Get ready for a new "Dance Age!" The Muddy Basin Ramblers are pleased to present "The Dance Age," their new five-song CD featuring two classic Taiwanese songs.
With this EP, we celebrate a time when records spun at 78 revolutions per minute (RPM) and couples danced the foxtrot, Lindy Hop and the Charleston.
"The Dance Age" was first recorded in 1932 by female singer Chun Chun, and written by composer Teng Yu-hsien (who wrote Wang Chun Feng 望春風) and lyricist Chen Chun-yu. The Ramblers arranged and recorded a new swing version of the song on commission by the Naughty Swing Dance Troupe for their "iCharleston Taipei" video.
The EP marks the first time that the Ramblers have sung and recorded songs in Taiwanese. In addition to "The Dance Age, album also includes a rendition of "Give Me a Little Kiss," (給我吻一下) a popular local adaption of an American country-western song from the 50s with lyrics by Yeh Chun-lin (葉俊麟). The other songs are old favorites from the Ramblers' repertoire sung in English, including jug band, blues and jazz standards from the 1930s.
"The Dance Age" album also sees the Ramblers engaging in more "modern" sounds. The band invited Kaohsiung-based DJ Chamber to create an electronica version based on their version of "The Dance Age." His danceable, catchy remix of this Taiwanese classic rounds out the EP.
Another theme of the album is the 78 RPM record. All songs featured on this album were originally released in the first half of the 20th century as 78 RPM records. We also include a recording of our rendition of "The Dance Age" pressed on a 78 record and played on a phonograph player from the 1930s.
The CD packaging plays upon this theme and was created by Onion Design Associates. This Taipei-based design crew was the force behind the visual look of the Ramblers' second album, "Formosa Medicine Show," which was nominated for best packaging at the Golden Melody Awards in 2014 and for the Grammy Awards in 2015.
The album also includes a short essay on the history surrounding the song "The Dance Age" by Lin Tai-wei (林太崴), a researcher on early Taiwanese pop music history and author of "Playing the Music of Old Taiwan" (玩樂老臺灣).
ABOUT THE MUDDY BASIN RAMBLERS
The Muddy Basin Ramblers were formed in 2003 by a group of American and British expats who love Taiwan and have made it their permanent home. Their fun, infectious repertoire of jug band, folk blues and swing tunes have made them a fan favorite in Taipei's live music scene. Now a nine-piece collective of musicians hailing from Taiwan, US, Canada and the UK, the Ramblers continue to bring joy to audiences both young and old with their collection of sounds from brass horns, woodwinds, guitars, banjos, ukuleles and homemade instruments.
Their second album "Formosa Medicine Show" (2013) remains a favorite among fans and critics in Taiwan, and was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2015 for best packaging. Band members include Tim Hogan, Will Thelin, TC Lin, Sandy Murray, Cristina Cox, Eddie Lin, Mojo Laviolette, and past Golden Melody Award winners David Chen and Conor Prunty.
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