Taiwan

Taiwan is an island in East Asia. "Taiwan" is also commonly used to refer to the area under the jurisdiction of the Republic of China (ROC) government. The main island of Taiwan, also known as Formosa (from Portuguese (Ilha) Formosa, meaning "beautiful (island)"), is located in East Asia off the coast of China, southwest of the main islands of Japan but directly west of the end of Japan's Ryukyu Islands, and north-northwest of the Philippines. It is bound to the east by the Pacific Ocean, to the south by the South China Sea and the Luzon Strait, to the west by the Taiwan Strait and to the north by the East China Sea. The island is 394 kilometers (245 miles) long and 144 kilometers (89 miles) wide and consists of steep mountains covered by tropical and subtropical vegetation.

[2010] Psychedelic Formosa in TAIWAN

written by Stuart Wilson
read this article in French

Psy Trance has been kicking up dust in Taiwan for almost 13 years now – although the scene has had its ups and downs. At the moment there is a thriving Psy Trance culture alive in Taiwan. It's a vibe that is distinctly Asian and in my experience, completely unique. Taiwan is an ancient culture that has modernized extremely rapidly. Taiwanese society went from a nation of rice farmers and field workers to a major first world economy and high-tech industrialized society in approximately 50 years. At present, the feeling in Taiwan, especially among the youth, is akin to what happened in the USA in the 60s. People are waking up to a new realization: a life of maximized enjoyment and fulfillment. Compared to China, Taiwan enjoys remarkable freedom, which is a new experience for those born into traditional Chinese culture. This new found sense of freedom is mirrored in the emerging Psy Trance scene.

Due to the prevalence of drugs at early parties, the scene was shut down by the police for about three years and has only recently started to re-emerge. The police have began to co-operate more with party organizers. A middle ground has been reached whereby the police allow these parties as long as they supplied with information regarding number of people attending, venue location, start and end time and an agreement that drug use will not be tolerated. That said, parties are not over promoted as there is a trend among the organizers themselves to keep things small and to keep the feeling of a psychedelic family alive, rather than trying to maximize profit by packing people in.

There hasn't been a full police raid for at least two years, although the police do come by from time to time and drop off pamphlets urging patrons to respect the laws of Taiwan. There are still undercover agents observing at most parties and some have even tried to entrap people into selling them drugs. Drugs are not freely available at parties and it is not easy to buy drugs in Taiwan. The penalties for drug trafficking are sever and party goers are urged to take caution when traveling in Taiwan in this regard.

There are a couple of independent groups throwing parties in Taiwan at present. 26D, Acousoma Productions, Cosmic Worm and the Revolutions Team are among the most well known, although there are other groups too. Most DJ's playing in Taiwan are local Taiwanese or the odd foreign DJ, mostly those traveling or working here. Most guest DJ's come from Japan and South Africa. Among the most well known DJ's in Taiwan are Kerlivin, Koala, Mezak, Morpheus, Spike, Jocy, Emerson and Psyan. Foreign DJ's include Theendtone, Urban Myth, Xemitone, Lazydaze and Malfunktioning.

The Psy Trance scene in Taiwan is predominantly located in the north where there are much colder winters, so there are very few parties between December and July. The first parties of the season usually kick off around the end of May as summer sets in and the season lasts until early November. There is usually one new years eve party. Weather is a big factor when planning a party in Taiwan and in summer typhoons are a constant threat. If follows that organizers seldom plan parties too far in advance so the line up for the year is hard to predict. There are usually 5 -8 parties a year in Taiwan and the venues are usually located in the beautiful green mountains and occasionally by the ocean. At present, numbers are around 100 to 200 people at a party although sometimes there may be as many as 300 hundred. Tickets are around 400 – 500 NT dollars per person and the ticket price usually includes a free drink. Beers are sold for around NT50 each – usually NT100 for two. There are very few stalls or psy shops at parties but organizers are trying to encourage people to set up shop.

The vibe at parties is open and friendly and while there is not much English spoken among the locals, there is enough to get by, even for someone who doesn't understand any Chinese at all. Travelers can expect toothy smiles and warm welcomes from most Taiwanese people when traveling here and the psy-trance scene is no exception.

The music in Taiwan is predominantly Dark. Things usually start off a bit slower,with forest sounds and the occasional ambient set, but the tunes get hard and deeply psychedelic by the second set. Music remains fast, dark and hard during the night but, when the sun comes up it usually opens up with a bit more Fullon sound. There is a big debate in Taiwan about whether Dark or Fullon is better with different production crews leaning in different directions. This debate has become so big, it has actually become a mass debate – which pretty much speaks for itself. Regardless of your tastes, you should be able to find something that will knock your socks off at any psy-trance party in Taiwan. While some people may let their strong opinions spoil the party for them, if you approach the music with a positive outlook and a degree of respect for other people's tastes, you are almost guaranteed to have a superb time. The quality of the music is very high and many DJ's are also producing their own tracks. At most parties the sound quality is excellent and often DJ's blast us into space with 60kW sound rigs to compliment the amazing decor and UV-art.

The Psy Trance scene in Taiwan is only just starting to take off again, but the vibrant energy and the warmth of the people, coupled with a truly Asian psychedelic feeling make Taiwan a very attractive destination for those wanting to experience something different.

Tell us more about TAIWAN 2011

Support your local scene and let us know about it. Please write in the third person and take a neutral point-of-view. An article about a country should contain the following things:

history of the scene
overview about the upcoming year
parties
artists (acts, decorators, VJs & DJs)
labels
shops (music, deco, fashion, chillin and clubing)
other organisations (publications: radio, TV, print)
facts:

average price for a party,

average price for water/beer,

how many parties a week,

how long is a party in average,

how big are the big and the medium sized parties,

when is the best time to come by?

legal situation on drugs

contacts and addresses (links)

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Facts

Tickets prices usually go for 400 or 500 NT dollars.
Drinks are usually 100 NT dollars for two beers
The best time for trance is from May till November
There is usually a new years eve party
There are usually only about 5 parties a year

Links

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Networks

TW26D taiwanese Forum

Psytrance in Taiwan english Facebook group

Parties

Please just post links to organizers and party crews here! If you want to post a Party date please register at our party database: http://www.goabase.com and post your date and details there, your party will automatically be displayed in the party box in the right column!

Earthfest

Photosynthesis 20/06/2009