Interviews

A to Z

“A Sense of Unity and Resilience”: Eastern Margin’s Road 2 Redline Tour

·June 17, 2023·6 min read

New Bloom's Brian Hioe spoke with obese.dogma777, rEmPiT g0dDe$$, and Lumi about Eastern Margins' recent Road 2 Redline tour of Southeast Asia, collaborating with artists that previously worked on their Redline Legends album, released in 2021. The tour included stops in Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Jakarta, Bangkok, Bandung, and Saigon Read More

“I Throw Everything into a Blender When I DJ”: An Interview with Misty Penguin

English Interviews Music

·October 5, 2021·6 min read

No Man is an Island presents the first of a set of collaborations with Electric Soul, a Hong Kong-based electronic music magazine and ticketing platform. For our first cross-posted article, we spoke with Beatrice Wong, who DJs as Misty Penguin. Apart from being one of Hong Kong’s few transgender DJs, Wong is also a stand-up comedian and filmmaker. The following article was originally published on Electric Soul on September 10th Read More

“Our Histories and Our Stories Are More Valuable Than Any Currency”: A Decolonial Fundraiser for the Xaragua Arts Center

English Interviews Life

·May 27, 2023·13 min read

New Bloom’s Brian Hioe spoke to Jean-Aurel Maurice, the founder of the Xaragua Arts Center in Haiti, and Jean-Paul Weaver, Administrative Director and organizer of the fundraiser for the Xaragua Arts Center in Taipei next month, Danse Pou Xaragua. The fundraiser will include authentic Haitian food, live performances, and a Konpa dance workshop, taking place at the Exotica Bar and Grill in Tianmu on June 3rd from 6 PM to 10 PM. Tickets will cost 1,500 NT. All proceeds go towards supporting their Dance Passport program Read More

“The Stuff I Do Are All Accumulations of Things”: An Interview with Alexmalism

English Interviews

·July 6, 2022·11 min read

Brian Hioe spoke to Alexmalism, who researches electronic music culture as a Ph. D candidate at the City University of Hong Kong, and is also a DJ, producer, and sound artist. The following article originally appeared on Electric Soul, a Hong Kong-based electronic music magazine and ticketing platform, on December 21st, 2021 Read More

A Farewell to a City That Has Changed Forever

English Interviews Music

·December 10, 2021·6 min read

Brian Hioe spoke to Rainbow Chan, whose EP Stanley was released on November 25th. According to the EP description, “Stanley is her exploration of a love past, a farewell to a city that’s changed forever” Read More

A Transient Think Tank for the Underground

English Interviews Music

·March 25, 2022·8 min read

Brian Hioe spoke with Arthur Bray from Hong Kong-based Yeti Out on how Yeti Out began, its successes to date, and what comes next for the platform Read More

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

English Interviews Music

·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

Creating Musical Spaces of One’s Own

English Interviews Music

·November 19, 2021·24 min read

Brian Hioe spoke to Ani Hao, who DJs as Ani Phoebe, and is a writer, feminist media strategist, as well as one of the founders of Bad Times Disco and New Wave Read More

Interview: Charles Yu

Books English Interviews Life

·January 19, 2021·8 min read

New Bloom/No Man is an Island editor Brian Hioe spoke to writer Charles Yu about his recent book, Interior Chinatown, which recently won the National Book Award Read More

Interview: Finsent

English Interviews Music

·June 25, 2022·5 min read

Brian Hioe spoke to Hong Kong DJ Finsent about his time in Macau during COVID-19 and how the scene in Macau and China has changed during COVID-19 Read More

Interview: Olivier Richard on “BPM ECSTASY: The Techno Wave Between Taipei and Beijing”

English Film Interviews

·December 22, 2023·7 min read

New Bloom's Brian Hioe spoke Olivier Richard, the director of the new TaiwanPlus documentary series, "BPM ECSTASY: The Techno Wave Between Taipei and Beijing." The documentary can be seen on their YouTube channel Read More

Music as a Source for Self-Healing: An Interview with LVRA about ‘soft like steel’

English Interviews

·March 22, 2023·4 min read

Brian Hioe spoke with LVRA about their new EP, 'soft like steel,' which is out today. 'soft like steel' is a release on Eastern Margins, and positions itself on the margins of both club and pop music Read More