DJ Miguel Migs remembers the ’90s fondly as a time when house music scene was vibrant and full of soul. House music dominates clubs and charts today, so Migs should be thrilled.
He’s not. “There are too many genres within genres and what some people consider ‘house’ music is not really that,” explained Migs to the Taipei Times.
One such subgenre is electronic dance music (EDM), which he could take or leave. “I’m not a fan of EDM, it does not move me or inspire me, I don’t find it pleasurable to listen to or dance to,” said Migs.
Photo courtesy of Bond Music Group
What he enjoys instead is a true deep house: Slower tempo, cool bass lines, a less aggressive approach to the melodic aspect of music, warm chords. In short, he likes the soulful side of things.
This laid-back and emotional approach to music probably has something to do with his upbringing. Migs grew up in sunny California as the son of two hippies. As a teenager, he became interested in deep house music and started playing around with his friends’ turntables, which naturally led to buying records. Soon he was experimenting with creating electronic dance music on keyboards, getting shows and parlaying the gigs into a full-time career as a DJ. It wasn’t his original plan, he says. It just sort of happened.
What draws him most to the DJ scene is community, something that he says isn’t always present in the live music scene. “One of the things that attracted me most to it all was the whole communal crowd aspect, the mix of black [and] white, gay [and] straight, young and older.”
Still, there are things that he doesn’t enjoy so much about the scene today, like how his favorite genre is becoming over-commercialized. For his part, he refuses to adapt or change what he feels just so he can be successful.
He just wants to do his own thing: music with some emotion in it, whether it is deep, dubby, soulful, disco, funky, underground, techy or all of the above. He hopes that this resonates with people looking for an alternative to the commercial EDM side of things.
“I’m not in this to try and be some big star or whatever, I do it because I enjoy it,” says Migs.
For proper house music fans in Taipei, Migs is the biggest of stars and he plays tomorrow night in a party at the Loft above Luxy. The promoters at Frog in a Sock are very excited to be throwing an atypical night out on the town, and promise an intimate night in which time will disappear as the energy of the music takes over.
Miguel Migs plays tomorrow from 10pm to 4am at the Loft above Luxy, 6F, 201, Zhongxiao E Rd Sec 4, Taipei City (台北市忠孝東路四段201號6樓). The elevators are located across from Luxy’s main entrance. Admission NT$600 in advance with a drink, and NT$800 at the door with a drink. On the Net: www.facebook.com/events/429823210459780
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