Ask Chet Lam what he wants for his April birthday, and he’ll probably wish for all Hong Kong musicians to be able to settle into a jam on a weekday afternoon. No daytime job attached.

Chet Lam is a very busy man. He sits down sweating and panting and apologizes politely for being late, then goes on talking about the endless list of projects he is working on: Once in a Life Time, a musical theatre performance dedicated to his mum (and a soundtrack to present to her before April 11, his 31st birthday), a tour of China and Taiwan in May, the creation of his own music label, gigs he is setting up for other artists, an online shop on his website, his regular newspaper column and, of course, promotion of his latest recording, The Private Life of C.

Life has become very different from the days he picked up a guitar and sang anonymously on the street, but there is a side to Chet Lam that hasn’t changed: he is still absent-minded, losing 10 cell phones in the past five years, and still feels like a groupie when standing beside his childhood music heroine Tsai Chin. Nevertheless, Lam’s latest album is a double-disc set of 15 songs. It describes “the essence of my diaries for the last 10 years” as he puts it and reflects both the bright and dark side in his life.

After seven studio recordings, what does he consider most important when producing such an album? “The concept. You can learn the technical stuff while making the album, but the sound and message of the music must be solid,” he says. He cites New York writer Paul Auster’s The Brooklyn Follies as an inspiration for the album – it is a series of stories about an ordinary person living in a flourishing, bustling city. But then Lam is no longer so ordinary. He is now a recognizable face in the city and even a target of the paparazzi but, as he says, that is what he has to bear to stay in the business.

Although he was deeply influenced by folk music and Taiwanese pop songs as he grew up, words are even more important to Lam than music. And that doesn’t only refer to lyrics and liner notes. He has published three books and “they sell even better than my records”, he says. “I think people like my words more than my music.” Indeed the notes on his latest album read like the autobiography of a musical soul. “I did think of putting out a book separately,” he smiles. “There is too much I want to say and I can’t help myself from writing.” And yet, now he is looking at something even bigger.

He has recently set up an office for his own music label or “family-run factory” as he calls it. Named LYFE and with the motto ‘Life With a Twist’, it will be a statement of his aim for all HK musicians – simply that they will be able to make a decent living out of music in the SAR. In accordance with this dream, last year he invested in 11 concerts in the Arts Centre (all sold out), and wants to use his experience to help out other musicians on the scene. For instance, in the immediate future he will set up gigs – with proper sound systems, lighting effects and other technical support – for hip-hop duo Fama and indie band Wild Child. Ultimately he aims to create a live music culture in the city.

Right now there are not enough hours in the day or days in the week for the musician/writer/actor/label owner/etc etc. Being so driven, does he consider himself successful? “I am just a typical hardworking Hong Konger,” he puts
down his cup of tea and deflects the question. “Maybe what I do is different from other Hong Kong people, but the spirit is the same.”