Born from an intimate basement jam, cross-disciplinary collective Melting Part is pushing Taipei's underground jazz scene forward, uniting DJs, musicians and dancers across the country to build new audiences locally and showcase homegrown talent globally.
Melting Part is a Taipei-based creative collective led by Nick Lee and Henry Chuang that has been curating cross-disciplinary jams since 2022, bringing together a vibrant community of dancers, musicians and graffiti artists.
Joe Trane, one of their flagship events, began as an intimate underground jazz session at Xinyi District’s Basement Café in Taipei, quickly evolved into a cornerstone of the city’s emerging jazz and experimental music scene.
In collaboration with Studio Monkey Shoulder, Melting Part expanded Joe Trane to new cities across Taiwan, debuting at LayLow in Taichung and launched their first all-day Joe Trane festival.
Held in October 2024, the Joe Trane all-day festival gathered over 40 musicians, dancers and DJs from across Taiwan's jazz scene at Eco Ark. Drawing inspiration from the country's vibrant jazz ecosystem and it's diverse stylistic influences, the programme featured a broad spectrum of acts and sub-grenes including award-winning artists like Hsieh Minyeh, Mike Tseng, Hope Yeh and LINION.
A defining feature of the day was the community of dancers who filled the floor from start to finish, responding to the jazz rhythms with hip-hop freestyle and voguing.
Worldwide FM founder and DJ Gilles Peterson attended the event and was struck by the energy in the room and Melting Part's passion for showcasing Taiwan's musical talent on both local and global stages.
After the event, Gilles joined Nick and Henry at the Basement Cafe, where it all began, to chat about the event, Taipei's growing jazz scene and the way hip hop culture in Taiwan has influenced their boundary-pushing event, reshaping how Taiwanese audiences experience jazz.
"Really excited to see this DIY growing community engaging in all aspects of Jazz music from the DJs to the improv, taking the next step in their journey, developing a festival and reaching new audiences across Taiwan." Gilles Peterson
Watch this video here to explore Taipei's thriving jazz scene and see how Melting Part is pushing the sound forward in their hometown, spotlighting local artists with a mission to reach new audiences worldwide.
This project is part of Studio Monkey Shoulder – a music initiative by Worldwide FM and Monkey Shoulder Whisky dedicated to empowering and celebrating innovate grassroots music communities around the world.