New indie music hong kong

Kowloon live 'New Innocence' @ Hidden Agenda

2011-11-21T18:27:00.000-08:00

Mono live in Hong Kong 'Ashes in the Snow' @ HITEC

2011-05-05T00:43:00.000-07:00

The Whitest Boy Alive-You Say Party We Say Party!

2011-04-03T23:11:00.000-07:00

Go Back To My Site
Erlend Oye's electro outfit The Whitest Boy Alive leans more to the indie pop style than his better known Kings of Convenience alter ego but his charm and ability to communicate with the audience are a constant factor.This may not have been one of the most challenging of indie shows for the audience but it was definitely one of the most fun.as one comment on my video said 'A wonderful night....all people dance high' and the band did give the crowd a natural high in their 2 hour set.
I couldn't really make up my mind whether to go to this show but a friend had got some good seats so we decided to see if Whitest Boy were as good or better live than Erlend Oye's other band, Kings Of Convenience.
First off,minus marks to Untitled Asia ,the organisers for having no crowd control.It's very annoying to find that late comers could just wander around at will when the show has started looking for their seats and blocking everyone else's view.Couldn't they at least let people wait till a break in the songs?
Also what's the point of having reserved seating if everyone can just rush to the front?Next time just say free seating and everyone will know what to expect.Don't get me wrong.It was hilarious the way everyone just charged forward but if only I'd known I coulda got to there first!
Ok how about the bands?The support act featured Analog Girl from Singapore,an electronic experimental artist who was given a warm reception for her electrodance beats.
The Whitest Boy are one of the best live acts I've seen in Hong Kong but I still had a nagging feeling that the singalong ,arms waving,handclapping show backed by synthesised dance beats as well as a live drummer was more pop than indie fare.Sure,the atmosphere was great and Erlend is such a charismatic performer nd lovl guy that it seems churlish to complain with a show full of big songs,geeky dancing and the rest but it still felt to .me like something was missing although most of he ecstatic crowd didn't agree.Party n dudes!

EF-Nordic postrock in Hong Kong

2011-03-15T22:36:00.000-07:00

Go Back To My Site
A bunch of Hong Kong indie fans turned out in numbers for the first of this week's Scandinavian visitors ,Swedish band EF at The Hangout.Like most rock venues in the city it's quite small but the proximity of audience to performers can generate an intimate atmosphere that at times is electric.
The other plus point is that thereis none of the intrusive security measures seen at larger venues with security guards blocking your view of the band.
First on were Whyoceans ,a local outfit from whose melodic ,intricate guitar lines and ghostly vocals set the postrock mood for the main band.
If your only experience of Sweden so far has been Ikea or Stig Larsson then you missed a chance to check out on its more euphoric sid at this show..
Headliners EF are on the less heavy side of the postrock spectrum,more aethereal Sigur Ros than earblasting Mogwai.They played a noisy,rhythmic but fairly melodic set full of crashing harmonies and intricate guitar figures which soon had the audience jumping around,clapping hands and generally enjoying some moody but uplifting Swedish postrock.
the band's latest offering should be available from local record store whitenoiserecords

Hong Kong's next visiting postrockers the Besnard lakes are at Hidden Agenda on the 17th March or alternatively head on over to HITEC to see the Berlin based electro outfit The Whitest Boy Alive if there are still any tickets left!

Big in Japan(and elsewhere)

2010-10-19T20:27:00.000-07:00

Go Back To My Site

One of the many advantages of living in Hong Kong is picking up on the many Asian bands who make a visit here mainly through the influence of local bands.Last week Elf Fatima gave us a 2 day event with Pg.lost.This week The Lovesong and alternative music lover Gary Ieong of Whitenoise records are presenting 2 highly popular Japanese outfits:instrumental/mathrock virtuosos Toe and Buddhistson.
The buzz of excitement surrounding the first show was evident when we arrived at the venue to join a very long line waiting at least an hour before the doors opened for a prime spot near the stage at The Hangout.
The central stage provided us with an intimate close up view of the performers and created great rapport between band and audience.First on was Shima, lead vocalist of Buddhistson who are appearing in Hong Kong, next wekgiving us a gentle ,acoustic introduction to next week's electric show.

Shima (Buddhistson) acoustic set

Headliners Toe last played in Hong Kong two years ago in a legendary set which is still remembered with awe and affection.This set was just as awesome but with a much more intimate.feelingSound was also perfect with a stack of Orange amps specially hired for the show and instruments tuned to perfection by the band's awesome sound technician as the band conjured up intricate,shimmering soundscapes with versions of material from their recent album'For Long Tomorrow' for our pleasure.There are not too many times that Hong Kong audiences beg for 3 encores but this was one of them as they brought one of Asia's best shows this year to a close.

Japanese band Toe 'Long Tomorrow'

Buddhistson will be appearing live @ M1 on 27/10/10

Asian postrocktoberfest in Hong Kong

2010-10-05T23:15:00.000-07:00

Sometimes the best and most exciting new bands have to wait a while for their indie fanbase to catch up with their sound like Radiohead,Arcade Fire .That's just a fact of the indie scene in Hong Kong as elsewhere where the music is promoted by a few dedicated friends or fans rather than the commercial machine.This problem is accentuated for bands in less mainstream genres like postrock and bands like Explosions in the Sky,Sigur Ros were inevitably slow to build their current fanbase.
Two of Asia's best instrumental bands,Hua Lun from China and Ovum from Japan, seemed to be suffering from that syndrome at The Hangout last night,a venue which was packed the night before for local band Fragile's farewell gig along with Swedish postrockers Pg.Lost but which lacked the atmosphere that bands of this calibre merit.In fact members of the supporting band paul and Eddie agreed with me that Ovum were technically and idea-wise miles ahead of any bands they'd seen for a while.
Hua Lun opened the show in an uptempo mood before shifting to a more downbeat tempo that seemed to have influences from bands like Caspian and Explosions in the Sky.

Next on were local postrock heroes Elf Fatima who helped to organise the show and have also played legendary sets with Mogwai and Mono among others. The band have been one of the pioneers of the postrock sound and were responsible for getting this two-day show organised and this was another of their trademark sets ,full of melodic invention and sonic explosions.

Elf fatima @ myspace
I was highly impressed by the set from Japanese band Ovum whose sound is more mathrock than postrock ,reminiscent of their compatriots Te .
If you agree that Japanese postrock bands add something unique to the genre,taking into account bands as diverse as Mono and World's End Girlfriend,then fairly soon Ovum will be rated amomgst their more well known compatriots.I advise anyone interested in the genre to catch this band live or at least check them out online.
Check out this band on myspace

Pg.Lost live @ Hangout

2010-10-02T00:58:00.000-07:00

PG.Lost live in Hong Kong with Fragile was not the apocalyptic,earshattering event I expected but an evening full of beautiful postrock melodies which left us all with warm,fuzzy feelings.

In fact the band are much closer in a melodic sense to Explosions in the Sky than to Mogwai and in this show they were perfectly matched in melodic intent with local band Fragile,who were playing a farewell gig before disbanding or at least taking a long break..

For those of us who think there are far too many bands in every indie genre and not enough postrock bands that's a loss.In fact the band played with a kind of passion and intensity that made their aethereal postrock harmonies linger in the memory like a dazzling sonic pyrotechnic display.
Fragile's unique debut and farewell album 'White Shadows' is available from whitenoise records.whitenoiserecords hong kong
Ode to Joy
PG.Lost may not be as well known as more established postrock bands like Mogwai or Explosions in the Sky but they are fast gaining admirers outside of their native Sweden on the strength of their two albums and great live sets.In fact they seemed overwhelmed by the reaction of the crowd who refused to leave until they had played 3 encores.This postrock band from Sweden should soon have a worldwide following on the strength of their live shows.

Pg.lost on myspace

PG.lost album 'in Never Out' is also available from whitenoiserecords.

Hong Kong post rock : keep the fragile flame burning brightly

2010-09-09T20:27:00.000-07:00

Hidden Agenda :Fragile Album Release Party

Performing bands

Fragile (Hong Kong) Post Rock

No One Remains Virgin (Hong Kong) Indie Alternative

LasDawn (Guangzhou) Post Rock

Just like beautiful diamonds shining brightly in the dark....
Hidden Agenda was more packed on Saturday than I've seen the venue for a long time.
Why?
It was the release party for local postrock heroes Fragile's debut album and the band are one of Hong Kong's best live bands in that genre.
I reached the mysteriously inaccessible venue and ascended by its Victorian lift just in time to catch the end of Lasdawn's set which had some great tunes of the kind popularised by bands like God is an Astronaut. and then settled down to decipher the more opaque sounds of No One Remains Virgin,a style of post rock more like Canadian postrockers GodSpeedYouBlackEmperor.

There was a real buzz of excitement when headliners Fragile took to the stage to debut songs from their album 'White Shadows'
Fragile is a 6-piece post-rock outfit who create atmospheric postrock music that moves and elevates you with its epic ,cinematic beauty. Formed in Hong Kong in the summer of 2006, as a dreampop outfit, Fragile has since changed lineup and played numerous regional shows as well as some shows in other cities in China including Guangzhou, Shanghai, Suzhou and Macau
The band are Jacqueline, Sing (guitars), Tat (bass), Ho (drums), Kimberley (keyboard) and (intriguingly) Mono (laptop).
The band's sound is based around the delicate,shimmering guitars of Jacqueline and Sing and haunting keyboard melodies of Kimberley playing classic postrock with songs building slowly from keyboard and guitar based melodies spiralling into full power ,ear-splitting climaxes conveying emotions ranging from deep melancholy to exstatic joy.
Fragile are also playing support for Swedish postrock outfit PG Lost on 1st Oct @ Hidden Agenda.Postrock fans can buy a special price ticket for this show and local postrockers Elf fatima in support of mainland bands Ovum and Hualun on 2/10

Fragile on Myspace

Manchester comes to Hong Kong-Two Door Cinema Club and Delphic live

2010-08-14T23:28:00.000-07:00

Indie music fans in Hong Kong had a chance to check out two of the newest and hottest upcoming indie bands when Two Door Cinema Club and Delphic played a show @ the Rotunda Hong Kong and it's another sign that the city is slowly becoming a stage for new as well as more established indie acts.
In fact the evening began in avery low -key fashion.having arrived at least 2 hours early,we were surprised to see that so few fans had turned out to see the bands ,voted among the best of new UK acts by NME, in comparison to the crowds for Kings of Convenience, the last indie international act to play this venue and we looked around dispiritedly at the empty spaces as we waited for the show,wondering what the band would make of such a lukewarm reception.
Of course we didn't need to worry.By the end of the evening the small quiet crowd had grown and erupted into a mass of noisy Two Door Cinema Club fans loudly demanding at least one more encore from the band.
The evening had a distinctly retro feel with both bands indebted to both the Manchester sound of bands like The Stone Roses and Happy Mondays who blended indie,psychedelia and dance fusing dance beats with jangly guitars and this was compounded by local outfit Pixeltoy's set which included a dancedup version of Joy Division's 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' and intensifying with TDCC's compatriots Delphic,who've been compared to New Order as well as The Chemical Brothers.
Both UK bands are creating a great buzz and it's easy to see why with their accessible beats,catchy hooks and great live sets.
Delphic overcome some sound problems to deliver an energetic set with songs from their debut 'Acolyte' including the show stopping 'Counterpoint' and an 8 minute plus version of the title track 'Acolyte' from their debut album out now.

Delphic 'This Momentary' live in Hong Kong

Two Door Cinema Club adroitly bridge the gap between pop,artrock and dance in instantly memorable tunes like 'Cigarettes in the Theatre' ,'Do You Want it All ' and 'This is the Life'.
If you only buy (or download) one new UK album this year 'Tourist History ' is a must and the band's live shows are also excepional.TDCC are a bunch of thoroughly nice,down-to-earth and hugely talented guys who seemed to be overwhelmed by the reception from the crowd but they shouldn't have been.They are that good.
Two Door Cinema Club 'Undercover Martyn'

Hong Kong's indie music scene-10 (Itta +Marqido) @ Videotage

2010-07-15T21:52:00.000-07:00

Videotage is one of Hong Kong's main locales for experimental,cutting-edge indie music and 10 (Itta x Marqido) are a perfect band for the venue with their quirky soundscapes and hitec-lowtec mix.
The Japanese/Korean duo were invited back to Hong Kong by Videotage to celebrate their Open Jams series ,open to anyone who is interested in experimental music and what they gave us was well,experimental,crazy and also quite a lot of fun.Maqido is a Japanese experimental artist who is more at home with a laptop than a guitar while Itta is more fascinated by noise whether it's created by melodica,keytar,children's toys or simply the human voice.

Itta the Korean vocalist takes the lead here with her stage moves and keytar and kids' toys playing but it's her vocals that really make an impression ,ranging from aethereal harmony to elemental yell.The effect is a bit like listening to 'Tomorrow Never Knows' recorded by Syd Barrett era Pink Floyd with a bit of My Bloody Valentine thrown into the mix.Unsurprisingly,the band have been described as both 'alluring' and 'bizarre'.Ok bizarre but never boring and the small crowd who turned out were rewarded with an unforgettable evening of intriguing ,noisy fun.Thank you Videotage,Paul Yip and all who helped give us this much joy on a weekday evening.

http://www.myspace.com/weare10

Hong Kong indie music's Hidden Agenda-Unixx ,Fragile ,An IdSignal

2010-06-13T23:21:00.000-07:00

Hong Kong's alternative music scene has a Hidden Agenda.Well away from the bright lights and expat-friendly areas like Central and Wanchai and surrounded by industrial buildings in the heart of Kowloon ,you can find this venue, a great place for local music fans and visitors alike to check out the authentic Hong Kong scene.
Last week we had Lonely China Day, a Beijing post rock outfit who've played at SXSW and other US festivals.This week it was the venue for the last gig in local shoegaze band Unixx's album release tour for their new album,'Seven Deadly Sins'.
Opening act was one of Hong Kong's most distinctive indie bands, an IdSignal.The band are
Leung Wing Lai (vocals), Chan Ho Nam (guitar), So Wai Ting (Bass) and Yu Sing Yin (drums),
The sound is like a crazy mixture of retro cantonese pop and garage with a unique delivery from laid -back frontman Wing Lai.If you haven't yet seen this band you can still check out their album (with English translation handily provided).
The bad news for Hong Kong postrock fans is that there are not enough bands playing in that style compared to other genres like metal, emo, britpop etc but the few bands here are excellent including Fragile.The band are Jacqueline, Sing (guitars), Tat (bass), Ho (drums), Kimberley (keyboard) and (intriguingly) software from Mono @ No One Remains Virgin (?).
Some classic postrock with songs building slowly from keyboard and guitar based melodies spiralling into full power ,ear-splitting climaxes.

The production and songwriting on Unixx second albums see them confidently expanding the garagey shoegaze sound of their first album into a format that owes more to postpunk and Noisepop and is much richer and more satisfying.on songs like 'Perfect Betrayer', 'Wasted' and the title track 'Seven Deadly Sins'.
On this showing the band have improved dramatically over the last year and are well worth checking out live with their full on wall of guitar shoegazey sound.There's a heavy ,introverted edge to the sound which reminds me of bands like Joy Division and Bauhaus.The new album 'Seven Deadly Sins ' is available in Whitenoiserecords,Causeway Bay.
Unixx (encore)'I Wanna Be Adored'

Hidden Agenda's next show on 13th June will feature The Medullary Paralysis.

Asian beat-Kashiwa Daisuke, Desktop Error and Evade live in Hong Kong

2010-04-26T21:36:00.000-07:00

Link to this blog

The Hong Kong indie music scene is healthy and just keeps growing in terms of new bands, venues and promoters.On Saturday we had at least 5 great shows to choose from (and even some others that were not as well publicised). Ok, Timeout looked good as did the Harbour records show.On the other hand there was Hidden Agenda with Reflector and The Lovesong and an Underground show in Rockschool.
Passing by all these very tempting but more obvious attractions, I headed for what looked like the most intriguing show, the Whitenoiserecords 'Movie-tone' with melodic local electro beat outfit Evade, Desktop Error, a shoegazy postrock outfit from Thailand and experimental but highly danceable Japanese electronica from the incredibly talented Kashiwa Daisuke.
First on stage @ HKICC were local band Evade with a mix of beautiful vocals and chilled out beats.The band are Sonia, Brandon, Yu Faye Jason and Miguel.
They formed in Macau on August 2004 and have been building their reputation since then, blending great tunes and beautiful vocals with complex dance beats.
http://myspace.com/evademacau
Desktop Error are a bright and energetic young band who grabbed the audience 's attention as soon as guitarist Bird struck up the opening chords of' Ticket to Home 'on his thai styled guitar.The band are inventive, energetic and fun and it was easy to see why they are hard to categorize but great to watch live.The sound is a mixtureof heavy, fuzzy guitar and beautiful melodies on songs like 'Tuk Tuk Wan', 'To Dream' and 'Illusionary Image', all played with high energy, and at the end of their set a more intimate moment when vocalist Lek invited us all to set in a circle with the band for some acoustic versions.
The band's sound is difficult to describe having influences from thai folk music, shoegaze and postrock but well worth checking out live.Sounds like M83 meets God is an Astronaut.
http://www.myspace.com/desktoperror
Kashiwa Daisuke may be influenced by progressive rock, but on '5 Dec 'and' Program Music 'the sounds are more experimental than that tag suggests. In any case he obviously decided to air his more danceable side, playing with a VJ and syncopating his mesmerisingly convolutesd electro beats with a psychedelic backdrop.
Despite my aversion to programmed beats (keep percussion live!) I must admit his set was pretty special. Thanks to Gary Ieong and Whitenoiserecords for bringing us an amazing show!
http://www.myspace.com/kashiwadaisuke

If you didn't make it to this show you can find all the bands' albums @ whitenoiserecords, Causeway Bay.
http://www.whitenoiserecords.org/

Desktop Error ' Ticket To Home ' live in Hong Kong

2010-04-26T21:10:00.000-07:00

Go Back To My Site

Kashiwa Daisuke live in Hong Kong 'Program Music'

2010-04-26T21:09:00.000-07:00

Go Back To My Site

Evade + live VJ @ Movie-tone Hong Kong

2010-04-26T21:08:00.000-07:00

Go Back To My Site

Good Fellas 'Be With Me' (Hong Kong)

2010-04-22T20:04:00.000-07:00

Go Back To My Site

2010-04-22T19:04:00.000-07:00

For anyone who wants to check out new bands on the indie music scene in Hong Kong get your ass along to one of the Underground's fortnightly shows. Chris B has been organising shows here for the past five years or so and has given bands like Chochukmo, Innisfallen, Audiotraffic, Velvette Vendetta and Unixx a platform to reach a wider audience before releasing their debut albums.While there are other promoers like White Noise Records and The Peoples' Party who focus more on leftfield, experimental bands from Asia and international bands, this is still the best place to check out new local indie bands in Hong Kong who are not scene specific.
I arrived late at the show but was in time to catch the set by OneLastFall, a heavy fivepiece band led by guitarist Faro with vocals from Sheila, second guitarist Rob, bassist Charles and drummer Maijd. The sound ranges between metal and emo with aggressive vocals and high energy guitar, driven by the energetic rhythm section of the band.It didn 't take long for the band to galvanise the crowd into a frenzy of headbanging and arm waving.Some ragged edges but still a very good live band and one to watch out for.
GoodFellas is a four piece band with Cheng Po Kei (Keith) on guitar and vocals, Egg Lo bass and vocals, and Angus Leung on rhythm guitar.
The band play in an infectious Britpop-influenced style.and the slightly differing vocal styles of Keith and Egg work well in their set blending fan favourites like 'Be With You', 'Move On' and some newer material that shows the band with a slightly more electro feel.Is this a move to a more MGMT sound?

Kings of Convenience (Norwegian Wowed )!

2010-04-01T00:32:00.000-07:00

Nordic duo Kings of Convenience were in town for 1 night to wow a select audience at a sell out show at Hong Kong's HITEC with a bunch of songs about love and longing, relationships and creativity.Nordic melancholy and the hyperactive Hong Kong spirit may seem like an odd mix but it really combusted in this show.When we turned up on the night about 2 hours early there was already a long line of fans with tickets waiting in line
Hailed as amabassadors of The New Folk, the band had summed up their music creed in the album title 'Quiet is the New Loud' and in fact their playing style is so quiet at times that they requested photographers to minimise the clicking of their cameras in the early part of the show (although typical of this lens mad city some of us couldn't resist taking one or two pix).
Playing material from all 3 albums, the band quickly established an awesome rapport with the crowd, especially when Erlend discovered that Hong Kong fans really knew all the KOC songs by heart and could sing along at will.The ensuing band / audience singalong had all the warmth of a huge house party rather than a concert.
The duo held us spellbound with their delicately beautiful melodies, intricate guitar harmonies, some lovely keyboard and a playful sense of not taking themselves too seriously, typified by Erlend's geeky but fun dance moves in 'Just Want to Dance With You'. The band's formula may appear simple but the rhythms move intricately and efforlessly between pop, bossa nova and folk.

2010-03-07T18:58:00.000-08:00

CityU Band Soc-SONIC BLOOM!!!!

In this annual show of City University Hong Kong at The Hangout we had a crazy evening of reggae, postrock, mathrock and the highly indefinable sweet sounds of Chochukmo.
Crazy Lion opened the show @ The Hangout with their reggae beat which soon had heads nodding and bodies moving to their infectious dub-heavy sounds.

Crazy Lion @ Sonic Bloom

Vocalist Mouse was more like a friendly lion as the band recreated the infectious, melodic sounds of a musical genre that originated in DJ sound systems and ska influenced interpretations of R & B and was popularised in the west by legends like Bob Marley and Jimmy Cliff and by record labels like Trojan and Island.The packed hall was soon grooving to their sweet Jamaican-flavoured rhythms.
Wangwen live @ Sonic Bloom in Hong Kong

\

Wangwen took us to a more introspective, post-rock space with beautiful, soaring melodies reminiscent of Explosions in the Sky and Mono.This is the band's 3rd visit to Hong Kong recently and for anyone who doesn't believe that post rock bands can rock hard, you must see this band.

Chochukmo can turn any show into a party and with seemingly effortless ease they charmed the mainly student audience with songs from their recently released 'The King Has Lost His Pink'. They played a jazzy, latin-tinged indie rock set full of leftfield melodies, jangly guitars and Jan's delicate yet passionate vocals on songs like the slightly retro 'Tell Her (Laura I Love Her) the infectious-and-should-be-released-as-a-single' Head to Toe 'and the darkly humorous' Something Special 'and' Number One '.
Te live @ Sonic Bloom

I think something may have been lost in translation in the facebook description stating that Te would make our 'blood boil'. I guess they meant something like 'induce euphoria, ecstasy and warm waves of love between band and audience.' Those of us who only knew about the band by listening to their albums and read descriptions like 'celebral band' may have been expecting an outfit in the style of Japanese bands like Mono or Toe who seem to ooze music from their every nerve cell and almost discorporate into the music.
Te are consummate musicians too but also had the greatest audience interaction of any band in the show.I was just annoyed that I missed the bassist's stage jump especially as he landed right in front of me !(OK I was too busy changing batteries for my camera but I did help him back on stage).
Te live @ The Hangout Hong Kong

If That Is What Is Being

Hong Kong bands-Elf Fatima

2010-02-05T20:24:00.000-08:00

Go Back To My Site
In advance of the Mono show I got a chance to ask Paul and Eddie, guitarists in Elf Fatima a few questions and was quite surprised by some of their answers about the music they like and the post rock scene in Hong Kong.
First was Eddie Hui, ..

What are your main musical influences or what bands were you listening to when you formed Elf Fatima?

In the beginning, we were influenced by different genres like psychedelicspace-rock, post-punk, trip-hop, dark pop, shoegaze, noisenik and even some doom metal / gothic metal!

We listened to the music of Pink Floyd, Massive Attack, Portishead, Joy Division, Spiritualised, The Verve, Death in Vegas, Slowdive, My Bloody Valentine, Garbage, Cardigans, Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride.

What's the best gig Elf Fatima have played?

Maybe it was with Mogwai in 2004 ...

Best gig you've seen?

Must be Mono 10th Anniversary live with an orchestra in Shibuya O-EAST, Tokyo.That 's the first time I've seen a band crossover with an orchestra live and I was very impressed.

You've appeared with Mogwai and Mono.Any other artist you'd love to play with?

What if Godspeed You! Black Emperor were live in Hong Kong? Ha Ha! Impossible!

Any favourite post rock bands?

So many, Mono GY! BE, World's End Girlfriend, Envy, Mogwai

Best and worst things about the post rock scene in Hong Kong?

It's like a coin with two sides.There are not many bands so we are quite distinctive. On the other hand it's a real disadvantage that the scene is so small

Any plans or shows to watch out for this year?

We really hope to release our 3rd album in 2010!

Paul Chung

What albums have you bought recently?

World's End Girlfriend-OST

Matryoshka-Zatracenie

Mono-Hymn to the Immortal Wind

Mensheng-Twisted Sight

Chochukmo-The King lost His Pink

Casino Demon-Teenage

Lite-Phantasia

Dreamend-The Long Forgotten Friend (Japanese edition)

Bang Gang-Ghosts From the Past

Triple Smash-When the Light Goes

What other stuff are you listening to at the moment?

Chopin, Do Say Make Think, Envy, Kashiwa Daisuke Kashiwa Daisuke (seems will come to HK
soon : D) ... ...

Musical influences / what artists, bands, styles were you into when you formed Elf Fatima?

Oh, lots of stuff, melodic songs and not just post rock

What's the best gig you've played?

Wang Wen + Elf fatima + Zhaozhe-3 Post-rock bands @ Guangzhou and Hong Kong (2008)

Steve Vai-Hitec (2004), Mogwai-Hitec (2004) Wonderful white noise!

Favourite Hong Kong venue?

No idea, all the stages are too small, maybe the Fringe club because the sound is so good.

You've appeared with Mogwai and Mono.Any other bands you'd like to share a stage with?

Envy (Japan). I like heavy music!

Any favourite postrock bands / musicians?

Jian Tak Building, Kim Tak Building, No One Remains Virgin, Fragile, Downer ...

Best / And worst things about the Hong Kong (post) rock scene)?

Best Things - everybody can play good music ....

Worst Things - not too much people spend money / time to attend post-rock concert, even oversea's famous bands!

Any plans or shows coming up next year?

Release new album 2010!!!

Elf Fatima are supporting Secret Machines on 17th March @ Grappa's Hong Kong.

For lots of info on these bands, downloads etc visit thesirenssound

Mono 10th Anniversary Tour in Hong Kong

2010-02-01T05:44:00.000-08:00

Go Back To My Site

Why do Hong Kong indie fans love post rock so much? Is it the emotion and the complexity?Does the music give us some kind of personal space in a frantic,overpopulated city devoted to technology?
Or are music fans and bands here just a lot more experimental and eclectic in their tastes than we realise?
Mono from Japan have achieved iconic status in the post rock genre and were appearing live in the city.
In support were Elf Fatima, local post rock heroes whom I first heard of when I asked a highly knowledgeable local band member 'Who's your favourite Hong Kong band?'.
'Elf Fatima' was his reply and ever since then I've tried to check out shows from this band who seem to be the band of choice for supporting Postrock monsters like Mogwai and Mono ..

First on the bill were Ghanzhou outfit Zhazhou (aka The Swamp). The band use traditional Chinese instruments as well as electric guitars, giving them a sound somewhere between Beijing bands Lonely China Day and The Gar with quqin player and guitarist at times going onto his knees to play in real rock hero style.Some beautifully structured songs synthesising traditional and modern.An awesome opening set from this band with lots of energy and brimming with musical ideas.The band have been around since 1993 so can clainm to have been at the forefront of China's experimental musical scene.

Elf Fatima play post rock that's heavy in the style of Explosions in the Sky with some of the same complexity but with a rockier edge and a slow building psychedelic groove that erupts into an explosion of sound.The band begin their set with the melancholy 'Michelle the Cellist ', Eddie and Paul's guitars gliding elegantly over the melody on top of the percussion before turning up the volume controls for the rest of the set which they bring to a gloriously cataclysmic conclusion with' I See the Light 'Before the Planet Explodes / .
Setlist
1. Michelle the Cellist
2. Battle of Sunset
3. Walk away from the dark cave
4.I see the light before the planet explodes

Such a small venue is really perfect for the sound of Mono In the quiet parts, every note rings out crystal clear on songs like 'Ashes in the Snow'and for the climaxes we were almost deafened by the waves of feedback saturated power chords. The standout for me was the finale with a near 15 minute version of 'Everlasting Light' building slowly to a blizzard of guitar and percussion for the finale.
Hymn To The Immortal Wind seems like a more cinematic progression from 'You Are There' and of the 3 bands playing tonight Mono seem like the most classically influenced in their sound.

Not just a bandshow: we have been to post rock heaven.

The King Has Lost his Pink-Chochukmo release party

2009-11-28T19:38:00.000-08:00

Life in Hong Kong is often stressful and demanding but help is at hand in the shape of one of the city's best young bands Chochukmo.
2009 has been a great year to be a follower of the indie music scene in Hong Kong and on any list of the best upcoming bands Chochukmo would be right up there near the top even at 'Number One'. Just ask Timeout Hong Kong who voted the band as winners of the 'We'll Make Your Album' competition.
It seems just like yesterday when the band won that competition (actually it's about a month ago) and now here already was their new album being unveiled (along with naked portaits of the band) at its release party. So is it and are they really that good?
Ok, as a fan I'm very biased but yes, the band and the album are definitely worth checking out.
Anyone who's followed the band over the last year will not be surprised to find that, as a debut, it's damn good, full of great songs and musical invention.
They kicked off the show with the album's quirky but likable opener 'Child Heights' before launching into the opening bars of' Tell Her (Laura I love Her) 'to raucous cheering from the audience followed by' Number One 'and incendiary versions of' Let Her Go 'and '1, 2,3,4'.
All too soon the band were playing the opening bars of 'Head To Toe' and the release party was over.
The show was also a tribute to the creative energy and love of indie that exists in the hearts of bands and fans all over Hong Kong.After the show Jan Chan Shui-Wing thanked us all for supporting the band, urging everyone to follow their example and do something creative to liven up this dull city.
Chochukmo 'Head To Toe' @ The King Has Lost His Pink

'The King has Lost His Pink' is in record stores now.

Los Campesinos at Clockenflap

2009-11-11T16:40:00.000-08:00

Hong Kong indie music fans were out in force on Saturday to see the most ambitious show of 2009 so far with local rising stars Good Fellas and Chochukmo, fan favourites False Alarm and the awesomely talented UK band Los Campesinos.Just add a nice outdoor location with warm weather and sea breezes, film shows, graffiti artists, and a bouncy castle for lots of fun for all ages .....(with lots more on the Sunday which i missed but check out http://www.musixtation.com/ for more info).

I just got there in time to see an energetic set from Good Fellas, one of Hong Kong 's promising young bands playing a set of Britpop-influenced songs.This band have been getting better each time I've seen them and this was their tightest set yet with rocking versions of 'Ride With Me' and ' Nothing About My Way '. With Egg from The Train alongside Po Kei on vocals and Angus from Born To Hula they're now one of Hong Kong's best Britpop style bands and well worth checking out...

http://www.myspace.com/hkgoodfellas

I first saw Joshua Wong, the lead vocalist and songwriter of Noughts and Exxes in January in one of the best attended shows I've seen for his former band Whence He Came and his band were on fire at that show.. He has moved away from the more up-tempo sound of his previous band to something more complex and darker but the great vocals , well written songs and passion are still evident.

http://www.myspace.com/noughtsandexes
Having recently seen the turnout for the 10th Anniversary show of False Alarm it's clear that this band have a big local following.They and Harbour Records were right in the vanguard of today's alternative Hong Kong scene and their energetic, garage-punk set gave us some reasons why they have lasted so long and are still going strong with songs like 'Heavenly' and ' Give Me More. '

http://www.myspace.com/falsealarm.hk
Chochukmo were winners of the recent Time Out Hong Kong 'We'll Make Your Album competition.Wthin the space of their first song they'd won over all of the crowd who weren't fans already with their quirky melodies,jangly guitars and Jan's delicate but passionate vocals.on songs like 'Head To Toe','Carolyn' and the darkly humorous 'Number One.'The band play jangly,latin,jazzy electro-pop.

Pet Conspiracy deliver moody but upbeat Beijing style garage synth rock in the style of Queen Sea Big Shark .The band members have impressive backgrounds in music and media and they created an energetic, dark, sexy, downbeat sound with Helen Feng (lead vocals) transporting the audience to new levels of electro-clash ecstasy. If you missed the excitement of their live show then you should get a copy of their album in White Noise Records

Alexis Taylor DJ set was next up (a bit of an anti-climax after the audience expectations based on albums like 'The Warning' and 'Made in the Dark').

Los Campesinos.This set was the highlight of the show and possibly the whole of 2009 in Hong Kong.The band are talented, write great songs (with crazy but oddly appropriate titles like "Ha Ha We destroyed the hopes and Dreams of a Generation of Faux-Romantics', are generally lauded as one of the most promising of the current contenders and have a sound that's unique among today's indie clone bands with its mix of elation and melancholy of elation and melancholy.

The moment the band launched into 'You'll Need Those Fingers For Crossing', the crowd went wild and just got wilder as the set progressed to an awesome climax in 'You! Me! Dancing! "

A Timeout Hong Kong writer stated recently that this is a highly entrepreneurial city even in musical terms.Yet another characteristic is the city's ability to appreciate and play music that is a little more challenging than that created by platinum-selling indie megabands .

Note for the organisers of Clockenflap.Please bring all these bands back soon!I'm sure that fans will turn out in numbers for big shows with Greenday and the Killers in January but events like Clockenflap display an appetite for indie music that's a a bit more individual and less market driven than the world tours of rock megastars.

Do You Like Rock Music?

2009-10-09T22:10:00.000-07:00

What a great combination for an alternative music band show.
The Yours ,a local outfit whose heavy,alienated sound is a bit like Spacemen 3 jamming with the Telescopes and British Sea Power ,whose mood can shift from the darkly uplifting,anthemic 'Waving Flags' on 'Do You Like Rock Music?' to the melancholy 'No Man is an Archipeligo' on' Man of Aran'and whose preoccupations range from subatomic particles ('Atom') to the environment (LIghts Out For Darker Slies').
Grappa's Hong Kong was packed to witness this gig set up by Justin Sweeting and the People's Party.Local heroes The Yours opened with their dark ,shoegazy sound and lots of new songs to be featured on their soon to be released album.Like the main band they have lots of passion for rock music although their style can be a little harder to get into and they seem to enjoy creating a moody,alienated sound which defies labels..Listening to their song 'Tasteless' ,you might well hear echoes of My Bloody Valentine but there's a lot of other things in the mix.To their credit ,they are one of the Hong Kong bands who have already created interest in publications like Drowned in Sound for their debut EP.
http://myspace.com/theyours

British Sea Power began their set in a fairly low-key way before climbing the heights with songs taken mainly from 'Do You Like Rock Music' apart from the anthemic 'Please Stand Up', the cinematic 'The Great Skua' and fan favourites 'Carrion' and 'Remember Me' but the band demonstrated that you can be a good indie band if you write good songs and a great indie band if you just defy genres like indie,rock,britpop,and experimental,mix them all together and see what happens.

The band have been described as eccentric live performers but the lead vocalist Scott is more like a performance artist than a rock star as he windmills his arms,crowd surfs and encourages the band and audience to come together and to revel in the unique musical experience that is a British Sea Power gig.Unforgettable.

By the time of the encore,he's invited the support band on stage to jam,bodysurf and have some fun with the band,the audience,everyone.I think the last song was 'A Wooden Horse' but I'm not sure,such was the mayhem created by one of indie's best live bands.

http://myspace.com/britishseapower

Rockraiser Festival

2009-10-09T20:55:00.000-07:00

Go Back To My Site
The Hong Kong indie kid is finally coming of age on a day which saw a host of great bands lining up for a kids' fundraising extravaganza just hours before the awesome British Sea Power took to the stage. Thanks to Kap Liu of Crazy Young Master Hong Kong had its very own all day mini-festival featuring well-established Beijing bands New Pants and Queen Sea Big Shark alongside local rising stars Chochukmo and Modern Children just 1 week after our beaches were rocked for 3 days by more than 30 bands in the Silvermine Bay Music Festival.
Hoghlights of the show for me were sets by Modern Children and Chochukmo and the aforementioned Beijing garage-punk rocksters Queen Sea Big Shark and New Pants.Unlike the earlier scheduled version of this event back in April, we had a sunny afternoon to rock out beside the South China Sea.
Typically for this event, there was a relaxed family atmosphere with lots of extremely young rock fans getting into the action.
Modern Children are one of the many promising young bands on the Hong Kong indie circuit with lots of ideas, a unique folk-rock style and a perfect band for the occasion, kind of like Arcade Fire on an up day meets Noah and The Whale. Perfect indie folk-pop.

http://myspace.com/modernchildrenmusic
Chochukmo are the perfect band for any event as their playing can flow betwen pop, rock, latin and jazz.
Jan, Mike, Lester and Kitty aka Chochukmo are really getting better and better in their live shows.Having just returned from a successful tour they've also been voted best new band in Hong Kong and are currently producing their debut album.One of Hong Kong's most quirky and individual bands, they play in a style that encompasses, rock, pop, and latin with lead vocalist Jan's mercurial vocals leading the sonic intricacies and shifting mood changes.The band played a great set with favourites like 'Caroline'and' Number One ', closing with a jangly upbeat version of' Head To Toe '

http://myspace.com/chochukmo
Queen Sea Big Shark generated the kind of excitement that local fans always display for visiting mainland cousins as the band powered through their set, opening with a gentle electro-pop number before launching into their more typical spiky, hook-laden, new wave garage rock with synthesised loops in 'No, No No!', 'Kiss, Kill Bang!', 'Love is Pop'and other favourites from their debut album, complete with pounding drums from Xiao Wu, infectious guitar riffs from Cao Pu , strident bass from Wang Jinghan and Fu Han one of the current Beijing's scene's most appealing vocalists.The band were chosen to support The Yeah Yeah Y eahs.

http://myspace.cn/queenseabigshark