IN THE 1980S David Tao's father, Tao Da-wei, was dubbed the Elvis of Taiwan for his pioneering role in bringing Western-influenced music to the island. 'It was a hodge-podge, but it had rock'n'roll from Elvis and the Beatles, a moral or story behind it and some satire,' says Tao, who is, by a quirk of fate, now the force behind another Taiwanese musical revolution. He is credited with introducing R&B and high production standards into a market saturated by quickly processed Canto-pop and Mando-pop (he could be dubbed the Craig David of Taiwan). It's a burden Tao the younger is more than happy to bear.
'I was really influenced by my dad in the way he blended Eastern and Western music,' says Hong Kong-born Tao, sitting attentively on a couch at the Fullerton Hotel in Singapore ahead of a guest appearance at last weekend's MTV Asia Awards 2003. 'But now Chinese music is in a depressing and troubled state. I'm trying to address it somehow through music,' he adds, more with a sense of mission than arrogance.
Unlike the plastic pop performers who dominate the Taiwan and Hong Kong charts, the 32-year-old singer writes and produces his own songs, views his lyrics as a chance to instil a social conscience in listeners and refuses to churn out albums to keep record company accountants happy. Since he burst on the scene in 1997 with his eponymous debut album of intelligent songs, he has influenced a new wave of performers including Elvis Hsiao Jay Chou, who ironically pipped Tao to the best Taiwanese artist award at the ceremony last weekend.
Tao says being recognised as a nominee is important enough. 'I try to make music for Chinese people because I feel there is a need for it. I'm very proud to be Chinese,' says Tao, who defines himself as Chinese-American having been brought up both in Taiwan and the Los Angeles, where he spent most of his school years and graduated with a degree in psychology.
'My music has Western influences, but a lot of the elements I'm trying to convey are universal. One thing I've tried to stay away from is, being mostly from the States, to try to throw a lot of English into my songs. I really want to communicate with the Chinese audience because what I have to say has a lot to do with them,' says Tao, who is also popular in mainland China and Malaysia.
That said, the sleeve notes to his most recent album, the slickly produced Black Tangerine, feature extensive English scribbling. The lyrics, however, are all Putonghua - even the song Dear God, which addresses the 9/11 terrorist attacks and begins with a montage of news reports of the tragedy. 'I wanted to make this album more socially aware. Chinese people needed to hear this message. I was afraid it would be a turn-off,' he says. 'When Dear God came out people thought, 'He's done it now, he's screwed himself over, it's not a smart song,'' says Tao. 'The album was a risk, but luckily it was well received.'
Tao believes sending a message is a fundamental role of music. 'It's much more than entertainment. The most moving concerts, albums and most memorable artists are those that have so much passion that they need to put it somewhere and it's in music. Asian societies, as affluent and powerful as we are, we're really empty culturally and artistically. To be powerful you need to be culturally wealthy as well as economically wealthy. I'm trying to make people see that; parents, educators, politicians, young people, whoever.'