TAIWAN

Over the years, Edmonton experimentalist Philip Dickau has traversed the sonic spaceways from harsh noise, to ambience, to overloaded electronics. His latest guise, Taiwan, has just took another left turn into a warped nightmare zone inspired by the sinister schmaltz of Twin Peaks, Vangelis soundtracks, and other VHS-era terrors.

Since expanding the project into a trio with guest vocals from the school of Julee Cruise, they've delved even deeper into lounge lizard territory while keeping the creep factor high. Toronto’s Pleasence Records is now set to release a Taiwan twelve-inch split with Hobo Cubes (whose Francesco De Gallo also created the music video below). I caught up with Phil and drummer Dave Ferris for a total nerd-out interview... - Noisey

Over the years, Edmonton experimentalist Philip Dickau has traversed the sonic spaceways from harsh noise, to ambience, to overloaded electronics. His latest guise, Taiwan, has just took another left turn into a warped nightmare zone inspired by the sinister schmaltz of Twin Peaks, Vangelis soundtracks, and other VHS-era terrors.

Since expanding the project into a trio with guest vocals from the school of Julee Cruise, they've delved even deeper into lounge lizard territory while keeping the creep factor high. Toronto’s Pleasence Records is now set to release a Taiwan twelve-inch split with Hobo Cubes (whose Francesco De Gallo also created the music video below). I caught up with Phil and drummer Dave Ferris for a total nerd-out interview... - Noisey

What came to your head while you read the name of the album and band? Assuming you’re not already familiar with this Edmonton three-piece group, chances are whatever you imagined this group to be will not be reflected in the musical output. The name gives away little about what the band does- I certainly had no idea what to expect when listening to this album for the first time.

Taiwan (the band, I mean) describe themselves as “a three piece that tries to capture the experience of sneaking downstairs as a ten year old child in 1989, and drifting in and out of sleep during an endless procession of Twin Peaks and R-rated movies.” This is a surprisingly apt self-description.

So what exactly is this album all about? Well, it’s composed of 18 tracks, most between a minute and two minutes, and all with very non-descript names- there’s “A01? all the way to “A09,” and then “B01? all the way to “B09.” There are no catchy sing-along choruses; there are no epic guitar solos; there are no quirky lyrics. Rather, each track is a wash of melodies played on a grainy keyboard, with some tracks giving the illusion of horn accompaniment.

With little else to distract, this music leaves the listener to fill in the blanks in their heads. For me, I felt as though I were on a psychedelic trip as I began to imagine scenes that might accompany the music. Some songs made me think of staring outside a window on a rainy day; others made me feel like I was being chased (or about to be chased) by some creature lurking in the dark.

With regards to what genre is, again this is completely up to you. Some songs almost sound like jazz, others like interludes in synth-pop.

Whatever Belladonna and the music of Taiwan is, it’s a challenge to the listener, and not music for mere beginners, those who are trying to find something to latch onto and rave about. Instead, this is an album that requires patience and an active imagination. Check out the album (which can be downloaded for FREE) on Bandcamp.

Top Tracks: Hard to say; this is an album to be enjoyed whole.

Rating: Strong Hoot (Good) - Gray Owl Point

What came to your head while you read the name of the album and band? Assuming you’re not already familiar with this Edmonton three-piece group, chances are whatever you imagined this group to be will not be reflected in the musical output. The name gives away little about what the band does- I certainly had no idea what to expect when listening to this album for the first time.

Taiwan (the band, I mean) describe themselves as “a three piece that tries to capture the experience of sneaking downstairs as a ten year old child in 1989, and drifting in and out of sleep during an endless procession of Twin Peaks and R-rated movies.” This is a surprisingly apt self-description.

So what exactly is this album all about? Well, it’s composed of 18 tracks, most between a minute and two minutes, and all with very non-descript names- there’s “A01? all the way to “A09,” and then “B01? all the way to “B09.” There are no catchy sing-along choruses; there are no epic guitar solos; there are no quirky lyrics. Rather, each track is a wash of melodies played on a grainy keyboard, with some tracks giving the illusion of horn accompaniment.

With little else to distract, this music leaves the listener to fill in the blanks in their heads. For me, I felt as though I were on a psychedelic trip as I began to imagine scenes that might accompany the music. Some songs made me think of staring outside a window on a rainy day; others made me feel like I was being chased (or about to be chased) by some creature lurking in the dark.

With regards to what genre is, again this is completely up to you. Some songs almost sound like jazz, others like interludes in synth-pop.

Whatever Belladonna and the music of Taiwan is, it’s a challenge to the listener, and not music for mere beginners, those who are trying to find something to latch onto and rave about. Instead, this is an album that requires patience and an active imagination. Check out the album (which can be downloaded for FREE) on Bandcamp.

Top Tracks: Hard to say; this is an album to be enjoyed whole.

Rating: Strong Hoot (Good) - Gray Owl Point

TAIWAN is an experimental recording artist from Edmonton who creates a breed of ethereal jazz infused ambient music that harkens back to the sound of forgotten direct to VHS romance and horror movie soundtracks. While the music is already creepy enough there is an added eeriness from the tape crackle and hiss to the spot on replication of such an obscure sound; BELLADONNA is a 30 minute 18 track foray into the sounds of something lost and forgotten in time, something strangely romantic, familiar and alien, and nostalgic yet new all at the same time.

While the idea of replicating old film scores and bringing a modern twist to them is nothing new (see Zombi, Bohren & der Club of Gore), the type of music that TAIWAN replicates and how similar his interpretations are is where this album shines. TAIWAN’s lo-fi aesthetic and attention to detail in recreating such an obscure sound is surely an art form within itself.

The sounds on BELLADONNA are mostly cheesy Casio style synth arrangements. TAIWAN’s sound is very 80's-esque inspired new wave, kitschy with what would be the sonic equivalent of some old VHS tapes, forgotten in someone’s basement, the tapes damaged by so many floods and worn out by constant fast forwarding, rewinding, and playing. All of the tracks, although different in style are tied together by their easy listening sound from gritty detective noir themed jazz to sensual piano ballads. It evokes a powerful nostalgic response bringing back memories of wooden paneling and grainy discolored photography, memories that even if one had never experienced are still able to evoke a sense of mystery and wonder that is just as visceral.

The album’s sound is contributed heavily to the phenomenon of nostalgia; instead of rejecting these old sounds it embraces the archaic, taking it back and reworking it into something partially new and listenable even if it still deliberately holds ties to the past. Part of me really enjoys this aspect of replicating, or more accurately this reworking of something old and obscure into something even more strange yet part of me wonders if it would be possible to expand on something like this. The future, a concept TAIWAN openly rejects is quickly closing in and I wonder where the project is going to go when it is confronted with the idea of just that, the future.

TAIWAN has turned drone and ambient music, two genres so focused on a futuristic sound into something old yet new at the same and while I do feel that this stylistic decision is extremely limited in a world where time is quiet literally speeding up I can’t deny the uniqueness that BELLADONNA possesses and the firm hold that these curious and eerie tunes have on that nostalgic longing for the past that everyone possesses from time to time. - inb4track

TAIWAN is an experimental recording artist from Edmonton who creates a breed of ethereal jazz infused ambient music that harkens back to the sound of forgotten direct to VHS romance and horror movie soundtracks. While the music is already creepy enough there is an added eeriness from the tape crackle and hiss to the spot on replication of such an obscure sound; BELLADONNA is a 30 minute 18 track foray into the sounds of something lost and forgotten in time, something strangely romantic, familiar and alien, and nostalgic yet new all at the same time.

While the idea of replicating old film scores and bringing a modern twist to them is nothing new (see Zombi, Bohren & der Club of Gore), the type of music that TAIWAN replicates and how similar his interpretations are is where this album shines. TAIWAN’s lo-fi aesthetic and attention to detail in recreating such an obscure sound is surely an art form within itself.

The sounds on BELLADONNA are mostly cheesy Casio style synth arrangements. TAIWAN’s sound is very 80's-esque inspired new wave, kitschy with what would be the sonic equivalent of some old VHS tapes, forgotten in someone’s basement, the tapes damaged by so many floods and worn out by constant fast forwarding, rewinding, and playing. All of the tracks, although different in style are tied together by their easy listening sound from gritty detective noir themed jazz to sensual piano ballads. It evokes a powerful nostalgic response bringing back memories of wooden paneling and grainy discolored photography, memories that even if one had never experienced are still able to evoke a sense of mystery and wonder that is just as visceral.

The album’s sound is contributed heavily to the phenomenon of nostalgia; instead of rejecting these old sounds it embraces the archaic, taking it back and reworking it into something partially new and listenable even if it still deliberately holds ties to the past. Part of me really enjoys this aspect of replicating, or more accurately this reworking of something old and obscure into something even more strange yet part of me wonders if it would be possible to expand on something like this. The future, a concept TAIWAN openly rejects is quickly closing in and I wonder where the project is going to go when it is confronted with the idea of just that, the future.

TAIWAN has turned drone and ambient music, two genres so focused on a futuristic sound into something old yet new at the same and while I do feel that this stylistic decision is extremely limited in a world where time is quiet literally speeding up I can’t deny the uniqueness that BELLADONNA possesses and the firm hold that these curious and eerie tunes have on that nostalgic longing for the past that everyone possesses from time to time. - inb4track

... Angelo Badalamenti inspired instrumental bleakness. Sounds like falling asleep to a warbly VHS of Twin Peaks. - Hippie Cult

... Angelo Badalamenti inspired instrumental bleakness. Sounds like falling asleep to a warbly VHS of Twin Peaks. - Hippie Cult

Prepare yourself for some very lovely organ textures layered over and over again for about 30 some minutes. I’ve been reading to this the last couple days. Don’t know who this is but they’re up out the eazy eee so I imagine I’ll bump into them one of these days and be all like: HEY. I LIKE YOUR TAIWAN STUFF. Word. - Argue Job

Prepare yourself for some very lovely organ textures layered over and over again for about 30 some minutes. I’ve been reading to this the last couple days. Don’t know who this is but they’re up out the eazy eee so I imagine I’ll bump into them one of these days and be all like: HEY. I LIKE YOUR TAIWAN STUFF. Word. - Argue Job

File Under: Angelo Badalamelty. Stealthily trailing his previous tone-float into the celestial spring, Phil Dickau reemerges with the ill-omened warble jams of Taiwan. Hidden deep in the mustiest corners of the Black Lodge, he re-imagines Twin Peaks’ timeless soundworld as a nightmaric smooth jazz Buddha Box. Groove to the sound of your mind liquefied. - Weird Canada

File Under: Angelo Badalamelty. Stealthily trailing his previous tone-float into the celestial spring, Phil Dickau reemerges with the ill-omened warble jams of Taiwan. Hidden deep in the mustiest corners of the Black Lodge, he re-imagines Twin Peaks’ timeless soundworld as a nightmaric smooth jazz Buddha Box. Groove to the sound of your mind liquefied. - Weird Canada