Taiwan Disco
A compilation of songs from the 1970s and '80s may not be that disco-y, but it sure is good
Disco isn’t one thing, but one thing it isn’t is a lot of the songs on Aberrant Records’ Taiwan Disco (2020), a compilation of high-energy, uptempo killers from Taiwan circa the 1970s (with a toe dipped into the 1980s). The album’s subtitle is “Disco divas, Funky queens, and Glam ladies,” and of the three, funk and glam are far more prevalent. If you’re thinking of smooth rhythms and a danceable pace, prepare yourself. If your knowledge of music from this era was, as was mine, primarily the adult-oriented soft rock and folksy ballads of Hong Kong Cantopop, your mind is about to be blown. However, if you’re familiar with some of the more aggressive examples of Bollywood funk and disco from the same era, or South Asian psychedelia, you’re going to be on surer footing.
There’s no information included about the songs or artists other than the artist's name in English and the song title in Chinese characters, which makes me think the inclusion of the songs on this compilation might not be entirely pleasing to the legal rights holders. Make of that what you will and proceed as you will.
On Taiwan Disco, the vibe is pretty eclectic. One of the most interesting things about international compilations such as this one is hearing how specific musical styles developed and defined in one part of the world are tweaked, twisted, and reinterpreted elsewhere, often after they’ve already been filtered through at least one additional lens (like Cambodian and Vietnamese rock in the 1960s being influenced by American rock by way of French interpretations). It often means different rhythms, different vocal styles, different instruments, and sometimes just straight out of left-field reimagining.
Many of the songs remind me of theme songs from tokusatsu (superhero) shows like Kamen Rider and movies like Infra-Man. Containing entirely tracks by female-fronted groups, they are brash and brassy, full of fuzzed-out guitars and acid rock insanity. If there’s dancing to be done, it’s more of the tripped-out freakbeat variety. There are a lot of horns and a frenetic beat, but not a lot of the synth and “bewwww” sounds one might expect. Under it is the influence of 1960s bubblegum and folk-pop (which I know mostly via stars such as Connie Chan and Grace Chang) and even occasional flirtation with old-school Shanghai jazz. Toss in some sizzling American-style boogaloo and funk as well.
There’s not a track on this 12-song collection that I don’t dig, but special mention needs to be made of Tian Lu Lu, the image of whom has been rendered for the cover. With her mod-meets-disco mushroom bob, upturned collar, and facial expression somewhere between sexy and having just put you in your place, she embodies the entire album. Her song’s another fast-paced dancefloor scorcher that could double as the theme song to a particularly groovy action film. In fact, pretty much any of these would make a great action movie theme song, like if you had Davey Allen and the Arrows, Eddie Hazel, and Lalo Schifrin sitting in on a session.
Luo Yan Li, with a song from 1980, has perhaps the most disco beat of the album, but it’s disco with a pinch of Blondie’s “Heart of Glass” (released the year before). The other more traditionally disco (though you still have to apply a lot of leeway) song is the final track of the album, by Zhang Bei Xin and released in 1981. Again, though, it comes at disco with a bare-knuckled rock and roll spirit.
So yeah, Taiwan Disco is spectacular. The same label released a follow-up, Asian Disco, casting a wider net, but I’ve not yet got my hands on that one. This is OK, because there is so much to process on Taiwan Disco that my ears will be full up for a while. If you find it, grab it. It does not disappoint, whether you’re looking for disco, action anthems, glam, or psychedelic rock, it’s all here, often in the same song. And while I can’t say exactly what kind of dancing it will lead to, it will definitely make you want to get out on the dancefloor—or face down a gang of thugs in the alley.
Taiwan Disco is vinyl only, as far as I can tell. I got my copy at Twist and Shout in Denver, CO.
Also on the Turntable
I’ll get to reviews of some of these eventually, but for now…
Mothermary: I Am Your God (2022, Italians Do It Better)
Various Artists: The Quietened Bunker (2016, A Year In the Country)
Taylor Swift: Midnights (2022, Republic)
Thorsten Schmidt: Hereford Wakes (2016, Whinny Moor)
Various Artists: Manhunter: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1986, MCA)
Playlist in Progress
Stories: I’ve been feeling 1980s darkwave and dreampop meets 1960s British folk-rock while working on some writing.