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

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

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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

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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)

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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

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

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

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

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'