Shoegazemania (瞪入膏盲), a promoter of shoegaze music, describes the genre as “rock music that creates dreamscapes,” going as far as calling it “the answer to rock and roll” in an interview with indie music Web site Deep One Perfect Morning. Hoping to make Taiwan a destination for shoegaze bands worldwide, Shoegazemania is presenting the fifth edition of its Shoegaze Music Festival tomorrow with the theme Gazing Her Fall, featuring bands that are either all-female or have a female vocalist.
The term first appeared in the 1980s in the UK press to ridicule musicians who would stand still during performances in a detached way, often appearing to be staring at their shoes. Soon it was embraced as a blanket term for bands that make use of noise and effects, creating soundscapes with often soft or muffled vocals. The three bands that will take the stage vary in style — Spool takes more of an an indie-pop approach, Yuragi makes use of psychedelic, distorted noisescapes and Collapse brandishes more hard rock and metal elements.
■ 7:30pm to 10pm tomorrow at Revolver, 1-2, Roosevelt Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市羅斯福路一段1-2號)
Photo courtesy of Shoegazemania and Spool
■ Tickets are NT$650 (including one drink), available at Wake n Bake, 18, Alley 158, Ln 30, Yongji Rd, Taipei City (台北市永吉路30巷158弄18號)
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