It was supposed to be the perfect night. A little over a month ago, Luxy’s lesser-known third room was stripped of most of its tables, a large sound system was installed and the DJ booth was put on the floor where the legendary DJ Sasha was to play an intimate set for only a few hundred lucky fans. The lights were off, the vibe was strong, and Sasha had only just begun playing when police pulled the plug. Amid crushed spirits, there was some good that came of the night — the Loft above Luxy makes for an ideal underground music venue. Why didn’t anyone think of it before?
201#6 is Loft’s new name, but it’s not meant to be considered a club, says DJ J6, real name Chan Chia-chang (詹佳璋). Rather, it’s a space with a bar run by a crew of experienced soundmen, DJs, promoters and designers, who are joining forces one night a week to bring underground electronic music to an already established and impressive but overlooked venue. And being the only centrally located club offering underground music and a relatively inexpensive cover charge (NT$300 including a drink), it might work.
For the time being, 201#6 will only be open on Saturdays and rotate between three regular resident nights.
Photo courtesy of Stephen Mawson
The roster includes and welcomes anyone playing underground electronic music in Taipei, and that invitation extends to new talent looking for a place to play. J6 says they aim to win approval by playing everything but commercial music, focusing instead on what they love: techno, deep house, tech house and even drum n bass.
■ 201#6 opens its doors tomorrow night from 10pm to 4am at 6F, 201 Zhongxiao E Rd Sec 4, Taipei City (台北市忠孝東路四段201號6樓). Admission is NT$300 with a drink. Reservations can be made by calling 0955-904-600.
Though Taipei’s summer days have been blistering hot, nights are pleasantly balmy and best spent outdoors — especially when accompanied by good music, craft beer and deep-fried pickles. The recently opened Garden California Bar is exactly what you would expect from a restaurant bar in the Xinyi district, except that it offers underground electronic music.
Digital D, real name DaTron DeShuan King, is the resident DJ of the alfresco beer garden on weekends, and the music will better reflect him as an underground house DJ than the commercialized backdrop of its location.
Digital has been throwing out a bit of deep house, nu disco, and even drum n bass, and says it’s been so nice to stand in a DJ booth and not have a club owner come up to him and ask him to play something more popular. The area gets a lot of foot traffic and he’s just excited to expose a lot of people to new kinds of music that’s not commonly played on the radio, in clubs or even on an iPod .
“It will definitely be groovy, with funk you can smell around the block,” he said.
You’ll likely also be able to smell Quebec-style poutine coming from the kitchen, or one of their seven kinds of wings. Or perhaps house music is best served alongside a house-brewed craft beer. It’s certainly a unique enterprise, and it officially kicks off tonight. Digital D plays Friday and Saturday nights and will bring with him a guest DJ every weekend to keep the shakedowns especially diverse.
■ Digital D plays every Friday and Saturday from 11pm to 3am at the Garden California Bar, 1F, 20 Songshou Rd, Taipei City (信義區松壽路20號1樓). Admission is free.
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