The beginnings of summer were felt across the city for a couple of days last week. This means that festival season is upon us and that it’s time to bring the music outdoors.
To kick-start the season is T-Fest. Organized by The Wall, a big chunk of the lineup is for live bands, but there’s also a stage dedicated to electronic music hosted by Korner. It will mimic the club’s typical techno lineup on Friday and Saturday nights.
Tonight’s lineup includes Nobody Home (real name Marcus Henriksson). The music of the Swedish native is a refreshing break from the commercial sound that the Scandinavian country has become synonymous with. The DJ is known for techno beats that he makes in his studio nestled in the woods an hour outside of Malmo. The product is a sound that is both spiritual and organic with rhythms that carry listeners on a trance-like journey. His other projects include Minilogue with Sebastian Mullaert. Together, they have released on labels like Sven Vath’s baby Cocoon Recordings.
Photo courtesy of Trevor Traynor
Also slated to play tonight is Gunnar Haslam. The New York native’s adds a tinge of house beat to his techno sound. His productions also waver in and out of a more ambient territory. The output tonight will likely depend on the vibe of the party. The musician comes from a background in physics so expect an intelligent form of electronic music. Yoshi Nori, Al Burro and Yen are also on the bill.
Anchorsong (real name Masaaki Yoshida) returns to Taipei to play the second night of T-Fest. The Japanese native has supported acts like Bonobo after getting recognized for his mesmerizing live performances that have been compared to a painter. He creates electronic music live in front of his audience using a sampler and a keyboard, sometimes incorporating a string quartet. After relocating to London from Tokyo, he also made a Boiler Room appearance.
Eskmo (real name Brendan Angelides) is the second international act scheduled for tomorrow night. The DJ who hails from Los Angeles via San Francisco has been lauded for creating his own soundscape which is creative, multifaceted and ambitious, and influenced by life, love, loss and the universe. Eskmo has opened for Flying Lotus and his music has been praised by Pendulum. DJs Code, Diskokidz, James Ho and Katrina are also play tomorrow night.
■ The Korner stage at T-Fest is tonight and tomorrow at Taipei’s Flora Expo Park (台北花博公園), 1, Yumen Street, Taipei City (台北市玉門街1號) from 8pm to 5am. Advanced tickerts are NT$600 and tickets at the door are NT$700. Two-day presale tickets are available for NT$1,000. On the web: tfest.tw
Last week, on the heels of the recall election that turned out so badly for Taiwan, came the news that US President Donald Trump had blocked the transit of President William Lai (賴清德) through the US on his way to Latin America. A few days later the international media reported that in June a scheduled visit by Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) for high level meetings was canceled by the US after China’s President Xi Jinping (習近平) asked Trump to curb US engagement with Taiwan during a June phone call. The cancellation of Lai’s transit was a gaudy
Following the shock complete failure of all the recall votes against Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers on July 26, pan-blue supporters and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) were giddy with victory. A notable exception was KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), who knew better. At a press conference on July 29, he bowed deeply in gratitude to the voters and said the recalls were “not about which party won or lost, but were a great victory for the Taiwanese voters.” The entire recall process was a disaster for both the KMT and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). The only bright spot for
From Godzilla’s fiery atomic breath to post-apocalyptic anime and harrowing depictions of radiation sickness, the influence of the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki runs deep in Japanese popular culture. In the 80 years since the World War II attacks, stories of destruction and mutation have been fused with fears around natural disasters and, more recently, the Fukushima crisis. Classic manga and anime series Astro Boy is called “Mighty Atom” in Japanese, while city-leveling explosions loom large in other titles such as Akira, Neon Genesis Evangelion and Attack on Titan. “Living through tremendous pain” and overcoming trauma is a recurrent theme in Japan’s
As last month dawned, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was in a good position. The recall campaigns had strong momentum, polling showed many Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers at risk of recall and even the KMT was bracing for losing seats while facing a tsunami of voter fraud investigations. Polling pointed to some of the recalls being a lock for victory. Though in most districts the majority was against recalling their lawmaker, among voters “definitely” planning to vote, there were double-digit margins in favor of recall in at least five districts, with three districts near or above 20 percent in
RSS