A lot has changed since we last caught up with Sona (real name Sona Eyambe). The multi-talented entertainer who’s lived in Taiwan for five years is not only busy working as a music producer and a DJ, he’s been earning his acting chops and honing his skills as a parkour (free-running) athlete.
“I was cast as the main character in a zombie film earlier last year, which was a lot of fun,” Sona said. “I had one scene where I got to jump two stories from an abandoned building.”
“Parkour keeps me mentally strong as well as physically. It’s problem solving in its most simple form. For me it’s helped change the way I approach music, relationships with people and how I go about life in general,” he said.
Photo Courtesy of Josh Wilson
Inspired by appearing in an episode of the Travel & Living channel’s Fun Taiwan series, filmed in Yilan (宜蘭), he made an Afro-beat remix of Du-Du-Dang (丟丟銅), a Taiwanese folk classic. (On the Net: soundcloud.com/sona/fun-yilan.)
While brushes with show business caused Sona to shift his focus, the opening of the Mystique Bar inside Primo last year, where he took up a residency, saw him return to dance music.
“Playing at Mystique has been a real treat because they let me play whatever I want,” he said. “People’s minds have (slightly) opened up to the idea of four-on-the-floor as acceptable club music. However, it seems that anything other than David Guetta, Swedish House Mafia or Afrojack is still confined to a lounge bar or the dead early slot at a nightclub.”
Sona at Mystique, 2F, 297, Zhongxiao E Rd Sec 5, Taipei City (台北市忠孝東路五段297號2樓), every Saturday from 11pm to 1am. Admission to Primo is free before 10:30pm, NT$1,000 after. Tel: (02) 2760-5885. On the Net: www.club-primo.com
Also worth including on a weekend to-do list is Sunday Socia(l).
As opposed to the electronic dance music that’s pervasive at clubs, “this party is about light electronica,” said J-Six, the event’s organizer. “The kind of music that’s not bumping but groovy enough to make people wanna dance.”
The party takes place at Stream, a hip new restaurant/lounge bar inside Att4Fun that boasts a great view of Xinyi District.
“Smoking is prohibited in the indoor area, so people can enjoy partying and music in a non-smoky setting,” said J-Six.
J-Six will be joined on the decks by BunjiBeat, Shine and Kuei Lin.
Sunday Socia(l) is at Stream, 10F, 12, Songshou Rd, Taipei City (台北市松壽路12號10樓), Sunday from 10pm to 3am. Admission is NT$500. On the Net: www.facebook.com/sundaysocia
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