Timing is everything if you're a DJ and Elvis T would add he's also in the right place.

In just two years, the chief producer of Acupuncture Records has helped take electronic dance music out of the closet and into the mainstream.

Originally from Taipei, he started spinning records in 1998 and came to Beijing in 2007 at the invitation of DJ Pancake Lee.

Acupuncture Records was born soon after. It comprises five members, including Lee and Elvis T, former rock musician and rave pioneer Weng Weng, Xiao Lin Feng and Terry Tu.

The idea was to produce records and stage large-scale events but it started small with parties for friends in a south Beijing suburb studio.

Weng Weng came up with the name, after being told by an acupuncturist that the key to effective treatment was "steady, accurate and hard".

This summed up the DJ collective's mission statement and involved needles, which went with records. Hey, presto.

Acupuncture has been surprisingly successful in a short time by putting on ever-larger events, releasing an EP and two of Elvis T's tracks on the world's biggest DJ download sites.

"The reason I came here was because the electronic music scene in Taipei was boring - just big-name DJs and KTV culture," Elvis T says. "Here, it's more international and there's more scope.

"We don't have a Beijing sound yet because electronic music culture here is very young. It takes a long time to create and there's no need to rush because it will come naturally.

"Being Chinese is in the blood and it's going to come out. It's not just adding traditional Chinese elements or sounds, there's more to it than that. It's the heart and mind, something internal not external."

As for INTRO, the name says it all: "People really don't have much of an idea of electronic music and this introduces all kinds of categories," says Elvis T. "It will be a relaxed atmosphere, because it's a legitimate event happening in broad daylight. It's a good opportunity for people to examine this kind of environment."

(China Daily May 21, 2009)