Pawnshop | Yexiao

Regular DJs from Pawnshop will share the sounds of Taiwanese nightlife across six hours of programming on Refuge Worldwide.

Even while the pandemic raged in 2020, Taiwan was lucky enough to keep Pawnshop open. "The pandemic changed our perspective," Pawnshop told Refuge Worldwide in an email. "People started to dive deeper and harder into music because the old fashioned way of booking international artists was not possible. The local community is now slowly flourishing."

The space explores underground club culture in every possible form, from art shows and workshops to themed "extravaganzas." According to the organizers, Pawnshop is "all about experiencing demarginalization and absolute liberation for the LGBTQ+ community, as well as all creativity, artistry, otherness, rebellion, pleasure, and euphoria."

Pawnshop’s sound is a self-described mixture of local sounds that blend techno, electro, and groovy cosmic disco. On Tuesday, July 13, Pawnshop's regular DJs Yexiao, Jing, Toumingren, AQpie, Jun, and Gemnital will play hour-long sets from each of these genres in an exhibition of the styles that defined the club over the past year.