When people leave Taiwan after having lived here for a period of time, they tend to reminisce about the friendliness of the locals, the ubiquity of 7-Elevens, or that the country never sleeps. For DJ kILL (real name Kevin McCauley), a former resident who will be spinning club bangers at Myst tomorrow night, the one thing he misses is much simpler.
“The breakfast, mostly,” kILL said in an email interview with the Taipei Times.
kILL, which is an acronym for his life-guiding philosophy, “Kash In, Lames Leave,” lived in Taiwan from 2003 to 2005. He cultivated a reputation as a party rocker that has earned him several trips back to Taiwan for big events. “This island has always shown me mad love and I love it back,” he said.
Photo courtesy of Kevin McCauley
After Taiwan, kILL made a move to the “Whore of the Orient,” Shanghai, which is his favorite city to deejay at in the world. “Of all the places I’ve played, my mind always drifts back to Shanghai,” he said. “There is so much money and so many crazy people from all over the world flowing through that city. The buzz in the air over there is a hard atmosphere to match.”
After playing day in and day out, kILL needed a break to recharge his batteries, so he headed back home, where he’s been for the past year. “I moved to Canada, bought a sailboat, went snowboarding, and just chilled out,” kILL said.
Even though he’s only back for the weekend, kILL doesn’t rule out the possibility of returning to Taiwan. For now, though, he’s excited to eat some local chow and get back to what he does best.
“People can expect to hear my trademark hypercrunk mashup of sounds, running the gamut from electro to trap music with a dash of country. Expect to dance and get sweaty. Hell, everyone might get laid,” he said.
■ DJ kILL performs tomorrow night at Myst, 9F, 12, Songshou Rd, Taipei City (台北市松壽路12號9F). Call (02) 7737-9997 for reservations. For English-language inquiries, send an e-mail to jh@club-myst.com. Admission is NT$700 before 11pm and NT$1,000 after. Two drink tickets are included with the entrance fee.
For the past 12 years, David Lin (林大為) has been promoting Moonlight beach parties in Kenting during the Tomb Sweeping weekend. This Saturday, the fiesta heads north to the White House Resort and has been rechristened MDC, the Moonlight Dancing Carnival.
“The Kenting National Park bureaucracy always gave my music festival a lot of trouble, so I decided to move back,” Lin said in an email interview. “There are a lot of music festivals in Taiwan, but they are mostly rock. I want to make a dancing festival for the people who like dance music.”
At the MDC, there will be 17 DJs playing house, electro, tribal, techno and trance, as well as three live acts. Lin hopes to recreate the feeling of Kenting this Saturday. “I want people to come to join this outdoor beach party not only for the music but also for the atmosphere,” he said. “When people go home, I want their minds to be full of wonderful memories!”
■ Moonlight Dancing Carnival is tomorrow from 2pm to 4am at the White House Resort (萬里沙灘區), 264 Masu Rd, Wanli District, New Taipei City (新北市萬里區瑪鋉路264號). Tickets are NT$900 at the door. On the Net: moonlight-party.com
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