It’s always exciting when a new club opens up, but it’s not always a sure bet it will last in Taipei. CA Club might. What’s really going to work for CA Club is its branding and custom design by Christian Audigier, better known as the man behind the Ed Hardy label. While the grand opening isn’t until Nov. 19, doors are opening tonight for a peek at what Audigier is launching in both Taipei and Shanghai.
If you’re at all worried that the kitschy branding will attract the wrong kind of clientele, don’t be, because they’ve done good by teaming up with Tan Yuan-chun (譚元淳), better known as Disk0kidz, a music director who has been throwing raves in Taiwan for far longer than I’ve been here under the label Ultra Dance Society. His passion is nu disco and French house, a genre that has seen tremendous new light since Daft Punk released Random Access Memories earlier this year and changed the whole game. Again.
Tan kicks things off tonight by bringing Belgian born DJ Attar!, real name Renaud Deru, back to Taiwan. His forte is also nu disco and French house specifically, which will be a welcome change from that bleepy riff-laden electronic music sound that has infiltrated clubs worldwide. This is a promising first move for CA Club, one that doesn’t quite sync with its presumed getup, but could work beautifully if executed properly.
Photo courtesy of Cliche Records
Attar!’s free-flowing style should hopefully set the mood for a club that is after a more melodic approach to music and that is looking to attract a crowd that wants its heart touched, which is Attar!’s main goal in music production. He figured out this tactic early on, while in a band called Mustang. He thought his partner was too focused on technicalities. He was more after emotion.
He’s happy to be working alone now as simply Attar!, a name that in fact has little to do with the ’90s video game console Atari. He said he grew up spending more time skateboarding and kissing girls than playing any sort of games. He barely touched a computer.
“My mum’s first computer was an Atari and I remember that strange feeling I had when she turned it on for the first time, it was something magical and stressful in the same time. I was afraid to push on any buttons and fire a nuclear bomb!”
Photo courtesy of Arvida Bystrom
But he managed to pick up some skills over the years. And we’re glad he did, because he has pumped out some serious magic from inside a studio. Whether he’s lacing the sweet sounds of the ’70s somewhere beneath layers of house music, or banging out remixes with artists like Gossip, Aeroplane, and Two Door Cinema Club, his selection promises that tonight will be a sleepless night of spinning and shaking.
■ Attar! plays tonight from 10pm to 4am at CA Club-Taipei in the Breeze Center, 2F, 39 Fuxing South Rd, Taipei City (復興南路一段39號2F). Admission is NT$600 and includes two drinks.
Not to be missed tomorrow is arguably Asia’s largest costume party, Halloween Massive. In its eighth year, the event is expected to draw 7,000 to 8,000 people. The lineup, as usual, is filled with the most illustrious DJs that The Loop can get their hands on. Artists this year include Ultra and Dim Mak-affiliated DJs like BT, Swanky Tunes, Angger Dimas, Matthew Koma — and best of all — two of the most mind-blowingly beautiful Swedish girls to ever make it in an almost entirely male-dominated industry, Rebecca and Fiona.
At first glance, one might think they got famous because, simply put, they are stunning. But in fact, they’re just that good. It was thanks to Tiesto and Kaskade noticing them that they broke out of Sweden and started taking over the world.
“When we released our track Turn It Down with Kaskade, we reached out to a wider audience. That was huge for indie girls like us,” said the duo to the Taipei Times.
By looking at them, it’s easy to think they are pop stars. But don’t be fooled, these two blonde babes might rock eight-inch platforms on their feet, but they actually prefer rocking out to anything but what’s popular. “We’re just not so much into commercial music. We love DJ Carli, Richie Hawtin, Panda da Panda, Tim Rev, Loops of Fury, and Tommie Sunshine.”
Whatever they play, we’re excited — and they’re exceptionally nice to look at.
■ Halloween Massive, tomorrow at 9pm at the New Taipei Exhibition Center (新北市工商展覽中心), 1 Wucyuan Rd, Wugu Industry Park, New Taipei City (新北市五股工業區五權路1號). Tickets are available until the end of today at any iBon or FamiPort machine for NT$1,500. Tickets at the door will be NT$1,800.
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