For most European music critics, Taiwan hardly exists on the world music stage. But this situation is likely to end with the appearance of the Hakka band Labor Exchange (交工樂隊) at the Brugge Festival and Gent Folk Festival in Belgium, the Respect World & Ethnic Music Festival in Prague and a date in Paris.
The shows will mark the first time that a Taiwanese band has appeared at these international world music events.
Before its departure, though, Labor Exchange will give two concerts for its fans in Taiwan. Tonight at 7:30pm, the band will perform outside the Taipei City Government Building. On Chinese New Year's day (Jan. 24), they will play for a hometown crowd at the Meinung Hakka Cultural Center (美濃客家文物館) in Kaohsiung County. The band was formed as part of a protest movement against the construction of the Meinung dam.
Lead singer Lin Sheng-hsiang (林生祥) said the band did not set out to be labeled as a "world music" band. "We just made our own music, music close to our homeland, our cultural background and the social reality of our village," he said.
Let's Sing Mountain Songs (我等就來唱山歌), the band's debut album combines protest themes with a mixture of traditional Hakka instrumentation and rock n' roll rhythms. The album received four nominations and won two awards at the Golden Melody Awards last year.
The invitation to visit the Belgian music festivals came after their outstanding performance at Taipei's first world music festival last May. Jo van Driessche, the organizer of Brugge Festival who was in Taipei as a consultant for the festival, was greatly impressed. "Belgians only know about Taiwan's export products, but we know nothing about Taiwan's culture ... Labor Exchange is a first step. The band is writing history," he said.
Chung She-fong (鍾適芳), owner and music producer of Tree Music (大大樹音樂圖像), Taiwan's oldest world music label, also had a hand in promoting the band, introducing them to critics in the Czech Republic and France.
The band is currently recording their second album, Chrysanthemum Night March (菊花夜行軍). "It's an album concerning the sentiments of the farmers, especially facing WTO entry, and also the feelings of young men returning to rural lives," said Lin. The band will play four songs from the new album in the upcoming Taiwan and European concerts.
Labor Exchange 2001 Taiwan concerts
Jan. 15, 7:30pm Taipei City Government Plaza.
Jan. 24, 7:30pm Kaohisung Meinung Hakka Cultural Center.
For additional information on Labor Exchange visit these Web sites: http://www.leband.net and http://www.treesmusic.com
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