That which has no boundaries

Destination: Taiwan. Mission: mixing music from different genres to come up with a solid mash-up of melodies meant to be enjoyed in one deliciously-sounding sip.

I have always been interested in Taipei as a city. My friend Liz Uy is always raving about it and since time immemorial, students from my alma mater would take summers off in Taiwan to be able to practice and sharpen their Mandarin skills.??

Mine would come at a later date and luckily for me, this wasn’t an academic thing. My hosts from the Moët Hennessy group have always been warm and hospitable and they make sure to pull all stops just to give me an extraordinary experience. They bring entertaining to an entirely different level. Artistry? Yes, you may call it that.

All roads led to the Hennessy Artistry Global Art of Mixing party.

Each meal a degustation of flavors, our gastronomic and intoxicating tour of Taipei started with a view from Taipei 101, now the world’s second tallest building. Our hotel was situated right in front of it, a shining example of Taiwan’s supremacy and modernity as envisioned by luminaries like Sun Yat-sen and Chiang Kai-shek.??

On this trip I was with the Manila nightlife scene’s foremost movers, artists who have made a mark in music, and beyond. Manolet Dario has always been the top-of-mind DJ when it comes to house music, his career spanning generations. He now adds club and bar owner to his list of titles. Domini Primero was co-founder of Big Fish and is now head of Driven, a DJ events company and is a club owner as well.??

Food, Laughter And Music??

Chef Carlo Miguel is the proud chef and partner of Opus and Draft Gastro Pub. He and his molecular gastronomy have amazed diners the world over. He was with his lovely wife Ria, his inspiration for many of his culinary achievements. Bernie Buenaseda has been a champion of original Pinoy music and heads the country’s most influential radio station. Moët Hennessy’s Randy Uson, Richard Alarcon and Alvin Bagasan made sure this mix was filled with good food, laughter and a heavy dose of what Taipei had to offer. ??

The Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall

Before the main event, which was the Hennessy Artistry Global Art of Mixing party, our hosts took us around town, painting it blue and red — colors visible on our very own flag. Nightlife is hip and happening in Taipei; the people are as responsive to Western music as much as we are over here. What was most unique was our immersion in the realm of jazz. A true blue-jazz bar, with world-renowned musicians in the center of Taiwan — now that was something to write home about!??

That weekend, all roads of the city led to the Hennessy Artistry event. This wasn’t my first Hennessy Artistry event as I was also sent to cover the festivities in my hometown Shanghai featuring Jay Chow, Wyclef Jean, and a host of others a few years back, plus I am set to host the one in Manila after flying home from this trip. The Hennessy Artistry is the biggest regional musical tour of the top musical artists from all over the world mixed with some of the host country’s own. “Music indeed has no boundaries,” said Ruby Tang, regional marketing director for Moët Hennessy Asia Pacific, as she made her rounds with guests from all over the world who had joined Hennessy Artistry to celebrate their unique mix at the Taiwan Show Hall 2. My favorite mix was Hennessy with apple juice, the distinct aromas of both fusing seamlessly into one rich flavor.? ?

There was Kazoku, a hip hop phenomenon from Japan; Wilber, who is tagged as Pan-Asia’s King of hip hop; Canto-pop star A-lin, who is “Asia’s Princess of Song”; and then Shin, a rock star dressed like Prince. The Latinos were represented by Aurea, the soul sensation from Portugal and HK had multi-talented musician Aarif Rahman. There was no Filipino act, so they do not know what they’re missing. We have “Asia’s Songbird,” “Queen of Soul,” “Prince of R&B” — name it and we have it every Sunday on Party Pilipinas (shameless plug!).??

Then again, all of them mixed seamlessly, singing We Are Family as a fitting finale. For a while, I thought I was in Party Pilipinas or ASAP Rocks. Still a big applause goes to the effort put into making it an unsurpassed stellar regional showcase of artists. With this, the beverage concoction effortlessly became a bridge to good times with fun as the underlying message and music as the medium. All different, yet somehow artistically fused as one.??

You see folks, anything is possible.

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