political parties are in a good position to handle big changes? All of the main parties are beset with challenges. Taking stock, this column examined the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) (“Huang Kuo-chang’s choking the life out of the TPP,” May 28, page 12), the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) (“Challenges amid choppy waters for the DPP,” June 14, page 12) and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) (“KMT struggles to seize opportunities as ‘interesting times’ loom,” June 20, page 11). Times like these can
Swooping low over the banks of a Nile River tributary, an aid flight run by retired American military officers released a stream of food-stuffed sacks over a town emptied by fighting in South Sudan, a country wracked by conflict. Last week’s air drop was the latest in a controversial development — private contracting firms led by former US intelligence officers and military veterans delivering aid to some of the world’s deadliest conflict zones, in operations organized with governments that are combatants in the conflicts. The moves are roiling the global aid community, which warns of a more militarized, politicized and profit-seeking trend