With his bright new cane, padded frame and fondness for clubbing, DJ K Fancy has been kicking back and looking like the pimp daddy of the Taipei house music scene since he developed tendinitis last week.
The painful and debilitating inflammation of the knee is unlikely to slow him down much though, as he has been one of the busiest bees on the local scene with his DJing, production and promotion work and membership in the experimental hip-hop band Trouble -- not forgetting his day job as a draft designer.
PHOTO COURTESY OF PAUL BLAIN
So, expect the 31-year-old from Huntington, West Virginia, to make his dates over the Christmas and New Year period with the aid of his cane and a boxful of records blending heavy house and break beats.
One of the bevvy of foreign import playas in Taiwan, Fancy started DJing just a couple of years ago but has been setting the beat on the Taipei house scene since then, compiling a CV that includes work with Mark Farina, Danny McMillan and DJ Morpheus, as well as doing gigs around the island and holding down a spot at the biggest clubs in town.
"I kinda consider myself a Taiwan DJ because this is where I started. I mean, who cares where I'm from. When I played back in the US they called me DJ Fancy from Taiwan," he said.
"I just found myself here in Taipei, collecting music and then woke up one day and decided to be a music producer and went back to sleep. When I woke up again I wanted to become a DJ as well."
Fancy said production took a back seat for a while but he was planning to produce a full-length CD with Trouble and a solo debut CD in the new year. All of which, he said, adds to the local scene.
"Yeah, I think foreign DJs have an impact in a positive way. For a long time the Asian market was kinda stagnant and all you could hear was this trance, progressive house thing. So, I think the foreign DJs add a bit of oxygen."
He rated Taipei's electronic music market as among the top three in Asia and said it was a good place to develop as a DJ. "Taipei leans more toward electronica than live music places like mid-America, where I'm from, I guess. Nowadays we have a lot of big-name DJs rather than live acts."
As to the future, Fancy reckons the next generation of DJs will come from everywhere "because technology makes it a lot easier to find a sound, download an MP3, save it as a wave file, sit in the house and produce something on a laptop.
"At the moment, there's a lot of attention by DJs on the sound and the mix. I guess it's not really a world-class scene at the moment, but more and more DJs are up and coming. I hope I keep it up and coming."
For his 60 second interview K Fancy elected to give these answers.
Marriage: "A good idea." [diplomatic considering he recently tied the knot]
Boredom: "Don't get it."
Christmas wish: "That I can walk."
Left-leaning: "I am today."
Pink politics: "I thought we just done that."
The US: "A bully in the neighborhood."
Canada: "Fifty-first state."
Taiwan: "A target."
Rock 'n' roll: "Has its place."
Drugs: "Have their place."
The music you're listening to now: "Internet radio."
DJ you hate: "No comment."
DJ you love: "Mark Farina."
Our Christmas Eve pick is a night out with Fancy, who will be be joined by FunkStar, Flanky, Mykal, Dino and Edmund for Jungle Bell at Spin, for a mosh of drum 'n' bass, hip hop and breaks.
Elsewhere, catch Brighton-based Englishman Krafty Kuts, alias Martin Reeves at LUXY tonight. The crown prince of breakbeats released Tricka Technology earlier in the year and is on a roll. Tomorrow, 2nd Floor and The Loop presents a live DJ set from Japan's techno champion Kagami. Christmas Eve at LUXY is the Xmas Showdown with DJ Prime Cuts from the Scratch Perverts. "Ziggy Stardust" with DJ Em at the United Hotel (200 Guangfu S Rd) on the same night is the alternative choice.
For your information :
Jungle Bell is at Spin, B1, 91, Heping E Rd, Sec 1, Taipei (台北市和平東路一段91號B1), call (02) 2356 9366.
LUXY, 5F, 201 Zhongxiao E Road, Sec 4, Taipei (台北市忠孝東路四段201號五樓), (02) 2772 100.
2nd Floor is at 15 Heping W Rd, Sec 4, Taipei (台北市和平西路四段15號).
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