As the Lunar New Year exodus from Taiwan begins for many an expat, and the Taiwanese party crew returns to family life, there are several options for those who remain and are in the need of late night music.
New promoters in town Patricia Tsou (鄒佩菁) and Miranda Liu (劉玉鍶) have teamed up to produce Panda Promotions. Named Panda from the P of the former’s name and last two syllables of the latter’s, these ladies are bringing back Tittsworth, who put on a venerable night of hip-hop, break beats, rock, electro and 1980s tunes at Vibe on June 27 of last year.
On Thursday he plays at an all-you-can drink affair at Plush with Marcus Aurelius, Sofa Kings and hip-hop king of Taipei, Cap. This will be the party of the Lunar New Year holidays. “I expect to hear on that Thursday what most people will be listening to in a year or two,” said Aurelius of Tittsworth’s set.
Tittsworth’s Baltimore club sound is “a loose combination of hip-hop and house … bass heavy, sometimes break-based music, often with gritty samples,” said the man himself. “Dance-friendly music, often built around DJ-friendly tracks.”
This style of mixing and genre melding is made much easier because of digital deejaying. “I do like to mix fast,” said Tittsworth. “I use Serato and a Pioneer 800. It’s an interesting time ... rap, club, bassline, fidget. Lines are blurring and the end result is very fun music.”
Since last performing in Taiwan, Tittsworth has released an album, 12 Steps.
“Twelve tracks, loosely club music but gone in many directions ... R’n’B, rap, rave, electronic,” he said. The work “also features a long list of A-list vocalists, Kid Sister, The Federation, Nina Sky, Pitbull, DJ Assault and more.”
Other than Beth Cox in Taichung, there is a lack of female promoters in Taiwan. One reason Tsou and Liu made the decision to start Panda was that “there seems to be fewer promoters around now,” said the former. “Female promoters are always attractive to the market. It’s easier being a woman because, most of the time, people will sit down with me and listen to my proposals. It’s harder for me because I can’t carry 20 cases of beer up three flights of stairs.”
Scooping Tittsworth for its first party is a strong start for Panda Promotions. “One of the reasons we jumped at the chance to have him stop in Taipei for his Broke These Days world tour is that the last party was so much fun,” said Tsou. “Every person in that place was dancing and feeling great.”
On the Net: For an awesome Tittsworth mix, visit www.sendspace.com/file/tcwt9y
Tittsworth at Plush, 12F, 138, Bade Rd Sec 4, Taipei City (台北市敦八德路四段138號12F). Thursday from 10:30pm until 4:30am. Entry to the all-you-can drink party is NT$500.
Bob Dobalina is a superb DJ who doesn’t play out enough in Taipei. “Your friendly neighborhood DJ,” as he likes to be known, is putting on a show at VU Live House tomorrow for the drum ’n’ bass heads out there with Rich, Mixer T and Coffeepot. This will be the penultimate day of the Year of the Rat, and with the holidays ahead there’s no need to worry about the Monday blues.
VU Live House is honing a good reputation for putting on alternative nights with those making the trek to Ximending usually more interested in the quality of the music than the quality of the venue’s drinks.
Lunar Phase at VU Live House (地下絲絨), B1, 77, Wuchang St Sec 2, Taipei City (台北市武昌街二段77號B1). Tomorrow from 11pm until 4am. Admission is NT$350 with one drink.
Sept.16 to Sept. 22 The “anti-communist train” with then-president Chiang Kai-shek’s (蔣介石) face plastered on the engine puffed along the “sugar railway” (糖業鐵路) in May 1955, drawing enthusiastic crowds at 103 stops covering nearly 1,200km. An estimated 1.58 million spectators were treated to propaganda films, plays and received free sugar products. By this time, the state-run Taiwan Sugar Corporation (台糖, Taisugar) had managed to connect the previously separate east-west lines established by Japanese-era sugar factories, allowing the anti-communist train to travel easily from Taichung to Pingtung’s Donggang Township (東港). Last Sunday’s feature (Taiwan in Time: The sugar express) covered the inauguration of the
This Qing Dynasty trail takes hikers from renowned hot springs in the East Rift Valley, up to the top of the Coastal Mountain Range, and down to the Pacific Short vacations to eastern Taiwan often require choosing between the Rift Valley with its pineapple fields, rice paddies and broader range of amenities, or the less populated coastal route for its ocean scenery. For those who can’t decide, why not try both? The Antong Traversing Trail (安通越嶺道) provides just such an opportunity. Built 149 years ago, the trail linked up these two formerly isolated parts of the island by crossing over the Coastal Mountain Range. After decades of serving as a convenient path for local Amis, Han settlers, missionaries and smugglers, the trail fell into disuse once modern roadways were built
“Once you get there, you think, that’s a little embarrassing or revealing or scary... but ultimately, I learned that is where the good stuff is,” says Taiwanese-American director Sean Wang about writing indie breakout Didi (弟弟), which debuted at Sundance Film Festival Asia 2024 in Taipei last month. Didi is a heartwarming coming-of-age story centered on the Asian American experience. Not just a 2000s teenage nostalgia piece, but a raw, unflinching look at immigrant families and adolescent identity struggles. It quickly became the centerpiece of the event, striking a chord with not only those sharing similar backgrounds but anyone who’s ever
“Magical,” “special,” a “total badass:” step forward Kamala Harris, the 59-year-old dynamo who has rebranded her country at lightning speed, offering it up as a nation synonymous with optimism, hope and patriotism. For the rest of us, Kamala’s gift is her joy and vibrancy — and the way she is smashing it just months away from her seventh decade, holding up 60 in all its power and glory. Welcome to the new golden age. Hers is the vibrancy of a woman who owns her power, a woman who is manifesting her experience and expertise, a woman who knows her time has
RSS