Songwriting and creative approaches of local indie rock bands

Composing and performing original material are the main activities that separate creative bands (創作樂團), which compose Taipei’s indie rock scene, as opposed to

so-82 called “cover bands”; the latter being previously the norm in the city’s live houses before the creation of the local indie (or underground) rock scene (see chapter 2 for more details). Rock songwriting requires particular creative skills that differ greatly from the sole mastery of an instrument¹⁰⁶. While many instrumentalists or vocalists rapidly become good or even remarkable performers, only a few musicians are actually capable of composing music that is both original and appealing to people, and even fewer of them succeed in doing so on a consistent basis. It is interesting to notice that most of the established bands at the forefront of today’s local indie rock scene were not formed by young music “virtuosi”, neither by those considered the most technically proficient – notably among the apprentice musicians of high school popular music or guitar clubs (社

團 – herein referred to as “shetuans”). Most local rock bands rather tend to be founded on the initiative of daring and hard-working young people who possess more modest (yet sufficient) playing skills, but wish to distinguish themselves socially. For instance, most guitarists among my informants acknowledge to have deliberately chosen creation to pure instrumental prowess at some point in the early moments of their musical development, as a way to stand out from fellow classmates or music shetuan members¹⁰⁷:

106 Rock songwriting for most local bands usually involves composing music and the lyrics of a song. In this section, I voluntarily insist on the first dimension, as my experience in the scene made me realize that rock bands in Taipei tend to spend considerably more time composing and arranging the music (which includes vocal melodies) than they do writing the lyrics. Also, the diversity of themes developed in the lyrics of local indie rock bands is so vast that it would be very difficult to produce valid generalizations on the question.

107 I here take the liberty to borrow a quotation of guitar instructor Wang Wei (王偉) from Wang Qi-Zhong’s thesis (2008). In the following words, Wang Wei portrays what he calls the “sensitive students” (as opposed to the “technical students”), which matches very well the characteristic attitude towards instrumental learning and virtuousness of most local indie rockers that I know: “These people do not practice that much.

Their life consists in taking music classes, skipping school, writing songs, and practicing with their band.

Most of them are university students, their level of knowledge is higher. Their interest in guitar is usually sparked by English rock [from England], which is not the kind of thing you see often in guitar learning structures in Taiwan, it’s more low-profile. Usually, they’re touched emotionally by the atmosphere of a

83 Our goal [during senior high school] was to compose our own songs, because

there were already a lot of good cover bands out there. […] I’ve always been interested in things that were different (不一樣), that’s why I do all this.

Nowadays, everybody plays guitar and plays well. Let’s imagine I want to become a great Taiwanese guitarist, very technical, I could never be as good as [Chthonic’s guitarist] Jesse [“小黑” in Chinese]. Impossible! I always wanted to create my own uniqueness (獨特性).¹⁰⁸

According to a long-time drummer in the scene, the origin of his first original indie band, was an expression of a similar desire from him and his musician friends to differentiate themselves from the other apprentice musicians at their university:

Our singer and bandleader thought that there were too many guys and only guitarists in our music shetuan. She then convinced us to create an original band [創作樂團] without a guitarist.¹⁰⁹

This desire to stand out from the mass could very well be a generalized personality trait among local indie musicians; an attribute that could explain in part their early interest in playing and writing rock music.

Local indie bands also tend to form around the key figure of a main composer – usually a guitarist. Having observed the practice sessions and inquired about the songwriting process of many bands over the years, I also came to realize that the main composing force of most local indie rock bands is generally centered on a single leading songwriter¹¹⁰. In other words, the commitment of each band members to songwriting – but also other aspects of a band’s activities, including promotion – tends to be very unequal among members of local indie bands. In most of the bands with which I got acquainted personally, the songwriting process is usually initiated by the main

band’s music, and they wish they can create material that conveys a similar atmosphere, their entire life can even be said to gravitate within such an atmosphere. By practicing some cover songs, they can get into this atmosphere, and then they write their own music.” (Free translation of Wang 2008: 12)

108 Interviewee C, interview by author, digital recording, Taipei, Taiwan, March 2011.

109 Interviewee D, interview by author, digital recording, Taipei, Taiwan, October 2010.

110 This tendency can be partly verified in the credits of indie rock releases.

84 songwriter/bandleader, who first comes up with the rough outlines of a song. The role of the rest of the band is often limited to sharing impressions on the proposed material, and working individually and as a group to “arrange”¹¹¹ the lines for their respective instrument or polish specific elements of the melody or structure¹¹². This tendency of concentrating most songwriting duties on a single member enables a lot of local veteran rockers – especially drummers and rhythm guitarists¹¹³ – to be part of two or more bands simultaneously. This phenomenon is very common in Taipei’s indie rock scene, and might very well be the sign among local indie rockers of a certain emphasis on some specific dimensions of their musical experience to the detriment of others¹¹⁴.

The fact that a lot of local rockers divide their efforts between a few bands and also the rather challenging socio-cultural and physical context in which local indie rockers practice and write their material has led to another important phenomenon that I have come to notice over the years: namely the rather limited volume of creative output yielded by the majority of active indie rock bands in Taipei. This phenomenon can be explained and interpreted in different ways. The dearth of suitable and regularly accessible practice rooms in Taipei, as well as the challenges stemming from the idiosyncrasies of social life in Taiwan (ex: the frequent break up of band lineups because of the military service) can partly account for this situation. But a young musician I met at an OverDose concert in early 2012 had another explanation for this. He shared his

111 In the context of local rock music, to arrange (編曲) a song roughly equals to determining what instrument and who plays what at which part of the song. The term is most commonly used to refer to the process during which a draft version of a song is turned into a more complete creation.

112 One must keep in mind that, for a band that practices weekly, it can take up to a few months of thinking, trial and error, and fine-tuning for all the pieces of a song to come together.

113 Experienced drummers are extremely sought after in Taipei, and it is not rare to see a drummer play with more three or more bands at the same time. Band leaders and main songwriters, on the contrary, usually limit themselves to only one band and occasional side projects.

114 The question of the motivations of local rockers will be addressed further starting from section 3.4 of this chapter.

85 perception with me in these approximate words:

You know, a lot of bands [in Taipei] write a few songs, and will play these same songs over and over again for 5 years or so. It’s hard to write songs, but I still think they’re a bit lazy.¹¹⁵

Without fully agreeing with this assessment, I voluntarily admit that there might be a little of truth in my informant’s point of view. One can indeed easily imagine that, if a band has reached a certain status within the local indie rock scene and plays music for other motivations than economic success, there is no particular reason why they should not be satisfied with a somewhat minimal creative output. After all, the vast majority of Taipei’s indie rockers are first and foremost part-time musicians, who have other important obligations to attend (ex: work, family, girl- or boyfriend, etc.). Besides, I observed that several veteran groups, once they have a basic repertoire of songs, switch their focus to aspects of rock musicianship other than the creation of new material, for example the preparation of new arrangements, recording, or refinement of the band’s sound in live performances. Such was notably the case of Black Summer Days during my time as the band’s guitarist.

When observing the choices of musical aesthetics of local indie rock bands, one is led to think that most of these groups compose and perform music primarily for their personal enjoyment, and not for economic considerations or to meet the expectations of the public or the industry – the latter being mainly focused on the production of romantic ballads and catchy pop songs to be featured in large KTV chains and radio stations. When asked to describe their music, local bands readily name a series of well-known American, Anglo-European or Japanese bands as main reference or inspiration, most of which are easily recognizable when listening to their music. Unsurprisingly, listeners who are not

115 Interviewee E, interview by author, field notes, Taipei, Taiwan, February 2012.

86 very familiar with rock and related types of music will find that the music of the vast majority of indie rock bands in Taipei show important discrepancies with the milder or more accessible forms of rock (or pop-rock) that can be commonly heard in Taiwan’s mainstream soundscape (ex: Mayday, Jay Chou, Wu Bai). Choice of heavy-sounding or

“non-KTV-friendly” types of rock music (nu metal, grunge, punk, post-rock), unorthodox or lengthy song structures, minimal or experimental arrangements, use of screams or amateurish singing styles, extensive (and even slightly abusive) use of guitars and sound effects, and limited sound quality; such are some of the major aesthetic features – commonplace in the rock repertoire – that make the music of the majority of local rock bands seemingly incompatible with the notoriously discriminating Taiwanese mainstream airwaves. Although indie rock music occupies a sizeable place in the mainstream markets of Europe and America, such has not been the case yet in Taiwan. I

n most cases, performers themselves know that their aesthetic choices, for instance the choice of a loud guitar sound and aggressive voice over more accessible arrangements, is not going to get them closer to mainstream popularity in Taiwan. Yet, as will be exposed more in detail in section 3.4, most local rockers are well aware that mainstream breakthrough for rock bands in Taiwan is nearly impossible under the current dispositions of the local music industry and market. In this context, one cannot blame them for making good use of this aesthetic license to create whatever they like.

It is commonly reported that opposition to mainstream music and its industry is a key component of the indie rock ideology and aesthetic orientation of indie rock groups around the world (notably in the indie rock scenes of Hamilton [Canada] and Tokyo, as documented by Davis [2006 ]and Milioto [2008]). Yet my observations suggest Taipei’s

87 indie rockers aesthetic choices appear to be primarily justified in terms of sheer personal preference rather than being motivated by some kind of antagonism. Even though most local rockers show a strong detachment from the Taiwanese music industry and a certain level of disagreement with its business practices, I noticed that direct criticism of the pop (or pop-rock) stars and their labels is not a very recurrent theme in the discourse of my informants. On several occasions, I even heard some of my friends and acquaintances in the scene praise Mandopop idols for their hard work and skills, or overtly admit that they were fans of certain pop singers. Also, bands like Mayday and Sodagreen – which were part of the indie scene before their rise to stardom – don’t seem to be vastly despised for

“selling out” and “going mainstream”¹¹⁶.

The music performed by the majority of bands in Taipei, and even more so in the music of bands based in other Taiwanese cities, is generally quite consistent with the canons of rock music since the 1990s (ex: alternative rock, punk-rock, pop-rock, post-rock, etc.). A certain conservatism seems to be prevailing among local bands, as very few of them seem to be committed to pure musical exploration, at the risk of sounding utterly

“weird” to their audiences¹¹⁷. This contrasts sharply with aesthetic tendencies found in, for example, Tokyo’s indie music scene, which is said to produce an “endless stream of

116 In a similar line of thought, my observations led me to think that the vast majority of bands that form today’s indie rock scene do not overtly (or consistently) express political messages through their music and performances. This tendency indicates a certain break from the early years of Taipei’s indie rock scene, which, according to several accounts from active musicians and available literature, saw a greater proportion of active bands publicly assume critical, political and cultural stances (ex: Labour Exchange, L.T.K. Commune). Admittedly, the current political climate in Taiwan is much less tumultuous or tensed than it was in the early 1990s. While the increasing use of Taiwanese Hokkien (台語 or 閩南語) or aboriginal languages by local indie rock bands can rightfully be perceived as a pacific reaffirmation of a socio-cultural identity, only a few groups brandish strong socio-political opinions (most notably iconic local metal band Chthonic).

117 A few local bands do however deserve to be described as “experimental”, a notable example being locally praised Sonic Deadhorse (音速死馬): a one man band that integrates video, sampling and intricate electronic accompaniment and live guitar to create powerful rock atmospheric performances.

88 strange music”¹¹⁸; a phenomenon I could observe first hand thanks to the recurrent (and often very surprising) performances of Tokyo indie bands at Taipei’s Underworld live house. This could suggest that the main objectives of Taipei’s local rock bands are not entirely artistic in nature, or that the desire for originality among bands is weighted against an equal will to be easily recognized by audiences and peers.

My observations also suggest that aesthetic choices of local rock bands might well be the result of a general desire to stand out within the local scene and acquire a sense of distinctive self-identity. Like David Frazier points out, ”the Internet now has bands diving into micro-genres of whatever they downloaded and then decided to make into an identity for themselves.” (Huang & Frazier: 104). Indeed, the vast repertoire of rock music offers an endless variety of aesthetic categories (“micro-genres” in Frazier’s words – the differentiation of which is highly subjective), which enables virtually any band to choose his “own” style and acquire a sense of self-distinction compared to the other bands around them.

This phenomenon forces the consideration ofcontext in one’s assessment of a band’s relative originality. For instance, I noticed that only a small minority of bands seem to be aiming at “taking on” foreign music markets, or coming up with material that would be significantly original when compared to the existing repertoire of bands in Europe, America and Japan. One must keep in mind that, unlike many successful European or Anglo-American bands, Taipei’s indie groups have until now mainly evolved in what fundamentally remains a local context, still largely remote from the international music market. In other words, local bands have predominantly conceived their music and

118 Dominique Leon, from the Pitchfork music website, cited by Milioto (2008: 32), full version accessible at: http://dusan.satori.sk/i/txt/nihon02.php

89 performances so it stands out within the Taiwanese soundscape – not the international music market. It follows that, for local bands, to be successful first and foremost means to find a local niche and distinguish themselves from the styles of other local rock bands.

One can hardly deny that, to some extent, to create good music in the likes of successful Anglo-American or Japanese rock bands and contribute to cultivating a Chinese or Taiwanese-language repertoire in these types of rock music represents a challenging and meaningful enterprise in itself. After all, groups like Funky Brothers, OverDose, Matzka, Fire Ex and Aphasia can rightfully think of themselves as among the Taiwanese leaders in their respective type of rock (in this case, funk-rock, nu metal, reggae-rock, punk and post-rock – all styles that have a longer tradition in the West and Japan, but have been only recently introduced in Taiwan). Yet each one of these bands remains perfectly aware that most of their music is not very special when put against the tens of thousands of bands now active on the international scene. Ultimately, to judge whether a musical creation is original or not is generally a question of point of view and context.

Besides, most observers of Taipei’s indie rock scene would acknowledge that, in purely musical terms, a unique Taiwanese sound can be distinguished in several types of rock music (in my opinion, most notably in reggae, post-rock and alternative rock) in Taipei’s indie rock scene. This singular sound, albeit very hard to define precisely, might very well stem from the influential role of a few pioneering local bands in the young history of the scene (ex: Ladybug, Sugar Plum Ferry, L.T.K. Commune, The Peppermints, Tuolaku, etc.) and the unique rhythmic signature of Chinese and Taiwanese lyrics. Also, The use of traditional instruments or melodic patterns (mostly of Chinese or aboriginal origins) by a few bands (ex: The Chairman, Totem) arguably adds an

90 additional element of uniqueness to Taipei’s indie rock soundscape.

Most of Taiwan’s music enthusiasts would acknowledge that Taipei’s indie rock scene has undergone rapid changes in recent years. A sign of this transformation is the fact that some indie rock bands from Taipei have substantially increased their presence in Asian, European and American live houses and festivals in 2010 and early 2011¹¹⁹. This indicates that the links between the Taiwanese indie scene and foreign music circles are getting tighter, which will potentially open up new opportunities for local indie rock bands to engage the international music scene in a more confident and sustained manner.

This increased exposure of local bands to foreign audiences is sure to have a major influence on thecreative approaches and aesthetic choices of Taipei’s indie rockers. For instance, it is very likely that local rock bands will be more able to project themselves beyond the Taiwanese borders, and thus will increasingly aim at writing music intended not only for the more limited (and arguably more conservative) Taiwanese public, but also for music fans across Asia, Europe and America. In my view, this transformation has already begun, as more and more bands write English material (ex: Go Chic, Silent Toads and Forests), or use particular technologies and more progressive arrangements to try to

This increased exposure of local bands to foreign audiences is sure to have a major influence on thecreative approaches and aesthetic choices of Taipei’s indie rockers. For instance, it is very likely that local rock bands will be more able to project themselves beyond the Taiwanese borders, and thus will increasingly aim at writing music intended not only for the more limited (and arguably more conservative) Taiwanese public, but also for music fans across Asia, Europe and America. In my view, this transformation has already begun, as more and more bands write English material (ex: Go Chic, Silent Toads and Forests), or use particular technologies and more progressive arrangements to try to