Taiwan Today

Taiwan has an array of dedicated indie artists whose works are being heard around the world.

On a Saturday night in late August 2009 at the Wild Horse Saloon in Nashville, Tennessee, a hip-hop group from Taiwan clad in baseball caps, black jackets and blue jeans bopped excitedly up and down onstage, rapping in a mix of Mandarin, Holo (a popular native dialect commonly known as Taiwanese) and Hakka at a music awards ceremony. Near the end of the tune, the band suddenly stopped and encouraged the around 800 audience members to raise their hands and follow in an enthusiastic chant. They did so accordingly, with the sound of “Taiwan! Taiwan!” resounding throughout the venue.

“What an exciting, moving moment to hear those words in a foreign country,” says Fan Chiang Chun-hung, MC of Kou Chou Ching, the band in question. “It was also a powerful moment for Taiwan’s indie music. It’s true that great music knows no borders. While the audience might not understand the lyrics of our songs, there’s no difficulty for us in bonding with them through music. That made us really happy and proud,” Fan Chiang says. The riveting show not only ended with a rousing ovation that lasted for more than five minutes, but also won the band Best Group of the Year as part of the Just Plain Folks (JPF) Music Awards—an event billed as the world’s biggest indie music awards.

Kou Chou Ching was the first group from Taiwan to be so honored. With its debut full-length album, Kou!! It’s Coming Out!!!, the five-person band also garnered top prize in the Best Remix Song category, second place for Best Asian Album and fifth place for Best Asian Song at the JPF Music Awards. It is worth mentioning that each of the awards was decided after five rounds of online voting by more than 10,000 fans as well as judges who had also sat on judging committees for the Grammy Awards, the Emmy Awards and the Oscars.

Stiff Competition

According to JPF’s official website, in 2009, approximately 42,000 albums and 560,000 songs from 163 nations competed for the various awards. The competition for “best group” was especially thrilling, with the judges making their decisions after two straight days of live performances by more than 40 nominees.

“I bet we won’t be the last Taiwanese indie band to enjoy such success. By working harder and bringing more creativity and vitality to their music, other groups can do the same or achieve even more,” Fan Chiang says.

According to the Merriam Webster online dictionary, the term indie is used to describe something independent, especially “an unaffiliated record or motion-picture production company.” Other definitions often emphasize this independence from mainstream art industries or corporate financing. The mainstream-independent dichotomy is not so clear-cut in Taiwan, however. “It’s true that indie artists are usually not interested in taking help from big names in the music industry,” says Jaju Chao, chairman of the Taiwan Music Culture International Association and bass guitarist of an indie band. “But looking through the mainstream, one can still find many pop singers and groups like Wang Lee-hom, Tanya Chua and 1976, who are affiliated with major multinational labels, but also create avant-garde works and handle everything from writing their own music and lyrics to producing their own records.”

“In this sense, indie music is better defined as a spirit that demonstrates the artists’ determination to express themselves as they wish creatively without being commercially manipulated,” he adds.

The late 1980s saw the emergence of indie music in Taiwan alongside a growing interest in local cultural identities and a more distinct and modern form of Taiwanese pop. In 1989, two years after the lifting of decades-long martial law, a group of musicians called Blacklist Studio released a ground-breaking album called Songs of Madness that included the genres of Taiwanese folk, rap and rock.

“Blacklist Studio is widely seen as the most important pioneer of Taiwan’s indie music,” says Landy Chang, CEO of entertainment promotion company Neutron Innovation (BVI) Ltd. Chang was previously the general manager of local indie label Magic Stone, which closed down in 2001. “The crew did everything for the album all on their own and created songs to reflect what was happening in society in a frank, realistic way. They also tried new styles that hadn’t been tried by any other group.”

For example, a tune called A Democracy Bumpkin on the Songs of Madness album features audio from Taiwan’s political demonstrations in the 1980s mixed with the Republic of China national anthem. Another song, Mad, samples street sounds. Most of the songs tell stories, sometimes through humorous or ironic dialogues between ordinary people. Holo is used exclusively in all of the tracks. “The band did make a big impression on Taiwan’s indie culture. It influenced what were to become the established indie bands of later years,” Chang adds.

Breaking Out

In the following two decades, indie music spread its wings and enveloped a much wider variety of musical genres. Seminal bands like 1976, LTK Commune, The Chairman, Ladybug and Labor Exchange Band laid a firm groundwork for the myriad future artists experimenting with the styles of rock, punk, folk, electronica and hip hop, among others, all of which have been placed under the indie umbrella. There are also a number of groups and singers who got their start in indie music but have achieved national success as pop stars and now command recognition from music critics. To name just a few from the past three years, albums released by groups like Mayday, Sodagreen and singers such as Jay Chou, David Tao, Sandee Chen and Crowd Lu have not only remained hot sellers on Taiwan’s pop charts, but also earned their creators awards in various categories at the Golden Melody Awards—Taiwan’s top awards for the music industry.

“While the music scene is ever-changing and highly competitive, these indie pop artists remain beloved for their carefree spirit and rich creativity. Their ability to adapt to new trends is quite impressive, and that’s the main reason why they can stand the test of time,” Jaju Chao says.

The success of Kou Chou Ching offers another striking example. Established in 2003, the outfit soon enjoyed a strong following for its brand of hip hop. It began performing at clubs, campuses and music festivals around Taiwan as a means of introducing the group’s music, as well as its political views and concerns over social issues. For instance, Kou!! It’s Coming Out!!! runs the gamut of topics from sardonically denouncing shoddy goods from mainland China in Black Heart to condemning industry for poisoning the waters of beautiful Formosa in Grey Coastlines. The album also earned the group nominations for Best Band and Best Taiwanese Album at the 2008 Golden Melody Awards.

Kou Chou Ching’s unique style goes beyond political commentary and multilingualism, however, as it has successfully created a unique mixture of traditional, modern, local and foreign music. “Most of our tracks combine hip hop with traditional elements of Taiwanese music such as nanguan, beiguan [two traditional styles of music], suona [Chinese oboe], bamboo flutes, Taiwanese opera, aboriginal songs and folk songs from the 1940s to the 1970s. We hope to demonstrate the fusion through the energy of our performances,” Kou Chou Ching’s lead singer Fan Chiang explains.

As Taiwan became a more democratic and open society, there was also a growing demand for venues featuring live music. Several well known live houses like The Wall, UnderWorld, Witch House and Riverside Music Café in Taipei, Emerge and 89K in Taichung and ATT in Kaohsiung still provide good places to showcase the burgeoning indie music scene. “The emergence of live houses in the 1990s helped create an environment conducive to the development of indie music,” Neutron Innovation’s Landy Chang says. “Indie artists can thus find regular opportunities and testing grounds to show their skills in public, rather than just locking themselves away in studios.”

In addition, music festivals of all sizes serve as year-round attractions for both local bands hoping to get a chance to show off onstage and music fans looking for more vibrant live performances. Among these, the annual Hohaiyan Rock Festival in Gongliao, northeastern Taiwan, and Spring Scream in Kenting, a tourist spot on the southern tip of Taiwan, are two representative gatherings of Taiwan’s indie scene. Spring Scream is the largest local indie band event, while Hohaiyan draws a mixed crowd of beachside party-goers and music lovers alike in summer. Other outdoor music events such as the Grass Festival, Spirit of Taiwan and the Tainan May Jam have popped up over the years to add to Taiwan’s roster of indie music performances.

Recent years have also seen new initiatives taken by the government to boost Taiwan’s music sector as a whole. In 2009, the Executive Yuan announced plans to include the pop music industry into its flagship plan for the development of the cultural and creative industry, one of six emerging industries selected for promotion. “A major part of this drive involves taking the nation’s music to the world, which focuses on expanding local indie bands’ participation in international festivals and music events, thereby gaining more international exposure and establishing important outposts for Taiwan’s indie music abroad,” says Stephen Chang, director of the Department of Publication Affairs under the Government Information Office (GIO), which handles subsidies and awards for audio releases.

For example, apart from Kou Chou Ching’s trip to the United States to take part in the 2009 JPF Music Awards, in May 2010, Sodagreen and Tizzy Bac, two bands which cut their teeth at the Hohaiyan Rock Festival, put on a series of superb performances that left fans clamoring for more at the United Kingdom’s Liverpool Sound City Music Festival. In September, four indie bands from Taiwan, namely Aphasia, Double X, Go Chic and Matzka, made a 10-day, 10-gig tour across Canada. Their live shows not only received rave reviews from fans and critics alike, but also captured column inches in the Canadian press such as Vancouver daily The Vancouver Sun and the free news and entertainment weekly The Georgia Straight. These Taiwanese indie outfits all obtained financial support from the GIO for their concert tours abroad.

“Traveling is quite expensive for most indie bands, so we’re much obliged for the government’s sponsorship,” Kou Chou Ching’s Fan Chiang says.

Next Wave

In November 2010, the GIO also held the first Golden Indie Music Awards, with the aim of encouraging a new generation of pop music talent. “While the Golden Melody Awards usually recognize established performers within Mandarin-speaking communities, the Golden Indie Music Awards seek to identify and encourage originality among up-and-coming musicians,” GIO Director Chang stresses. “Despite its relatively small [domestic] market, Taiwan has become a pacesetter in the Mandarin pop music world, and these awards are thus intended to further develop Taiwan as a creative center of pop music.”

A total of 87 works were selected from 1,817 entries to compete in 20 categories at the 2010 Golden Indie Music Awards, including Best Singer-Songwriter, Best Live Performance and Best Digital Presentation, in genres including rock, folk, hip hop and electronica. The winners garnered a total of NT$2 million (US$64,500) in prize money.

“The power of the pop music industry is in its constant creation and innovation. It is hoped that these awards will help sustain and increase the brand advantage of Taiwan’s pop music within Mandarin-speaking communities,” GIO Deputy Minister George Hsu said at a news conference announcing the award nominees in October 2010.

While many indie bands and singers have yet to become household names in Taiwan, their music is earning great critical acclaim and even reaching a global audience. No matter if it is in a university hall, thumping live house or folk festival, Taiwan’s indie musicians have shown the power to entertain and keep fans coming back for more. “I think all indie bands have their own unique stories and sounds. Money or stardom is never their top concern,” Kou Chou Ching’s Fan Chiang says. “All they need is a stage for them to reveal their passions, sorrows and big dreams through their raw music.”

Write to dennis0602@mail.gio.gov.tw