Island of Sound: All About Indie Taiwan
Where: Taiwan
Island of Sound is a website run by a former expat English teacher in Taiwan, aimed at documenting the island's rich independent music culture. Webmaster Marty Hodulick left Taiwan in 2005, but his website still stands, still gets the occasional guestbook message, and is certainly still relevant. It's a one-of-a-kind resource in English that covers the venues, festivals, bands and labels of a scene largely unknown outside of Asia. As Marty puts it, Island of Sound aims to deflect attention from "7-11 sellouts" and focus it on the underground.
While browsing through the site, make sure you read up on the history of Nipples, its bassist/singer KK, and her label, White Wabbit Records (and its spin-off store, White Wabbit Orange). KK's a personal girlcrush of ours, and she's done wonders in Taipei and beyond with her efforts. Other articles of note include TRA Music Corporation and Bad Daughter.
In Taiwan, where many parents of today's indie rock stars still consider it bizarre to chase a living playing guitar, rebellion is still real and "the scene" has yet to be completely co-opted. Show some respect and read about it.
[Photo: Petite Mort]
Related Stories:
· Island of Sound [Official Site]
· White Wabbit Records/Orange [Official Site - in Mandarin]
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