Admin, Author at No Man Is An Island

Creating a Safe Space in Music: A Conversation with SYS Sister Sounds

·June 18, 2022·3 min read

Brian Hioe spoke to Margaret Tra from SYS Sister Sounds, a collective which runs DJ workshops for women and non-binary people in Vietnam, among other activities Read More

Reclaiming Localized Asian Dance Music: LJC and Dirty K on Tokyo Renaissance/Kazumi

English Music

·June 15, 2022·4 min read

Brian Hioe spoke with LJC and Dirty K about their recent release on the EP Tokyo Renaissance/Kazumi, which also features WRACK and T5UMUT5UMU. Tokyo Renaissance/Kazumi was released on Eastern Margins and pays tribute to the Japanese genre of electronic music known as hyper techno, as a way to reclaim localized Asian dance music Read More

The Journey Matters: A Conversation About Earthfest

English Interviews Music

·June 11, 2022·7 min read

Brian Hioe spoke to Blaine Whiteley about Earthfest, which will take place in Miaoli from July 21st through July 24th Read More

Organ Tapes’ Newest Album Tinges American Pop Melodies with Electronic

English Music

·June 7, 2022·1 min read

Organ Tapes’ Chang Zhe Na Wu Ren Wen Jin De Ge Yao, meaning something like “Sing the Song That Nobody Cares About”, is an ethereal album Read More

The Sound of Ambient Rain with a Progressive Beat: NYORAI’s 雨の音

English Music

·June 5, 2022·1 min read

If the ideas that guide NYORAI’s album 雨の音 (rain sound) are not the most uncommon, with the Japanese producer citing the philosophy of Zen as an influence, the album is an intriguing combination of progressive electronica with ambient Read More

Reconnecting Taiwan Post-COVID: A Conversation with Eden Hill Festival

English Music

·June 1, 2022·7 min read

Brian Hioe spoke to Rubben from Eden Hill about their festival, which was originally scheduled for April, but had to be rescheduled due to heavy rain. Eden Hill will take place in Hsinchu on the weekend of June 17th. The following article originally appeared on Electric Soul, a Hong Kong-based electronic music magazine and ticketing platform, on March 30th Read More

Taiwan Reliant on Voluntary Measures to Contain COVID-19

English Life

·May 28, 2022·3 min read

As COVID-19 spreads throughout Taiwan as part of the current outbreak, what may be particularly of note is the degree to which the outbreak has interfaced with personal behavior Read More

With Power Comes Responsibility: Joi Lau on “Gaia in Trouble”

English Interviews Music

·May 25, 2022·4 min read

Brian Hioe spoke to Hong Kong producer Joi Lau by e-mail about their new release on FuFu Records, “Gaia in Trouble.” The following article originally appeared on Electric Soul, a Hong Kong-based electronic music magazine and ticketing platform, on May 20th Read More

評論：漂泊的巴黎

English Life

·May 21, 2022·1 min read

艾先生的作品對時尚所做出的評註，正是讓人眼睛為之一亮的地方。他的攝影作品是戶外經過了風吹雨打的時尚海報，這些海報想要表達的時尚宣言，看起來很空虛。 Read More

Ethnography in the Club

English Music

·May 18, 2022·2 min read

Dance Music Spaces: Club, Clubbers, and DJs Navigating Authenticity, Branding, and Commercialism, by Danielle Antoinette Hidalgo, aims to add to the relatively sparse genre of English-language ethnographies of dance music from a sociological perspective. Apart from examining dance spaces, the work focuses on three female artists, Peggy Gou, Honey Dijon, and The Blessed Madonna (formerly known as Black Madonna) in terms of how the three balance authenticity and commercialism Read More

Stylistically Innovative and Thematically Bold

English Film

·May 14, 2022·3 min read

Everything Everywhere All At Once is a triumph. The film can be categorized as “Asian American film,” but it is much more than that—Everything Everywhere All at Once is bold, innovative, and high-concept, while managing to engage with personal themes Read More

Review: Drifting Paris

English Life

·May 10, 2022·6 min read

Fashion is where Cèdric Alviani’s work shines in its commentary. The photographs were of outdoor fashion posters. Having been through the elements, the fashion statements the posters aimed to make look hollow. The superficiality associated with fashion photography in this context looks absurd. The colorful photographs scream out criticism of our contemporary consumerist world. This subversive commentary of our contemporary “fast fashion” culture is very self-aware, and in fact, is how the exhibition introduced itself Read More