Rock out to start the week -- this is 拍謝少年 Sorry Youth =D
張維尼 Weni-gtr/voc, 梁薑薑 Giang Giang-bass/voc, 謝宗翰 Hsieh Chung-Han-drums/voc. With guest musician Easy.
Yo, the Yokkorio MV I was trying to post...
Disappeared, but I put it back. I prolly did something stupid, but anyway, it's fixed. Go have a listen! XD
FYCI 14 Year Anniversary! Thank you so much for all the follows, likes, reblogs, corrections and general support over the years, I appreciate you all! =D
How a bout a sweet and gentle tune to celebrate -- this is the newest single from Yokkorio. (Yu-Wen Liao 廖柚文 aka Yoz, who used to be in the band The Fur.)
Vocals/Guitar/Keys: Liao Yu Wen 廖柚文 Drums: Tu Che Hsin 杜哲欣 (fr. Deca joins) Bass: Sam Yang 楊世暄
Let's check out the Beijing band OU, this is some wild stuff! =D
Mountain is their most-played song on Spotify, and it's on their 2022 debut album, one. I think fans of GriffO (鬼否) will also like this. The combination of ethereal vocals over proggy-math-metal music is a winner. I've only heard a few tunes so far, but I'm pretty excited about this band.
Lynn Wu-Voc, Anthony Vanacore-Drums, 张晶 Jing Zhang-Gtr, 崔文正 Chris Cui-Bass
I had never heard of this band until a few days ago, when a single from their upcoming album "蘇醒 II: Frailty" appeared in my YT recs. The album is co-produced by Canadian prog-metal mastermind Devin Townsend, and he adds some background growling vocal on the song 淨化 Purge. This is completely intense and insane:
Links: Instagram, Official, InsideOutMusic YT, Spotify, OU乐队 Weibo
Bonus clip: My favorite Devin Townsend song, this is from his 1997 Ocean Machine album:
Some of his music is waaay too heavy for my taste, but other tunes I recommend are Canada, Sit In The Mountain, and Mountain.
Please keep a good thought for Taiwan...
You can see on this map that the drive between Hualien and Taipei is now much longer, due to landslides/quake damage closing sections of road. (almost 7 hours instead of 2.5 hours)
A few recent MVs from some FYCI favorites. =D
First up, this is 甜約翰 Sweet John, a song written by 吳倬安 Leon Wu (lyrics) w/ music/lead voc by 吳浚瑋 Genwie Wu & 梁丹郡 Mandark Liang, arranged by the band. (full a/v credits and lyrics at YT)
Next, the newest single from Vast & Hazy, written by 顏靜萱 Ka Ka Yen (lyrics), music by 林以晨 Victor Lin & 顏靜萱 Ka Ka Yen. (Victor is a member of So-So Heroes 瘦瘦英雄). This is a bit more laid-back than usual from VH, but it's still a beauty:
Lyrics and credits also back at YT. Links: YouTube, 添翼音樂 TEAM EAR MUSIC YT, Spotify, Weibo, Instagram, 咖咖 KaKa Instagram
Finally, 原子邦妮 Astro Bunny and the song 我注定不是和你相愛的人 Not Meant To Be from their latest album, Should Have Let Go (明明早點放棄就沒事了). The album came out on late December of 2023.
Co-written and arranged by the duo: NU (張羽承 Edward Chang) & Lena Cha 查查 (查家雯).
Full credits and lyrics at YT.
Hey there, sorry for the lack of posting, but I've got some nice things on the way, starting with this nice cover by 秋口勒! Choco (劉懷君) from the Kaohsiung band 霧虹 Fogbow. =D
The song was recorded by 范曉萱 Mavis Fan for her 1998 album Darling. A jazzy tune with several rhythm changes and lots of skillful guitar.
Lyrics: 曹峻 & 李泉 Music: 李泉
Let's hear the Mavis Fan version:
I'm not seeing any activity from Fogbow since last fall, but here is a song from their 2018 Exhausted single/ep. This is called 沈溺 (沉溺) Indulge:
張宇翔 Yu-Hsiang Chang (Fish Chang)-Gtr/Synth, Jay Lin 林信樺-drums, 柯柔安 JouAn Ko-Bass, 秋口 (劉懷君)-Voc/Gtr. I think the song was written by Fish & Jay. Lyrics and credits back at YT.
Links: Instagram, Spotify, StreetVoice, YouTube
Excellent tune from an artist we featured about a month ago, this is 李嫣Bibo. 也不是第一次死了 (It’s Not The First Time I Died) is a song on her brand new debut album, 第六病房. =D
Music/Lyrics: 李嫣Bibo Producer: 莓果甜心Sugar Fatty (跳蛋工廠EGGO Music Production) Arranger: 莓果甜心Sugar Fatty, 黃成緯 Become Huang Guitar: 黃成緯Become (on the MV, you see Bibo playing the lead part, so I dunno? I know she can play acoustic.) Bass: 林奕勳 (海狗 Seadog) (fr. 體熊專科。Major in Body Bear) Backing Vocals Arranger: 莓果甜心Sugar Fatty, sung by Bibo
Links: StreetVoice, Instagram, YouTube, Spotify
Elephant Gym crowd selfie in *Austin or Houston from this weekend. =D Lots of pics being posted to IG. *I think this is Austin, judging by the color of their clothes in this shot. (Yeah, gotta be Austin, the Houston show is just getting finished, no photos yet)
"Thanks for the massive support - Our shows in Texas, the west coast and Vancouver are all sold out. We are really flattered and excited to play for you!"
Still waiting to see the East Coast dates announced - fingers crossed for NYC and / or Montreal. =)
Lots of tasty playing in this one from the TPO Big Band 踢霹歐爵士大樂團 =D
Composer: 楊三郎 Arranger: 謝智揚 Featured Artist: 劉士瑜 Shih Yu Liu on the 中國笛 Chinese Bamboo Flute Woodwinds: 高杰 J Geddes - Alto Sax, Bass Clarinet 李哲安 Che An Li - Alto Sax 段承洋 Cloony - Tenor Sax, Flute 林秉宏 (阿強) Art Chang - Tenor Sax, Flute 譚文雅 Wenya Tan - Baritone Sax Horns: 丹尼 Danny Deysher Yannick Barman Solo Trumpet/Electronics 羅丹 Luo Dan 何政融 2MAO Trombones: 林庭揚 Brandon Lin 王翊丞 Yih Cheng Wang 賴奕如 Momo 王則旻 Che Min Wang (Bass Trombone) 陳健勛 Chris (Cimbasso) Piano: 傅麥特 Matthew Fullen Guitar: Ben Holt *Solo Vibraphone: 周嘉慧 ChiaHui Chou Double Bass: 林克安 Derrick Lin Drums: 詹無季 Baron Jan Percussion: 鄭嘉富 Cheng Chia Fu
Recorded by Andy Baker at 玉成戲院錄音室 YuChen Cinema Studio. More a/v credits back at YT.
‘Created in May 2020, TPO is an international group of professional musicians that brings the spirit and sound of vintage American jazz into 21st century Taipei.’ Founded/directed by 高杰伊 Jim Geddes.
Links: TPO YouTube, TPO Instagram
I think this is choral arrangement of the same 楊三郎 composition, with lyrics by 呂傳梓, arranged by 蔡昱姍, recorded in Austin, Texas back in 2013 by the 奧斯汀龍吟合唱團 (Austin Chinese Choir):
You mostly hear the similarity in that lovely opening/recurring melody.
Conductor: Chung-Hwa Chen Piano Accompanist: Eric Wei 魏嘉翔
Lyrics and English translation back at YT.
Another instrumental group featured at the November TNBT showcase (see previous post) is a band called 潛水浣熊 Diving Raccoon =D
This math rock/prog-metal quartet formed in mid-2019,and the members are: 鄭元僑 Yuanchiao Cheng-Gtr, 吳睿得 Ray Wu-Gtr, 余政頡 Chen-Chieh Yu-Bass (also in 迷霧吐司 Misty Toast), 黃科翰 Kohan Huang-Drums
The single Connie's Forest was released last August. Written by the band, Produced by 伍志豪 Junaidi Alexander Aris (he is in the bands Slowing Oscillation 斯洛頻率 and 慣性成癮 Ïnertial Äddiction)
Links: Instagram, StreetVoice, YouTube, Spotify
A few months ago, we featured 2 songs from this mysterious instrumental band, Rainy Knight, and here they are at a late November showcase of The Next Big Thing. Mysterious & talented!
I'm very curious who these guys are -- are they in other bands, and just how hot these all-black outfits will be in the Taiwan summer? XD
I think they formed in 2021, and the members are listed: Guitar | A1018, Guitar | A0220, Bass | A0410, Drums | A0325.
Links: YouTube, Instagram, StreetVoice, SoundCloud, Bandcamp, 給樂音樂 Gather Music (Label)
StreetVoiceTV has 2 more songs from their set, along with the other bands from that November showcase. Always in excellent a/v quality, even if they sometimes focus on the rhythm guitarist when the lead guitarist is soloing. =/
Listen/purchase: Angels with Acrophobia by The Ancient Mental
Some wild instrumental rock for you here -- very heavy, very intense. =D
Hong Kong guitarist/programmer Adam Aaron (Adam Tam 譚錫森) is the mastermind behind The Ancient Mental, using 8 stringed instruments to play bass as well as gtr parts, similar to Animals As Leaders.
Adam played/programmed most of the parts on this single, with Frederick Tsang on drums. Freddy (Freddy Tsang YT, Freddy Tsang IG) has been a member of the project since 2017, although another drummer is credited on the 1st ep Philomath in 2017. That release had full ensemble *credits, but I believe that most of the current lineup (Adam, Freddy-Drums, Ck Ip 'Fat Chicken'-Gtr, Kevin (Kelson Fung)-Bass-Bass) are for playing live?
*credits are sparse for all subsequent releases, crediting The Ancient Mental which could mean Adam and other members or just Adam plus a drummer, etc.
This kind of music needs to be seen as well as heard to be appreciated, so here is a 2018 clip of 2 pulverizing songs, performed by the trio of Adam, Freddy, and Kevin:
By the way, Freddy Tsang is also the current drummer for 光影 Instinct of Sight. Another HK band with a heavy, alternative/emo sound.
Source: theancientmentalhk.bandcamp.com
Let's check out an all-girl band from Hong Kong, this is Cozy Syndrome 舒適症候群 =D
End It Now is a high-energy single released last summer, and it is their most-played song on Spotify. They have 5 singles on Spotify, 1 from 2022, and the rest from 2023.
They formed in 2019, and the current lineup is: Asana Tsang-Voc, Forky (aka Hoshiko Leung aka Cha Tsz-Gtr, Gillian Tsoi-Gtr, Sarah Ho-Bass (also in 203雜貨屋), Noel Law-Drums.
Composed by Gillian Tsoi, Asana Tsang Lyrics by Leung Pak Kin 梁栢堅 Arranged/Produced by Cozy Syndrome, a n a
Full credits/lyrics at YT. Links: Spotify, Instagram, YouTube, EarUp Music page. Cha's heavily into cosplay, check out her links. =D
I don't think we ever featured Cozy Syndrome before, but mentioned them once. I was reminded of them today because guitarist Cha Tsz just did the first of a live session series featured on the channel Nostalgia Audio:
Both songs are covers, "Somewhere" by Ako and "Last Summer Whisper" by Anri.
The band is Cha-Voc/Gtr, Lari (Larry Chan Ka Hei)-Drums, Pakc-Bass, Andy-Keys (I think he is Kit Hirono Kun from But Nothing Happened, and he is a freelance musician incl. support keys w/ Cozy Syndrome), Adri (Adriana Tang)-Backing Voc (Adri is in a band called Funny Side Up! and she also sings freelance, see her IG. Her Adri YouTube has lots of covers))
Bonus clip: This is the 2022 single by Cozy Syndrome, with their original bassist Sherry leung:
Credits/Lyrics back at YT.
A couple of sunny tunes for you to put a smile on your face, and get you ready to face another week... =D
First up, the young band 公館青少年 GGteens featuring guest vocal by up and coming artist JOYCE 就以斯
GGteens are an indie pop/rock band of college friends from Gong Guan in Taipei City, led by 廖于任 Adam Liao-Voc/Ac. Gtr, 杜政廷 Nicholas Tu-Electric Gtr, 李婉鈴 Ling Lee-Bass, 盧彥恩 Lucy Lu-Keys/Backing Voc, 陳楷傑 Jay Chen-Drums.
GG Links: Spotify, YouTube, Instagram, StreetVoice.
The single just came out in December. You can see the lyrics at their SV song page.
Producer: 廖于任 Adam Liao Music/Lyrics: 盧彥恩 Lucy Lu, 廖于任 Adam Liao, 詹佳穎 Jia-Ying Zhan
JOYCE Links: YouTube, Instagram, Spotify, StreetVoice, Facebook
Let's hear a recent single from JOYCE, this came out in November. Super catchy, bilingual lyrics:
Music/Lyrics: JOYCE 就以斯 Arrangement: Rick Huang 黃瑞克 Chorus Arrangement: JOYCE 就以斯 Producer: JOYCE 就以斯, 楊峻綱 Kang
Full a/v credits and lyrics back at YT.
I highly recommend you also go hear her solo voc/ac. gtr performance of this song at Instagram HERE. Her singing & playing are perfect, and the a/v is also top-notch! (Recorded live by bbk studio)
Actually, the way I stumbled on these 2 artists above was because I heard a lovely folk tune by 廖莉筑 Li Zhu Liao this morning, produced by 廖于任 Adam from 公館青少年 GGteens. The song is called 不至於愛上, please go have a listen and read the lyrics over at StreetVoice. (currently #3 on the SV top ten.)
According to SV, she is from Taichung. Some more songs to hear at her StreetVoice page and a 2021 demo on YouTube, plus a bunch of originals and covers at her Instagram. Lovely voice! =D
I love this new single Driftwood from LÜCY, very catchy guitar rock. =D
Written by LÜCY and Déjà Fu 海大富 (Lucy has written several songs w/ him) Produced by - I think this is the guy: 魯綱宇 Kyle Lu (JADE) and 海大富
Links: YouTube, Facebook, StreetVoice, SoundCloud, Spotify
The above clip I found on a 'topic' page, here is a MV from last year, (included on her 2022 self-titled album) on her YT channel, it's another earworm, very sweet:
Lyricist: LÜCY and Away Maya (any idea who she is?) Composer: LÜCY and Déjà Fu
This is the title track from 葉穎 Leaf Yeh's album, 遷 Migration. =D
I had no idea it was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Recording Package category until she posted from the Grammy's show the other day.
Written by Leaf Yeh, 葉國居, 陳思銘 Produced by Leaf Yeh, 黃少雍 Shao-Yong Huang
Let's have a look at that packaging, it really is a classy presentation: