Taiwan Grooves

For today's episode, I am joined by two creative minds from The Church of Loops, Brian and John. In part I, we will discuss how they picked the right name for the duo, evolution of their sound and how they develop improvisation skills during life performances.  The Church of Loops creates original music by improvising with loop stations, beatboxing, vocal harmonies, MIDI controllers, and vari...

Welcome to the second part of our interview with Maxwell Lee, a singer, songwriter and composer from the U.S. In this episode, we will talk about some of his past performances, various projects he is involved in and his songs.  In 2022, Maxwell Lee moved to Taipei after being awarded a Gold Card from the Taiwan Ministry of Culture for excellence in the arts. He maintains a busy performing sch...

Join us in today’s episode as I sit down with Max to talk about his journey from classical training to creating his own sound. We will look into his perspective on classical training, letting go of perfection, and his inspiring return to music with more freedom and joy after a hiatus. In 2022, Maxwell Lee moved to Taipei after being awarded a Gold Card from the Taiwan Ministry of Culture for...

Join in to the second episode of interesting chats with a Taiwanese singer, songwriter and producer, Everydaze. Today we will dive into topics such as his significant trip to L.A. and his most recent album - Daze.  Deeply influenced by multiple genres such as Bedroom-Pop, Indie-Pop, R&B, and so-on, Everydaze’s music is a mixture of retro and modern sound, layered by rich g...

In today's episode I am joined by Everydaze, a Taiwanese singer, songwriter and producer. Together we will look at how one can pursue music career with no music education, writing songs in English. We will also briefly talk about the song Blur and also find out if Everydaze is still producing for other artists. Additionally, we will address  how self sufficient one can be when makin...

Join into a single episode with Indonesian rapper Mario Zwinkle from Megaport Festival in Kaohsiung. We had an interview after his performance where he shared what brought him to Megaport, origin of getting into rap music, process of writing lyrics as well as what we can expect from Mario in the upcoming months. Besides this, Mario will enlighten us about his rituals and religious discip...

Welcome to the second part of meeting members of That's My Shhh at Megaport Festival. This episode wraps up the interview, including stories of how one gets in and some fan interactions.  That’s My Shhh was originally developed in 2015 as an event to break down walls between musicians and dancers, and provide Taiwanese artists a safe space where they could be creatively free, void of re...

In today's episode, I will be interviewing all 14 members from That's My Shhh (TMS) at one of the biggest music festivals in Taiwan - Megaport Festival. The first episode will include introduction of the members and what this collaboration is about, their view on Taiwanese music industry, their cross-collaboration, and finding balance in presenting every individual. That’s My Shhh was o...

Welcome to the second episode of exploring Pagan folk music with two members of Flint And Steel - Dusla and Era, two Live Action Role Players, who decided to create their own music that would fit their stories. In this episode we will talk about releasing albums, their plan to upgrade their live performances and how to go about promoting music. Towards the end, we will shift the foc...

Join our today's episode, where I will be interviewing two LARP enthusiasts and story writers, Era and Dusla, who will share the motivation behind the band, their own created language and past musical experience, their favorite experience, and they will also describe two of their songs.  Flint and Steel (逐火) is a pagan folk band from Taiwan. We blend historical music with fantasy eleme...

Greetings and join us in the second part of understanding music of the earth with King Sing and Falk. This time we will talk about their favorite performance, creative strategies to gain more exposure and journey of producing their recent album. The band 大地之歌 (Sonus de Gaia) was founded in 2016 by Taiwanese guitarist King Sing, who invited José to Taiwan to...

Hello and welcome! In today’s episode, I am excited to introduce you to two members of Sonus de Gaia, King Sing and Falk. We'll discuss the band's inception, how the two members came together and their musical backgrounds. We’ll also briefly touch on the types of music and languages that influence Sonus de Gaia, as well as how rehearsing and producing new music works among the internat...

Tune into the second part of interviewing Urban Fungus! In this one, we will be covering his songwriting inspiration, how a song comes to life, his attitude towards making music and potential future plans for Bouzouki dub. Urban Fungus aka Petr Danda is a Czech architect and musician interested in psychedelic music.  His main project, in a classic band formation, could be labeled as...

In today's episode, Urban Fungus shares his inspiration that shaped two projects he has been working on, origins of him coming across an ancient Greek instrument and future projects of the band. Urban Fungus aka Petr Danda is a Czech architect and musician interested in psychedelic music.  His main project, in a classic band formation, could be labeled as hazy, sun-infused psychedelic rock, a...

Are you curious on what it is like to be a composer? Do you need some motivation and valuable advice to get you started on creating music? Then tune into today's episode, where we will be discussing different work that Mitch has worked on,  Mitch Lin is a Taiwanese composer with a Master of Music degree in film scoring from New York University, and is currently a Lecturer at the Music In...

Mitch Lin is a Taiwanese composer with a Master of Music degree in film scoring from New York University, and is currently a Lecturer at the Music Institute of National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (Taiwan). Mitch Lin has been immersed in music for over 25 years. His music is full of elegant melody, colourful harmony, and blends a wide range of genres. Specializing in orchestral music, his soun...

Welcome to the second part of the interview with Chen Yi-heng (陳以恆), who recently released a new album titled "can cancan cancancan." In this segment, we will discuss his future plans, the importance of speaking Taiwanese, and the roles of branding and marketing for artists. Chen Yi-heng, living in Taipei, likes to tell foreign friends that he is from Anping, Tainan. Traveling back and forth be...

In these two weeks, I will be having a friendly chat with Chen Yi-heng, who just released a new album recently, titled  can cancan cancancan . In today's episode, we will explore his origin of getting into music, his different feelings between working on EP and the album, and its theme.  Chen Yi-heng, living in Taipei, likes to tell foreign friends that he is from Anping, Tainan. Traveli...

In our second part of the interview with FunkyMo, we will dive deep into why he writes music in Taiwanese and about bringing his recent album into the existence.  FunkyMo was exposed to American Hip-Hop, Funk, R&B, and other broader musical styles. At the same time, he exchanged rock music albums with classmates from the rock music club who sat behind him. He thought he would da...

On today's episode of Taiwan Grooves part I, I will interview a Taiwanese born and raised R&B musician, FunkyMo, who makes music in Taigi and English.  FunkyMo was exposed to American Hip-Hop, Funk, R&B, and other broader musical styles. At the same time, he exchanged rock music albums with classmates from the rock music club who sat behind him. He thought he would dance forever,...

In today's episode we will talk about Steev's first instruments and their different varieties - their production, materials and their history. Steev Kindwald brings a unique fusion of ancient folk traditions and contemporary sounds. Drawing on his diverse cultural heritage from Romania, Germany, Scotland, and England, Steev plays various traditional instruments, including the Jaw Harp and Double F...

Join in on today's first episode, where Steev educates me about different flutes and their functions, breathing techniques while playing, picking up this kind of instruments and desert life.    Steev Kindwald brings a unique fusion of ancient folk traditions and contemporary sounds. Drawing on his diverse cultural heritage from Romania, Germany, Scotland, and England, Steev pla...

In today's episode, the band members will share their favorite songs to perform, favorite performance and some encouriging words for starting musicians.  Kumara the Cat is an indie-rock band from Taipei city started in 2018. The band consists of vocal/guitarist Ciou, guitarist Qmo, bassist Paul, drummer Tweety and Keyboardist Momo. The band was inspired by British rock from 60s to nowadays an...

In today's episode, we introduce the band members and take a peek into their creative process. They will also share their inspiration behind their latest EP, Ina.  Kumara the Cat is an indie-rock band from Taipei city started in 2018. The band consists of vocal/guitarist Ciou, guitarist Qmo, bassist Paul, drummer Tweety and Keyboardist Momo. The band was inspired by British rock from 60s to n...

Today's episode is a bit different as it is without a guest. As 2024 is coming to an end, I thought I would take a look back at all the interviews and revisit some of the old artists that walked through the halls of Rti.  Unfortunately I could not fit in all the artists and should have aimed for two episodes, but hopefully people who were keeping up with the show will find the last few weeks...