Think French electronic music and Daft Punk immediately comes to mind. When people talk about Dutch electronic music, they inevitably mention Tiesto or young bucks of the dirty Dutch sound like Laidback Luke and Chuckie. What about Taiwan? Who is the most famous electronic music producer here?
Some people might say Xuan, but he produces more than just bleeps and blips. Mr. Uppity, GMB, and D. Hooker all produce their own tracks but have yet to make the jump to the big leagues. What about Taiwanese native Jerry Aseret, who plays at Crossover tomorrow night at inHouse?
Recently, Marco Carola, Italy’s king of techno, played Aseret’s latest single, Our Move, on BBC’s Radio 1’s Essential Mix. For DJs, this is the equivalent of a singer having his or her tune featured on the closing credits of American Idol. “I think I’ve finally found my sound,” Aseret told the Vinyl Word on Wednesday.
Photo Courtesy of Jerry Aseret
Aseret has been deejaying house, electro, and even a bit of trance since 2000. In 2005, he started making his own music. “Producing is the next level for deejaying,” he said.
His mentor, Thomas Tenton, gave him some samples, helped him out with the software and taught him how to engineer his sounds. Soon Aseret was on his way. “It took me four or five years to learn how to control the sound,” he said. “I would read the manuals over and over and watch tutorials on YouTube all the time.”
While producing tracks in various genres, Aseret got signed to Nervine Records, a tech house label out of Norway. “My manager at Nervine told me to focus on one sound, more tech and less deep house,” Aseret said. “Now that Marco Carola played one of my songs, I feel a lot more confident in my abilities.”
■ Crossover featuring Jerry Aseret and Osamu M is tomorrow night from 10pm to 3am at inHouse, 90 Songren Rd, Taipei City (台北市松仁路90號). Tel: (02) 2345-5549. Admission is free
The Wall (這牆) has recently been renovated to smooth out the rough spots for its complicated schedule of parties on weekend nights. Bands are booked there to play early, usually until 11:30pm, and then DJs take over from midnight on. Bands, though, tend to go late. This means that there is a huge crowd of people leaving as the DJs are trying to set up their equipment and get things ready for their parties.
To alleviate some of these crisscross crises, The Wall has stuck the bar outside in the hallway and now there are two areas — one inside and one at the bar — for DJs to play. This means that the people who are leaving might stick around and the ones that are early don’t have to just stand there and wait.
Yoshi Nori, who partners up with Spykee Fat tomorrow for Midnight Mix, explained: “Spykee wanted to do something a bit different this time, so he’s going to start playing a post-rock set outside at the bar at 11:30pm. Inside there’s more space to dance and it’s darker. It has a more live house feel in there. Also, I think the sound system is crispier now.”
When asked whether people would just hang out in the hallway since there is music and a bar and not pay the entrance fee, Nori said: “Don’t worry. There will definitely be a party inside.”
■ Midnight Mix is tomorrow from 11:30pm to 4am at The Wall (這牆), B1, 200, Roosevelt Rd Sec 4, Taipei City (台北市羅斯福路四段200號B1). Admission is NT$400 at the door and includes a drink.
Another big show this weekend is the second annual celebration called Welcome Back to 2nd Floor. Headliners include Ferry Corsten, Solarstone and Jochen Miller, who share the bill with the creme de la creme of local DJs. If trance is your thing, then this is your night.
■ Welcome Back to 2nd Floor tonight from 10pm to 4am at Luxy, 5F, 201, Zhongxiao E Rd Sec 4, Taipei City (台北市忠孝東路四段201號5樓). Call (02) 2772-1000 or 0955-904-600 for reservations (English service available). On the Net: www.luxy-taipei.com. Admission is NT$1,000 before 11pm or NT$1,200 after. Both include one drink
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