Techno scenes of Taiwan & China take centre stage in new docuseries
‘BPM ECSTASY: The Techno Wave Between Taipei and Beijing’ follows artists as they reignite their clubbing communities
Taiwan and China are in the spotlight in a new four-episode docuseries exploring their respective techno scenes.
‘BPM ECSTASY: The Techno Wave Between Taipei and Beijing’ follows artists as they navigate their cities and look to reignite their local clubbing communities post-pandemic.
It focuses on three main artists — Elvis T, SUNK and tamiX — who act as city guides during the docuseries. We follow their journey as they meet old-generation legends, fellow techno community members, friends and family, and even visit manga artists and punk bands.
In their respective stories, we’re introduced to other scene leaders such as Sonia Calico, Zhang Youdai, Weng Weng, Lujiachi, Tzusing, Lim Giong, Dungi Sapor, Random Voices/XLF, DJ Ozone, INN, Zhelai, Lu Ming, and PizzaFace.
Each episode is divided into four chapters — two on Beijing and two on Taipei — focusing on the links and similarities between the two capitals as well as what’s unique and exciting about each.
Director Oliver Richard is no stranger to these two scenes, and over the past decade, he’s made four movies and published many articles focusing on Beijing and Taipei’s nightlife.
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Mixmag Asia caught up with Oliver Richard about why he chose these two cities, with him telling us, “For China, I chose Beijing because it's a fascinating city, the 'live capital of China'. Everything goes super-fast there, and the artists and club owners are incredibly creative and dedicated to their music, which is sometimes difficult in this city for reasons I tried to explain in the series.”
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He continues: “The Taipei scene is also pretty unknown in Europe and definitely deserves more love and attention. You never hear about the connections between Beijing and Taipei, even though there are many and I hope this docuseries shines a light on these great artists and scenes.”
Accompanying the release is a launch party in Taipei at Taboo, with performances from Dungi Sapor, Sonia Calico and Krisas.
‘BPM ECSTASY: The Techno Wave Between Taipei and Beijing’ will premiere on TaiwanPlus Docs YouTube channel on November 11. Watch the trailer below.
Henry Cooper is a Writer at Mixmag Asia. Follow him on Instagram.
