Taipei’s underground rock scene has been evolving over the past few decades. But since around 2010, a generation of musicians exploring their own takes on psychedelia through synthesizers, warped traditions, and tried and true jam sessions has come to be recognised outside of the island.

“I think this was something that developed synchronously,” says guitarist Lu Li-Yang. “Scattered Purgatory, Mong Tong, Prairie WWWW, Forests, the Lonely God Label – many of the roster were making music with that aesthetic, we were trying to combine our local culture in a non clichéd way.” In a scene historically dominated by shoegaze, metal, post-rock and punk, this new generation of Taiwanese bands is bucking expectations of what Taiwanese rock music sounds like.

Prairie WWWW
“尋​找​白​色​衛​星”/“Looking For The White Satellite”
From 通​向​烏​有/Enter The Void
(Bandcamp) 2010

Though it’s hard to pinpoint an origin point, one of the earliest releases that experimented with folk and so-called tribal elements in Taiwan was Prairie WWWW’s debut EP Enter The Void (2010). The EP opens with “尋​找​白​色​衛​星” (“Looking For The White Satellite”), a murky combination of programmed drums, wispy vocals, acoustic guitar arpeggios, and pastoral flutes. As cellos dissolve over the track’s conclusion, the drums pick up higher frequencies and corkscrew into spring-reverb oblivion. The band would hone their heady, mysterious sound, culminating in 2018’s 盤/Pán, their latest release.

Dope Purple
“The Last Day Of Humanity/Good Night And Good Death”
From Grateful End
(WV Sorcerer Productions) 2021

At the jammier end of things, Dope Purple travel between cosmic, spacious grooves to visceral, wall of sound freakouts driven by the blast beat ferocity of drummer Speed Justin Tao. Over ten minutes, “The Last Day Of Humanity/Good Night And Good Death” showcases all that makes Dope Purple the choice for jammers in Taiwan’s scene: hazy riffs by rhythm guitarist Hung Jiun Chi, washed-out vox from lead guitarist K P Liu, and stratospheric synth wails by Chang Yun Hao, all building toward a cathartic climax.

Mong Tong
“Nakasi Pop”
(Ancient Move Records) 2021

Hom Jiun Chi joined Dope Purple in 2017, after he moved to Taipei from Kaohsiung with his brother Hom Yu; Mong Tong formed out of the ashes of the latter’s short-lived vaporwave project East Things, nurtured by the vibrant scene of their new city. The two joined other bands as well – notably, Yu began playing synth for Prairie WWWW. “Nakasi Pop” is a one-off the duo made in 2021 that traces a bit of local Taiwanese flavor – Nakasi is a keyboard-heavy working class pop genre influenced by Japanese nagashi; here, the Hom brothers put their own enigmatic spin on the style, with aquatic guitar strokes and smoky synth textures.

Forests
“Pale Fire”
From Dead Species
(Lonely God Records) 2015

Prairie WWWW’s debut album Soil was released in 2015 on Taipei record label Lonely God, run by scene stalwart Jon Du. At the time, Du was in the process of ditching his guitars for synthesizers, shifting the direction of his band Forests from crunchy garage rock to dark industrial electronics. On “Pale Fire”, any allegiance to the melodies and riffs of the old Forests is gone; instead, Du’s monotone vocals act as textural contrast to pulsing synths and metallic percussion in a cyber-occult ritual that fits in perfectly next to Prairie WWWW’s own sonic experiments.

Scattered Purgatory
“Cloudborn”
From Lost Ethnography Of The Miscanthus Ocean
(Guruguru Brain) 2016

Scattered Purgatory rounds out the dark mysticism of the Lonely God roster with sluggish drones and guitar/bass riffs that develop over extended jams. Inspired by Taoist and Buddhist ontologies, they represent the chronological midpoint between Prairie WWWW and Mong Tong, in conversation with the exoticism of the former while predating the esotericism of the latter. Of all the bands on this list, however, Scattered Purgatory might be the most patient: “Cloudborn” stretches over 20 minutes, beginning with stray guitar and bass tones that drift over a low, looming synth.

Love Research Institute
“Your Collarbone”
From Love Research Institute 2
(Bandcamp) 2017

Taipei’s Feitou is a haunt for local bands of all stripes, serving as a rehearsal space, recording studio, and in a pinch, a performance venue. When Gong Gong Gong’s Tom Ng and Simon Frank – brother of Ng’s bandmate Joshua – stop by in Taipei, they sometimes record jams with drummer Dashu Liu. Jamming in Feitou, the trio become Love Research Institute, whose hypnotic approach to rhythm and song structure echo Gong Gong Gong but with rawer, more percussive energy. “YOUR COLLARBONE” builds over an insistent four-four kick shadowed by Ng’s guitar, with Frank creating synth overtones that bubble and soar.

Island Futurism
“Water Moon Ascending To The Tower”
From Patri-Ark
(Bandcamp) 2023

Island Futurism emerged from the improvisation collective Thian-gí Lo̍k-ian, where members of Prairie WWWW and Scattered Purgatory experimented with new ways to express Taiwanese sonic identity in the mid 2010s alongside like-minded artists, including tenor saxophonist Hong-Yu Chen. Chen would later study Beiguan, a traditional music imported into Taiwan by Fujianese immigrants in the 18th century, before founding Island Futurism in 2018. On “Water Moon Ascending To The Tower,” the band interpolate a traditional Taiwanese tune with horns, injecting a funkier flavour with a Talking Heads-esque guitar riff, West African percussion, and dubbed-out reverb by Lu Li-Yang.

Betelnut Kangaroo
“鹿茸”/“Lurong”
From Guruguru Brain Wash 2
(Bandcamp) 2024

Another newcomer to the scene, Betelnut Kangaroo makes Guitar Pro 5 Music, wielding MIDI programming imbued with exotic flair for a Taiwanese answer to dungeon synth. Departing from the brutality of his goregrind band Myxoma, Betelnut Kangaroo sounds more like the BGM to a tropical island in Chrono Cross than the occasion for a mosh pit. Lurong, or velvet antler, has been used in traditional Eastern medicine to invigorate one’s qi since ancient times; on this track, Betelnut Kangaroo crafts a hypnotic tune that wields Oriental kitsch with a wink.

Read James Gui’s full report on Taipei’s underground rock in The Wire 490. Wire subscribers can also read the article online via the digital magazine library.