Many of us learn all too late in life that we can gain by letting go. You can't have it all—at least not forever. In any musical partnership, what you often have to let go of in order to gain is control. Peter Gabriel argued that their aren't many novels that are written by committee. He said that in 1974, and by 1975, following the release of the gargantuan concept album The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, he and Genesis went their separate ways. Which brings us to the other thing you have to let go of if one is to keep a creative collaboration going: ego. Ego in the sense of embracing your failings, and seeing criticism not as a slap in the face, but as an opportunity. A chance to get better.
Phin Berry, half of the minimalist and dark synth pop duo Dronetonics, has learned well the process of letting go during the last few years. Starting out writing the songs that are about to see the light of day on Dronetonics full-length debut on his own in 2011, he was contacted via e-mail by the woman who would become his musical other half, Crystal Shien, after the latter heard some of his recordings on the music sharing site Soundcloud. For the first year and a half of their partnership, the band was strictly Berry's monster to manipulate. But the more he tried to keep control, the more he realized that his need to keep things under his thumb was becoming a detriment. Something had to give eventually.
“As time went on, actually, about a year ago," says the well-spoken, thoughtful synth player/singer, "we had some friction between us. Things were getting a bit stunted. I came into practice one day with a song that was only in the very beginning stages. I just started playing through it, and she just started playing something and started singing. A total jam, which we didn't do that much of in the first year and a half.”
Photo Courtesy of Duncan Longden
Call that a watershed moment in Dronetonics history when Shien went from being a mere plus one to a full partner. Since then, things have become much more egalitarian, with the pair sharing everything from songwriting to lyric duties. The result, says Berry, is that by losing a little bit of his control over the band, he has gained something far more valuable.
"It's totally changed," he expresses proudly. "She's got strong opinions about things. She's taken a much more active role in singing and performance as well. She's become much more interested in stage antics, a.k.a. expressing sexuality. It's cool to work with someone you see change and get better.”
There's little doubt that letting go took no small amount of humility for Berry, but his life hasn't been without lessons in that regard. A veteran of the Taiwan music scene for the better part of a decade, he recalls a time when he was manning the keys for the short-lived Ramones-esque post-punk band Auto Dafe´. In the band with him was his best friend, then as he is to this day. But a moment of brutal honesty abruptly ended Berry's time in the band, and it was on that day that he learned well the importance of putting ego aside.
“I was fired from that band by my best friend. He said I was a rubbish keyboard player. But it's the best thing that ever happened to me, because my ego was very, very bruised. I was like, 'I'm fired from the band because I suck.' So I was like, 'I'm gonna learn how to properly use this synthesizer.' Because it's true, I really didn't know how to use it. I could play it like a keyboard, but it's a synthesizer.”
And so, faced with a choice between getting angry, getting defensive, or taking the setback as a chance to reflect on his abilities, Berry chose the latter, and would spend the next two years getting to know his instrument. This Saturday, the result of that hard work and reflection comes to fruition with the release of Dronetonics debut album, Sentiments, a noir mix of stripped-down synths, noise and distortion, eerie and spaced-out melodies, and lyrical hooks that are by turns sweet and alluringly melancholic. It's a dark album by Berry's own admission, but that doesn't mean it's a sad album for people who prefer sitting at home with the shades drawn tight and have a penchant for putting on too much eyeliner and quoting lines from Edgar Allen Poe over, and over, and over again.
“Darkness and reflection, it's hard for me to draw the line between those two things. I don't see darkness as being sadness. Actually, when I'm happiest I make the darkest music. When I'm depressed I make happy music. I definitely use music. When people say 'Music has saved my soul,' it's true. If I didn't have music, I might not be here.”
*Dronetonics play tomorrow at Revolver, 1-2, Roosevelt Road Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市中正區羅斯福路一段1-2號). Tickets are NT$300 at the door. Doors open at 20:30 and the show gets started at 9pm.
April 28 to May 4 During the Japanese colonial era, a city’s “first” high school typically served Japanese students, while Taiwanese attended the “second” high school. Only in Taichung was this reversed. That’s because when Taichung First High School opened its doors on May 1, 1915 to serve Taiwanese students who were previously barred from secondary education, it was the only high school in town. Former principal Hideo Azukisawa threatened to quit when the government in 1922 attempted to transfer the “first” designation to a new local high school for Japanese students, leading to this unusual situation. Prior to the Taichung First
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) hatched a bold plan to charge forward and seize the initiative when he held a protest in front of the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office. Though risky, because illegal, its success would help tackle at least six problems facing both himself and the KMT. What he did not see coming was Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (將萬安) tripping him up out of the gate. In spite of Chu being the most consequential and successful KMT chairman since the early 2010s — arguably saving the party from financial ruin and restoring its electoral viability —
The Ministry of Education last month proposed a nationwide ban on mobile devices in schools, aiming to curb concerns over student phone addiction. Under the revised regulation, which will take effect in August, teachers and schools will be required to collect mobile devices — including phones, laptops and wearables devices — for safekeeping during school hours, unless they are being used for educational purposes. For Chang Fong-ching (張鳳琴), the ban will have a positive impact. “It’s a good move,” says the professor in the department of
Article 2 of the Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China (中華民國憲法增修條文) stipulates that upon a vote of no confidence in the premier, the president can dissolve the legislature within 10 days. If the legislature is dissolved, a new legislative election must be held within 60 days, and the legislators’ terms will then be reckoned from that election. Two weeks ago Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) proposed that the legislature hold a vote of no confidence in the premier and dare the president to dissolve the legislature. The legislature is currently controlled
RSS