Taiwan Today

Taiwan’s independent music scene shone on the international stage recently when local hip hop band Kou Chou Ching beat out entries from 163 countries to win Group of the Year at the 2009 Just Plain Folks Music Awards. Kou Chou Ching also won Best Remix Song honors for its single “Hong Bao Culture,” and placed second in the Best Asian Album category for its debut “KOU!! It’s Coming Out!!!,” while grabbing fifth spot in the Best Asian Song category with the tune “Against Nature.” It marked the first time that a band from Taiwan has ever won at the JPF awards first presented in 2000. More than 560,000 songs and 420,000 albums from around the world entered the competition for this year’s awards. Nominated for the awards in July, Kou Chou Ching members initially decided to scrap plans to attend the ceremony due to insufficient funds. However, after hearing about the band’s plight, Government Information Office Minister Su Jun-pin decided to finance their trip with money from the ministry. He also arranged for the band to perform three concerts in New York City, all of which drew great responses from audiences. Su also invited the band to perform at the GIO Sept. 15. The awards were established by Just Plain Folks Music Organization,a community of over 50,000 songwriters, recording artists, music publishers, record labels, performing arts societies, recording studios and engineers, and other music professionals and organizations. The community is open to anyone interested in music and includes prestigious members who have won Grammy Awards, Emmy Awards and Academy Awards. Founder Brian Austin Whitney said that one of the driving forces behind his decision to establish the community was the fact that “98 percent of the music around the world is ignored by mainstream televised music award ceremonies. Members vote for JPF nominees, with the only criteria being 'whether “the music moves you.'” Kou Chou Ching, formed in 2003, features music that mixes Western hip hop with traditional music styles in Taiwan, including beiguan, nanguan, Hakka bayin, Taiwanese opera, folk songs, and classic tunes from the 1940s and 1950s. Lead singer Fanchiang Chun-hung said that “when you write hip hop songs, there’s no reason why you can’t blend in elements of local music.”(SB)