Music
The Journey Matters: A Conversation About Earthfest
Brian Hioe spoke to Blaine Whiteley about Earthfest, which will take place in Miaoli from July 21st through July 24th.
The Sound of Ambient Rain with a Progressive Beat: NYORAI’s 雨の音
雨の音 (rain sound) is a compact EP, but it manages to take listeners on a unique aural journey.
Taiwanese Noise Legend Dino Passes Away at Age 45
The following article originally appeared on Electric Soul, a Hong Kong-based electronic music magazine and ticketing platform, on January 19th.
Best Taiwanese Indie Albums of 2021
New Bloom members Peter Freestone and Brian Hioe pick some of their favorite indie albums from 2021, focusing on bands from Taiwan. This is the fourth in a series of Best Album lists compiled by New Bloom.
The History of Queer Parties in Taiwan
Brian Hioe spoke to Levin Lo, or DJ Rainbowchild, a veteran of the queer party scene in Taiwan. Among other things, Rainbowchild was the DJ that played at the wedding banquet party that celebrated the legalization of gay marriage in Taiwan in May 2019, as the first place in Asia to legalize gay marriage.
Promoting Taiwanese Indigenous Culture with Electronic Music
An Interview with Dungi Sapor, an Amis Indigenous DJ from Hualien.
A Haunting Meditation on Fukushima: Ryuichi Sakamoto’s “Is Your Time”
RYUICHI SAKAMOTO and Shiro Takatani’s art installation, “Is Your Time,” proves a powerful meditation on the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. This is presented through the piano at the centerpiece of the installation, which was discovered by Sakamoto in the ruins of a building in the affected Fukushima prefecture, left behind by its owners—wherever they might be now.
Playlist to go with My Own Personal Jesus
Co-editor Mike Kanin was so inspired by Joe MacLeod’s Monday Thought about Bela Lugosi as Jesus that he made a playlist about it. We hope you enjoy it.
