Short biog about White Wabbit Records:

Officially formed in 2002, as before White Wabbit Records is a record shop and became a real indie music label in Taiwan. KK is the Founder/Owner/Manager since she got the ideal of having a record shop while she had worked in a chain record store in Taipei. She also play bass guitar/lead vocal in a band called Aphasia.

In the beginning the shop was built in a venue's bathroom, selling imported CDs. KK was getting lots of Taiwan's indie music lovers/band members, she helped them to release their albums, we're really proud of being a leading part of Taiwan's indie music scene.

Thankful we're not selling records in the bathroom anymore, now we got a real shop, a clean French window, a small fish tank near the counter. Hopefully, there will be more young music lovers that can find what they want here in the future.

1) How did you end up working in a record shop?

It's simple. Our aim is "Independent, Lots of fun, and great music".

2) What do you love so much about music?

The label/shop owner KK is a real hunter of curiosities and dance music. In past few years she's loved Animal Collective, Cocorosie, Fridge, Mum, Tunng, CSS, The Knife...etc but each member of staff has their own taste.

For me I got involved in folk, lo-fi, and distortion guitar music. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, (Smog), Phosphorescent, Mount Eerie, Dinosaur Jr., Grizzly Bear, A Hawk And A Hecksaw... Besides I love rock music performing with orchestral, Arcade Fire, Bell Orchestra and definitely the Polyphonic Spree.

In our record shop - except for the main stream of England/American indie music - Taiwan's audiences get lot of influences of post-rock music. We released a Taiwan group Sugar Plum Ferry which is one of the few successful indie group in Taiwan.

3) If your record shop was an album, what would it be?

'Strawberry Jam' by Animal Collective has a signature freak folk sound, with raw African flavours in the mix and so self indulgently made, it’s a contemporary monster piece, so broad based, that it created a thoughtful lo-fi feel.

Also TUNNG - 'Good Arrows'. This is a band about spring, like an ancient (dreamy) fantasy on the British empire, I like their personable sounds and simple melodies. Everyone can hear their gentle quality, which is deeply influenced by British legend Nick Drake. One has no need to analyse the music when listening to Tunng, just let the sounds fill the space, which is even more soothing than Anion generator.

4) Do people come to your counter knowing what they want or do you have a huge role in turning people onto great stuff still?

The most important thing is probably to keep our ears keen, continuously collecting information and researching, ours is not a large shop, so in our cosy space we often chat and exchange information with customers, on the one hand to cultivate relationships, the other to learn more about/from them, after all, listening to music is our favorite thing to do.

The most challenging problem we have from customers is the ability to react (and recommend) instantly after they have given us a general idea on the music they are looking for. For example, when someone ask for something more 'exotic' I would immediately think of more popular bands like A Hawk And A Hecksaw. Besides I love rock music performing with orchestral, Arcade Fire, Bell Orchestra and definitely the Polyphonic Spree.

In our record shop except for the main stream of England/American indie music, Taiwan's audiences get lot of influences of post-rock music. We released a Taiwan group Sugar Plum Ferry which is one of the few successful indie group in Taiwan.

5) What’s the local music scene like in your city? Is there a distinctive identity to the type of music coming out?

Our shop is along the corridor outside of a live venue, so we get to see many gigs often. Taiwan's music scene is still largely influenced by mainstream Brit-pop, as well as British music from the 70s, and dance rock also influenced many bands in Taiwan. The most classic example would be the band 1976, who charmed a lot of fans with their performances, have many young bands imitating them. I am also in a band, and our goal is to become a lo-fi 1976.

However, the most sellable records are from the post-rock and emo genres, and even post-rock bands that were award-nominated (like from the Mercury Music Prize). Of course there are a lot of other types of bands, in indie-pop, punk, folk... and etc, but I really hope that we will have a band just like the very cool Test Icicles in Taiwan.

6) What’s the place for record stores in the 21st Century?

No doubt it is getting harder for record shops to survive now, but for those specialist shops that are smaller scale than the chain stores, provide a forum/space for exchange. Although it is convenient to shop online, but there is no interactivity, should you require some form of information exchange you will have to make a huge effort to seek out other resources online, and the delivery process is time-consuming and not without risks.

As for the impact MP3 has on physical CDs I think with music being so easily accessible these days, artists have to keep refreshing and reinventing their music and styles, and use more convenient ways to promote their music, this is a positive I suppose, not all audience are ill informed, if someone makes really good music, people will naturally give the artist support by buying it, and material will not be just some file hidden in a computer folder.

I think most importantly we made our careers in music because of our love for it, if you want more people to love the music that you feel for, having a record shop will be most useful, but you shouldn’t expect to make lots of money from it.

7) If you could make a perfect mix tape from your record shop collection – what would be on it?

(in no particular order)
Grizzly Bear - Knife
CSS - Alala
Björk - Declare Independence
Caribou - She's The One
Why - Gemini
The Unicorns - I Was Born A Unicorn
Dinosaur Jr. - This Is All I Came To Do
Junior Boys - Like A Child
Pavement - Range Life
Animal Collective - Fireworks
Fridge - Long Singing

Best Sellers:
Sugar Plum Ferry - Thank You For Reminding Me
Stars - Set Yourself On Fire
The Shins - Wincing The Night Away
Broken Social Scene - You Forgot It In People
Do Make Say Think - (every each album)
Eluvium - (every each album)
God Is An Astronaut - All Is Violent, All Is Bright
Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
Airiel - The Battle Of Sealand
Lightspeed Champion - Falling Off The Lavender Bridge
(though we have not started selling yet, but it’s just a matter of time when it makes this list)