Formosa Vinyl released a limited 1980s Mandopop box set Saturday for Record Store Day Taiwan, pressing 3,000 copies with restored liner notes from studio tapes archivists digitized in Taipei, according to the label’s storefront queue in Gongguan. Collectors lined before dawn for the six-LP bundle featuring remastered vocals from artists who recorded on analog consoles at EMI’s old Zhongshan studio.
Each set includes a booklet documenting session musicians who later joined rock bands in the 1990s. Formosa Vinyl said lacquers were cut in Germany, but sleeve printing stayed in New Taipei to shorten carbon shipping for domestic buyers.
Independent shops in Kaohsiung and Taichung received allotments of 40 units each; online scalpers were banned via numbered wristbands tied to ID cards. Streaming platforms are not carrying the remasters until December, giving physical buyers a window.
Archivists warned that heat-damaged tapes from warehouse floods in 2001 required spectral repair, audible only on quiet ballad tracks. For fans, the draw is tangible: crackle-free pressings of songs many only knew from worn cassettes.