Taiwan Creative Content Fest (TCCF) 2022 is happening from November 3-13
This year, there will be four modules: "PITCHING." "MARKET," "INNOVATIONS" and "FORUM." This article will focus on the music in "INNOVATIONS" and the audio/visual collaborations of promising local content creators from November 11t-13.
Throughout the event, the showcases will have three stages at Songshan Cultural and Creative Park. "Boundless Stage” is the arena stage at warehouse No.1 focusing on experimenting with the latest technologies, installations and visual arts. “Fantasy Park” is an open-air stage at Baroque Garden and captures slices of daily life for Taiwan’s youths, such as live podcasts, circuses, contemporary performance art and world music. Last but not least is the “Exploration Stage” at Cultural and Creative Plaza, which presents upcoming artists from music genres such as rock, jazz, hip-hop, punk, Taiwanese Hokkien and Indigenous music.
The performances below have been picked out by Taiwan Beats’ editorial team.
11/11
Bug of Phonon x Antinomy Company
After Bug of Phonon released their sophomore album "Understory" and played on stage for the first time in a decade, the post-rock legend made an impact with their iconic multi-layered soundscapes. This time, they are collaborating with Antinomy Company, an artist collective that pursues the diversity of creative mediums through performance art, poets and space.
Disfigured Sisterhood
Taiwan's most popular drag queen show band, Disfigured Sisterhood address issues such as the LBGTQ+ community, migrant workers, and appearance anxiety in their performances. Instead of a stereotyped rock concert, the band plays a fine line between being a drag queen show and a TV variety show from the '90s, covering Mandopop classics and Taiwanese oldies.
11/12
Mong Tong x XTRUX
This year is groundbreaking for Mong Tong after supporting Kikagaku Moyo on their last European tour. XTRUX is a multi-media art lab focusing on 3D animations and club culture.
The two acts appeared at Synergy Festival earlier this year, and because both of them are influenced by Taiwan’s traditional ceremonial cultures, they will be presenting their first collaboration under the same theme at TCCF this year.
Sorry Youth x ANH Design
After the online performance of "3.5mm Universe" and two sold-out one-man shows at Zepp New Taipei this year, Sorry Youth represents the classic three-piece rock trio of a new generation.
This time they collaborated with ANH Design on the Boundless Stage. In addition to their signature energetic performances, the band has also announced an "elaborate stage installation," which is sure to be a highlight of this crossover show.
Black Wolf the Herniated Disc Nakashi, aka Dawang Yingfan Huang
Black Wolf Nakasi / Huang Da Wang is a noise artist known as the "living dictionary of Taiwan music." He began recording experimental music on tape in his bedroom in his teenage years.
His musical style ranges from free improvisation, noise, and field recordings to soundscapes. After many overseas festivals and winning awards such as at Ars Electronica 12, became a meme after singing "Final Countdown" at Sonntags Karaoke im Mauerpark.
FiftyBodyFifty
The down-to-earth acoustic guitar and cajun percussion-based rock n’ roll band has been a success after innovative performances that, for example, got the audience to hike with them for a performance in the wood.
The band even created a dating app “Hearting” to promote their new releases. The app has become popular on the band scene and among fans, with many local indie bands now launching their new albums on the app.
11/13
A Root
A Root is a fusion ensemble comprising Yilan-rooted musicians. Their instruments are sheng, yue qin, liu qin, zhongruan, piano, cello, and percussion. Their music style is borderless, mixing jazz, funk, alternative rock, oldies and world music as one. Earlier this year, A Root showcased at the Festival Internacional Cervantino in Mexico, La Pintana Theater in Chile, bringing Taiwan's multifaceted musical character to the other side of the Pacific Ocean.
Flesh Juicer x DJ QuestionMark
Flesh Juicer is GMA 33's best band award winner and comes from Taichung. Since their formation in 2006, the band has become renowned for their distinctive style, which infuses deathcore and hardcore elements, along with customs and local ceremonial music.
DJ QuestionMark won the DMC Taiwan Champion contest and has performed at major international festivals with his signature style of flute, scratch DJ and synthesizer. He is also known as the owner of the "Orange Wall," a live music channel that later became the official partner with of streaming platform Twitch.
This year is a groundbreaking year for both of them, and their collaboration was the heaviest sound presented at TCCF ‘22.
BIO x Nick Tsai/XAN/Sonia Calico
Visual elements of the showcase are provided by BIO, who is a projection artist that uses liquid paint, light sculpture techniques and an analog projector as his creative elements.
Featuring soundscapes provided by three distinctive electronic musicians: Nick Tsai, an electronic musician focusing on modular synthesizer and botanical elements in his creation; XAN, who was the resident DJ at HKCR; and Sonia Calico, a scene veteran, an electronic music producer as well as the organizer of Synergy Festival.
They will be exploring different artistic possibilities on stage, developing an organic improvisation of a real-time, audio-visual performance.
Super Napkin
Super Napkin is a productive fuzz-pop trio with a nostalgic guitar sound wall from the '90s. They have released five albums in eight years, including “Subtropical Jet Stream” and “Sherry's Neighbors” − a double album released earlier this year. It made perfect sense for them to fall in love with the equally droney sounds of Yo La Tengo, Sonic Youth, Eric's Trip, The Microphones, and My Bloody Valentine.
Taiwan Creative Content Fest focuses on what music will become in the future. As the global epidemic enters its fourth year, most musicians still rely on physical events for their livelihood, even though international musicians such as BTS, Kenshi Yonezu and Travis Scott have achieved amazing results in online concert sales.
With the return of music festivals and tours over the past six months, the question is, how to turn the experience of online showcases into marketing tools or commodities; and whether physical events can give audiences a different experience through media or methods besides traditional lighting, VJs, and stage installations.
From the "Boundless Stage," a 360-degree immersion, to "Fantasy Park," which features humanities and nature experiences, to the "Exploration Stage," all the above are outstanding creatives from Taiwan.
