Every second Saturday of each month, at a hillside apartment in Hsintien (新店), on the outskirts of Taipei, a group of neighbors, scholars and music fanatics gathers for intimate discussions of music.
The din of Taipei's traffic can hardly be heard. The TV doesn't blare the monotonous reports of political struggles. Instead, there is only discussion about music -- about the singing style in Bulgaria, about the difference between Salsa and Son in Latin America, or about the musical instruments of Mongolia. The meeting is a monthly open house hosted by Trees Music & Art (大大樹音樂圖像), Taiwan's premiere world music record label, owned by Chung She-fong (鍾適芳).
PHOTO COURTESY OF TREES MUSIC & ART
Despite the fact that Trees Music & Art's albums often never make it to the shelves of Taipei's larger record stores, this small company has nonetheless played a crucial role in boosting the still small market for world music in Taiwan.
Trees Music's most popular release was its contracted distribution of the Buena Vista Social Club series, which was originally produced and released by the British label World Circuit. The series sold more than 30,000 copies and became the best-selling world music album in Taiwan.
Chung was a behind-the-scenes coordinator for the extremely popular Second Taiwan World Music Festival (台灣世界音樂節), helping to recruit her good friend and world music expert Jo van Driessche as program director for the events.
Trees Music began as a small operation with a single fax machine and a computer eight years ago, first releasing records from labels like World Circuit and Topic, both from England. It gradually established brand recognition through its cardboard wrapping and tags, which lend a feeling of simplicity and earthiness.
Chung has always strived to keep the company small and personable. In her now-defunct small store on Taipei's Chinhua Street, Chung would typically brew a cup of coffee, sit down and begin introducing the different kinds of CDs from all over the world to customers.
"She is very persistent in her choice of brands and her ideas about running the business," said Chung's friend and current staff member at the label Molly Lin (林秀靜).
Friends and staff describe Chung as a hard-working world music scholar and producer. As often as possible, she attends international seminars or panel discussions on world music, such as Womad in England and the Miden Record Festival in Cannes, France.
Until three months ago, Chung also hosted a well-received radio show at Taipei Philharmonica Radio Station called World Jungle (世界叢林) for five years. Her work there led to her being named the "Queen of Taiwan's World Music" by Nick Gold, owner of World Circuit.
Trees Music has grown somewhat and now has two employees other than Chung. It is also the exclusive distributor in Taiwan of World Circuit releases.
"World music is intriguing in that it provides a different perspective to look at what may be a very local musical creation," Chung said. "We like music that uses traditional instruments but shows contemporary creativity. Also, it should be profoundly nurtured by the land," Chung said.
With its more than 200 releases, no single style of world music can proscribe Trees Music. It mostly distributes albums from foreign labels, but has produced six albums, including the Golden Melody Award-winning Pangcha Wawa's Summer Vacation (邦查娃娃放暑假), a children's ballad of the Amis tribe and Betel Nuts (檳榔兄弟), an album featuring Amis and Papua New Guinean people making music together. Betel Nuts was the first Taiwanese production to receive extensive coverage in the British world music magazine Folk Roots.
Earlier this year, Chung also helped bring the Hakka band Labor Exchange (交工樂隊) to world music festivals in Belgium and the Czech Republic.
"We were swarmed by a full house of Czech media wanting to interview Labor Exchange. The band never had such media attention in Taiwan," said Chung.
Now, Trees Music is set to grow in new directions, starting with the establishment of the Trees Music & Art Association (大大樹音樂協會) which will aim to organize more music events and international seminars. Its first project will be organizing a festival of music by nomadic peoples, set for December, which will include Jewish, Gypsy, Hakka and Taiwanese Aboriginal music.
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