There are two kinds of people that savor vinyl records — hip-hop DJs and vinyl enthusiasts. But these two types don’t seem to like each other because hip-hop DJs always want to scratch the records and vinyl enthusiasts will do anything so that their records never get scratched. This weekend, for three shows at the Eslite Performance Hall, two of Taiwan’s most creative DJs are joining forces for a journey through musical history from a hip-hop DJ’s and a vinyl enthusiast’s point of view.
DJ Xuan (real name Shiuan Liu, 劉軒) plays the character of an old school vinyl collector. DJ QuestionMark (DJ問號, real name Steven Ying) basically plays himself, a scratchmaster who loves to manipulate vinyl with his hands and two turntables. Together they represent two very different viewpoints on music. DJ Xuan thinks that music is about memories and history, while DJ QuestionMark thinks music is about mashing songs up and moving forward. The two DJs will be joined by a band on stage and they will get together and play jazz, rock, funk, soul, disco, house and dubstep.
“We cover a lot of ground in these concerts,” said DJ Xuan. “We start with 1920s jazz, then ... do a lot of crossover and medleys.”
Photo Courtesy of Shiuan Liu
■ Groove It (劉軒 X DJ問號 玩‧黑膠 ) is tonight at 7pm, tomorrow at 2:30pm and 7:30pm at Eslite Performance Hall, B2, 88 Tobacco Factory Road, Taipei City (台北市信義區菸廠路88號B2). Admission is NT$1,000 and tickets can be purchased at the door or online at goo.gl/rHOn36.
Lazy cats
Em Lee has been a staple of Taiwan’s DJ scene for more than a decade and he has been putting together Lazy Cats, a free DJ event, for much of that time. Lazy Cats’ former home was a cozy wine shop in Xindian, where people were encouraged to grill free food and enjoy music one Sunday evening per month.
Photo Courtesy of Shiuan Liu
Tomorrow, Lee moves the Lazy Cats party to Greater Kaohsiung’s PIER 22. He has invited some of his close DJ friends like Duckie, Chino, Louis, Tom Bassman, Kenji, Mango and Sam to play their favorite chilled out tunes while people barbeque and hang out with friends.
■ Lazy Cats is tomorrow from 4pm to 11pm at Pier 22 near the end of Hsinkuang Road, Greater Kaohsiung (高雄市新光路底22號碼頭海洋之星). Admission is free.
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