Initiated by Eslite music stores (誠品音樂館) in 2007, the annual vinyl mart expands to two venues this year.
While Eslite Bookstore in Taichung hosts Vinyl Underground in August, Taipei’s Dunnan branch has already transformed its basement gallery into a showroom packed with some 12,000 records issued by nine music labels.
Compared to previous editions, which included exhibitions, live performances and DJ shows, this year’s focus is more on vinyl records, says Wu Wu-chang (吳武璋), head of Eslite’s record store.
Though classical music makes up the bulk of the collection, rare secondhand Chinese-language albums, many dating back 20 to 30 years, are prominent among this year’s offerings.
“The 1970s and 1980s were the golden age of vinyl records in Taiwan. So [the secondhand collection] is like a review of the Chinese-language music during that time,” Wu said.
Albums by former pop idols Teresa Teng (鄧麗君), Bobby Liu (劉文正) and Tsui Tai-ching (崔苔菁) are among the most collectable in the eyes of their now middle-aged fans.
More recent performers include Julie Su (蘇芮), Taiwan’s pioneering female rocker from the 1980s, erstwhile Mando-pop queens Sarah Chen (陳淑樺) and Tracy Huang (黃鶯鶯), boy band The Little Tigers (小虎隊) and 1990s Hong Kong pop group Grasshopper (草蜢). There are also a few records by The Wynners (溫拿五虎), a popular boy outfit in 1970s Hong Kong that will hold a concert at Taipei Arena ((台北小巨蛋)) on March 13.
One record that particularly caught this reporter’s attention was by a very young and handsome Chow Yun-fat (周潤發) singing the theme tunes from several movies he did in the 1980s.
To vinyl enthusiasts like Wu, the merits of the music format are multifold: LP records not only deliver analog sound superior to most digital recordings, but can be appreciated works of art in their own right.
Some of the records at Vinyl Underground are of historical value, reflecting the values of the times in which they were made.
For example, The Songs of Ching Ching (菁菁之歌), a Mandarin-language record, was produced in the 1970s when all forms of media were closely controlled by the state. The tune entitled Song of Swimming (游泳歌) encourages listeners to go swimming and lead healthy lifestyles so Taiwan can “re-conquer the Mainland (反攻大陸).”
Patriotic sentiments can also be found on retired entertainer and singer Chang Ti’s (張帝) record The Nation (國家), made two years after the US broke diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1979. A sermon encouraging Taiwanese not to forget their roots, the title track prompted a wave of Taiwanese expatriates to return home, Wu said.
Next year is Kaohsiung’s turn to co-host the fest.
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