臺灣 (Taiwan) Shoegaze & Dream Pop, a quick guide. Part 1
The Shoegaze and Dream Pop scene is very lively in Taiwan. Some of the bands, like Manic Sheep, have an international fan base. All the bands we identified ar in Taipei, the capital city of the country.
We understand from Urayn (U.TA屋塔) that they are all friends and play often together, which makes for a very convivial scene.
The music is excellent, and incorporate many influences and other genres in their Noise Pop. We invite you to discover 7 bands in this quick guide, part 1. Take the time to listen their superb musical work. You should enjoy it immensly.
Note that there is a documentary in the making, called "Taipei Dreams" about some of the bands from Taipei Shoegaze scene. It was shot by Chaos Recommend during a Shoegaze event that was held in Taiwan on 2017 9.16(sat)@ APA mini and 9.17(sun)@Taipei Revolver. It is scheduled to be ready in the spring of 2018.
Many thanks to Urayn (U.TA 屋塔) for her help in getting to know the local scene better and for her recommendations. And as she says:
Shoegaze 意味著更多的迷幻聲響，也越來越偏向混種的音樂走向，更加的dream pop 或 city pop，更為大家所接受
而往回看，原意指著低著頭盯著鞋子的自溺成分，音牆正慢慢消逝了...
U.TA 屋塔
Dream Pop band - U.TA屋塔 was originally formed by vocalist Urayn and Bassist Garry Lu at Taipei, Taiwan, 2006.
And the band was fully built up when guitarist John Lu and drummer JC Tao joined in 2013.
U.TA was influenced by Cocteau Twins, Mazzy Star, Faye Wang, Portishead, and Massive Attack.
The releases to date are:
- Good night, EP, released September 2009
- 捲 / Roll, EP, released July 2014
- 緩飆公路 Highway Cruising, Album, released December 2015
Soon on Noise Artists all going well!
Manic Sheep
Manic Sheep social media tell us that they were formed in 2010 in Taipei. They constantly switch between different roles and genre in their music, playing a mixture of Shoegaze and Noise Rock;
Unexpectedly, overseas audiences have become increasingly interested in their music over the years.
Manic Sheep has been opening for KYTE (UK) in 2012, The Album Leaf (US) in 2014, Neon Indian (US) in 2015 and also attended many festival, such as SXSW (US), NXNE(Canada), CMF (Canada), Clockenflap(HK), Fujirock(JP), MPF (TW) etc.
The current lineup is:
- 吳柏廷 White Wu - Drum
- 羅玉婷 Chris Lo - Guitar, Vocal, Synthesizer, Bass
- 張芳瑜 Joy Chang - Bass, Visual Design
- 楊浩 Howard Yang - Guitar
The musical work to date is:
- Brooklyn, Album, released November 2016
- Manic Sheep, Album, December 2012
TuT
TuT social media tell us that they were founded in February 2013
Their music is wrapped in the ethereal male & female vocals, and after the melodious noise wall has melted, you are still contaminated with a cloudy and bright noise pigment.
The band are:
- Guitar/Vocal 胡華鈞 (Hua-Chun Hu)
- Guitar/Vocal 黃冠瑜 (Fifi Huang)
- Bass 鄭凱文 (Kevin)
- Bass 陳昫涵 (Edee Chen 13-14)
- Drums 夏繼義 (Ji-Yi Xia)
Their musical work so far is an album, You Got Me When I Stare At You, released December 3, 2014
DoZzz
DoZzz was formed in the summer of 2016, in Taipei. They say that their music is "twisted sound-shapes of noise, fuzz-distortion and psychedelic misty vocals, It's our whisper to the world". They are:
- Synth & Vocals Alicia
- Guitar 騏 (Qi)
- Guitar 小麥(S.W)
- Bass Han Wu
- Drums 毛毛 (Plush)
Their musical work to date is:
- Poem of love, Poem of sadness, EP, released in June 2017
- I don't mind, single, released in October 2017
Doodle
Doodle is a band from Taipei. They have released two albums:
- Sacrifice of Despair, in September 2011.
- Endless Dreamless, in April 2016
Doodle are doing a very melodic Shoegaze, mixed with elements of twee and psychedelic music. Their soft vocals are not unlike Ride, as is the following song.
緩緩 (HuanHuan)
I mean us
I mean us is a band from Taipei, formed in 2015. They say their music is
"We are singing cheesy songs, doing music with the influences from the nineties,
Male and female lead vocals are intertwined, singing the restlessness of our hearts and the broken heart of the Earth."
The band are:
- Guitarist / Vocal: 章 羣 (Zebrateens)
- Synth / Violinist / Vocal: 夏 日 (Mandark Ravel)
- Guitarist: 永 純 (Vitz Young)
- Bassist: 漢 克 (Hank Chen)
- Drummer: 佩 蓬 (PP L)
4 demos have been released on their Bandcamp page since May 2016.
Outro
We hope you enjoyed these few steps in the world of Taiwanese Shoegaze & Dream Pop. Do not hesitate to your knowledge with us of any other similar indie bands.
