Among those who have been in the scene long enough, little introduction is needed for veteran Taichung-based techno DJ JJ (Chao Chun-chu, 趙准巨), the proprietor of Blue Records. For the many aspiring DJs who frequent his record shop, JJ is also a respected tutor who teaches them everything they need to know. With 20 years of deejaying experience under his belt, JJ describes himself as an “analogue lover,” so it’s not surprising that he still insists on spinning vinyl.
VW: What did you do before you became a DJ?
JJ: I was a student. I started deejaying when I was really young and then became a resident at a disco pub called KK in the early 90s, which was the biggest club at that time.
VW: What kind of music did you spin?
JJ: At that time, the music all the DJs were playing was very similar, which was Billboard Top 40 songs. A few years later, I met DJ @llen, Gravity and Lim Giong (林強) and started getting into electronic dance music. @llen helped me organize a few electronic dance music parties at KK before I left KK, but the music didn’t really appeal to a mainstream audience. And that’s why I decided to quit being a commercial DJ and focus on playing electronic dance music exclusively.
VW: How did you start getting into techno?
JJ: I was influenced by Jeff Mills a lot. I was blown away after listening to one of his mix CDs. His way of manipulating, cutting and pasting music was amazing. He made the music sound so fresh, and made me realize how interesting techno could be.
VW: So you’re still spinning vinyl?
JJ: Yeah. It’s nothing to brag about, though. Playing vinyl is just my personal preference. I like the way it sounds, and it makes me feel comfortable.
VW: What do you think about the DJ scene right now?
JJ: A lot of Taiwanese DJs have very good skills. But it’s a pity that many of them like to follow trends and play what everyone else is playing. It’d be better if they could think more independently and try to express their own ideas. The scene really needs more variety in terms of music.
VW: We heard that you have many students? What do you teach them?
JJ: I do. Lots of kids who come to my record shop become my students. Besides how to mix records, I also teach them all the technical stuff about turntables, mixers and sound systems. I teach them everything I know basically, and it’s free of charge.
VW: How was the Robert Hood gig last weekend?
JJ: It was very successful, I think. Even though there weren’t that many people and the promoter might have lost money, lots of techno heads showed up and the vibe was great. I could feel that most people who were there that night were totally into the music, and that’s all it matters.
VW: Have you ever thought about relocating to China like DJ @llen and some other veteran Taiwanese DJs have?
JJ: Not really. For one thing, I’m “pan-green” [a person who believes Taiwan and China have different identities]. And also I think I should become more established in my homeland and try contribute something to my country first. For now, I’m quite content with teaching and deejaying while trying to help build the dance music scene.
DJ JJ plays this Tuesday from 8pm to 10:30pm at the Taipei Biennial (台北雙年展) opening party at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum (TFAM — 台北市立美術館), 181, Zhongshan N Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市中山北路三段181號). Admission: free.
Feb. 9 to Feb.15 Growing up in the 1980s, Pan Wen-li (潘文立) was repeatedly told in elementary school that his family could not have originated in Taipei. At the time, there was a lack of understanding of Pingpu (plains Indigenous) peoples, who had mostly assimilated to Han-Taiwanese society and had no official recognition. Students were required to list their ancestral homes then, and when Pan wrote “Taipei,” his teacher rejected it as impossible. His father, an elder of the Ketagalan-founded Independence Presbyterian Church in Xinbeitou (自立長老會新北投教會), insisted that their family had always lived in the area. But under postwar
The term “pirates” as used in Asia was a European term that, as scholar of Asian pirate history Robert J. Antony has observed, became globalized during the European colonial era. Indeed, European colonial administrators often contemptuously dismissed entire Asian peoples or polities as “pirates,” a term that in practice meant raiders not sanctioned by any European state. For example, an image of the American punitive action against the indigenous people in 1867 was styled in Harper’s Weekly as “Attack of United States Marines and Sailors on the pirates of the island of Formosa, East Indies.” The status of such raiders in
On paper, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) enters this year’s nine-in-one elections with almost nowhere to go but up. Yet, there are fears in the pan-green camp that they may not do much better then they did in 2022. Though the DPP did somewhat better at the city and county councillor level in 2022, at the “big six” municipality mayoral and county commissioner level, it was a disaster for the party. Then-president and party chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) made a string of serious strategic miscalculations that led to the party’s worst-ever result at the top executive level. That year, the party
As much as I’m a mountain person, I have to admit that the ocean has a singular power to clear my head. The rhythmic push and pull of the waves is profoundly restorative. I’ve found that fixing my gaze on the horizon quickly shifts my mental gearbox into neutral. I’m not alone in savoring this kind of natural therapy, of course. Several locations along Taiwan’s coast — Shalun Beach (沙崙海水浴場) near Tamsui and Cisingtan (七星潭) in Hualien are two of the most famous — regularly draw crowds of sightseers. If you want to contemplate the vastness of the ocean in true
RSS