Mention Taiwan to fans of Asian music, and they’ll probably name-check the gigantic Chinese-language Mandopop scene. It’s also a nation where indie means avant-garde rock, trance enthralls big crowds, and symphonic black metal rips heads internationally. Bilingual piano rockers Tizzy Bac (12mid) have broken into the stadium scene, while the last remaining cool indie record stores are backing underground post-rock bands like Aphasia (10pm). Along with ex-teen punkers Fire E.X (11pm), both bands share Taiwan Indie Night with the computer-game music of Unfamiliar Friends Party (8pm).
“When we play, people will see many laptop and midi controller,” says UFP keyboardist Lilybeer via e-mail from Taipei. “Some fans are always curious about if we’re MSN chatting or playing some games.”
Formerly with experimental electronic outfit Varo, Lilybeer and fellow UFPers Hollistar and Koko invited guitarist/keyboardist Djust to the party in 2007. Influenced by Pendulum and Daft Punk, Lilybeer called their sound “more joyful.”
“There are many melody lines in our music, most are cute, soft, retro.”
Taiwan’s club scene is thriving but small, so Unfamiliar Friends Party has played everywhere from forests to beaches. “If it’s possible, we would like to play in a tunnel,” Lilybeer writes. That may not be on their SX agenda, but they will be sharing a stage with their friends in DayGlo posters WonFu (9pm) and moody alt-rockers Echo (1am).
“We go to each other’s gigs, but the interesting thing is, we’ve not played together before.”
This article appears in March 18 • 2011.
