Five Favourites
Peco Chui, singer-songwriter

Favourite album of all time?
Björk’s Gling Glo. I thought her rock-style vocals would be hard to harmonize with light jazz, but surprisingly the combination on this album has a spectacular chemical reaction. It also gives me inspiration to pursue breakthroughs in my music.

Favourite composer of all time?
Frederic Chopin. Playing Chopin is one of my greatest satisfactions as it demands a high level of skill and also the good use of harmonies in his compositions is very pleasant. My compositions have been inspired by Chopin’s harmonies and the mood of his music, which is romantic and sentimental.

Favourite lyricist of all time?
Lin Xi. I like his lyrics so much because you may not understand the meaning of the song instantly, but you get more meaning after listening several times. From his lyrics you come to reflect on topics such as relationships with family, friends and your beloved. Especially in love, it seems he can grasp one’s feelings and read one’s mind thoroughly.

Favourite film of all time?
This has to be the Canadian film Cube. It is a comparatively low-budget production, but the director managed to reveal hidden characteristics of human beings.

Favourite sport of all time?
My favourite sport is badminton, which is good for training reactions. Compared to other sports like basketball or soccer, it is also not as easy to get hurt playing badminton.

In Dream Peco Chui & Little Friends Charity Concert, Chui will perform together with special guest Jade Kwan. All proceeds from the show will go to From 0 Alliance, which provides financial assistance to primary and secondary students in need. Tickets are $500, $280, $230 and $130 from HK Ticketing, 31 288 288. The show starts at 7:45pm at the HK Polytechnic University’s Jockey Club Auditorium.

Blooming Weeps
Well-known for his melancholic pop hymns, 31-year-old German singer-songwriter Maximilian Hecker probably appears to his fans as weepy and sentimental. Yet he doesn’t consider his music sad at all. He talks about his sound, favourite Faye Wong tunes and Kate Moss between recording sessions for his new album in Berlin.

You are making your fifth album, but you have said your music style will always be similar to previous work. Do you feel any pressure that people may say you are just repeating yourself?
No. (chuckles) I think the style [of my music] is always very similar. I don’t make music to be in the market or to put myself in contest with other musicians. I make music because it is my way of expressing myself and it enables me to feel. I am not a musician who thinks that I have to change anything because, for me, my music works and it is good.

Your music is beautiful, but sad. But then I saw some photo shoots you did with the media and you just look like the boy next door. How much does your music reflect your reality?
This is my favourite question. To me, my songs are not sad at all. They are about happiness and bliss. Beautiful is positive and sad sounds negative, so I cannot see why those things come together. It is bliss being able to feel and have deep emotion in my music because in everyday life my character controls my emotion and blocks my channel to feel. Music unblocks this channel and to me it is a bliss. And people like my music because they like the feeling they get, but not because they want to be sad.

Though you don’t consider your music sad, do you think your music will sound different say, when you are happily in love or when you are down in your love life?
I have never been happily in love. It’s part of my fate. But nothing to worry about. I’m fine with that. The reason for a change in sound only depends on certain arrangements and instrumentations I choose for certain ideas for songs. The idea determines the sound. If, for example, an idea suggested an up-tempo rock arrangement, I’d always go for that, no matter if ‘rock’ is my standard style or not.

You actually covered Taiwan band Sodagreen’s songs in concerts and the first time you wrote a song for another artist, it was for Waa, former singer of Natural Q. Are you familiar with the Taiwan music scene?
The first time I went to Taipei, my Taiwanese label introduced me to musicians like Zhang Xuan, Faith Yang, Huang Xiao and, of course, Sodagreen. I really love all those musicians’ music a lot. They are all very talented. I also got to know them privately a little. We went out for drinks and some KTV a couple of times. I guess besides, for example, Qing-Feng Wu’s vocal sound, the similarity between me and all those musicians is their passionate approach regarding their songs.

What about the Hong Kong music scene?
I like Faye Wong a lot. On my last China tour, a fan gave me most of her albums as a gift, which I’m very grateful for. My favourite songs are Chess Piece, Dream Lover, Sky etc. If she was interested in a duet, I’d be up for it.

What about Kate Moss, the song – you have actually sent Kate your CD. Have you had a chance to meet her yet?
I’ve never met her and I don’t think she ever got the CD. But that’s not a problem. I’ve never ‘loved’ her or anything like that. In this song she functions as a symbol for something/ someone unattainable, as a ‘virtual muse’. And, as in traditional ‘minne’ (courtly love) songs, the singer who courts the woman knows he will never be able to fulfil his longing. The gap he feels between himself and the loved woman triggers his creativity. He finally realizes that with the help of his creation he is able to effectively overcome his longing.

Maximilian Hecker will stop by for his Spring Days in Bloom China tour on May 13 at Wei Hing Theatre at City University of HK. The show starts at 8pm. Tickets are $250 from Zoo Records or White Noise Records or $290 at door.

Electric Hands
French pianist Maxence Cyrin spent his childhood behind a piano studying classical music, but later discovered New Wave and electro industrial sounds which changed his whole musical career. His latest album, Modern Rhapsodies, transforms electronic classics from the likes of Aphex Twin, Depeche Mode and LFO into piano solos of his own. He shares some of the important albums that enlightened him with bc.

LFO – Frequencies
It was one of my first albums of electronic music. The melodies are splendid, the production is subtle and poetic. It’s very close to Kraftwerk but the sound and manner of playing are new. It’s definitive house music.

Keith Jarrett – The Köln Concert
This album is simply magic. It symbolises the freedom of a man in front of a piano. It’s like this man was touched by the hand of God – it’s very spiritual. I was already composing piano pieces but I think it really changed my way to approach the instrument.

Frank Sinatra – Only the Lonely
Daniel Darc from Taxi Girl (a French techno-pop band from the ’80’s) gave me the CD and I found it amazing. It was recorded in 1959 after Sinatra’s break [up] with Ava Gardner. It’s very sad and romantic. After that, I decided to be a crooner. It didn’t work very well but one day I’m sure I will sing some love songs!

Maxence Cyrin will perform for one night only as part of the Le French May on May 9 at Sheung Wan Civic Centre Theatre. The show starts at 8pm and tickets are $245 and $195 from URBTIX, 2734 9009.

Puppies Rock
Formed in Perpignan but launched in Paris, HushPuppies play the most straightforward rock sound you could expect from a French band. The five-piece are vocalist Olivier Jourdan, Wilfried Jourdan on keyboards, drummer Franck Pompidor, bassist Guillaume Le Guen and guitarist Cyrille Sudreaud. Before they smash the stage in Hong Kong, Cyrille talks to us about how French radio protects its language and he wants his own Kate Moss spread on toast…

What does ‘HushPuppies’ refer to?
As we have five people choosing everything about the band, it was the only name everyone could agree on. And it also refers to the shoes mods were wearing.

Bad Taste and Gold on the Doors and that “I want my Kate Moss/Everyday spread on my toast” line is about how ‘other things’ override the actual music and talent of an artist. Does this happen to HushPuppies as well?
We are not famous enough to [be overwhelmed] by this kind of problem, but we suffer from it as musicians every day – because people do care much more about your private life than your musical talent, and because today it’s those in excess who are selling…

But, truth be told, do you want your own Kate Moss?
Of course, who doesn’t?

“Who says that French don’t rock?” – any response to that?
None… that sentence is exactly what we’ve been trying to prove since our beginning. But if you’re talking about the language, French does not rock at all!

You once said singing in English makes “French radio pretty inaccessible”. Why?
It is because the radio cannot afford to put a lot of indie English-singing bands on air –because of the quotas, you need at least 40% of French-singing bands on a radio [station]. [It is also] because of the ‘French exception’ that makes us defend our language whatever the price, and because pop-rock is not a familiar style in our culture.

Can you teach us a French phrase that we can use during the show?
The show will be a surprise, because we always change according to the audience and the mood of the night. One thing you’ll have a big chance to hear is “Bonsoir, nous sommes HUSHPUPPIES!”

HushPuppies will play with Paris-based indie-rock/dance-pop band Balbec for Hong Kong is Gonna Say Yeah! on May 2. Local rocker The Lovesong will support. The show will start at 8pm at the Sheung Wan Civic Centre Theatre. Tickets are $300 and $220 from URBTIX, 2734 9009. And if you happen to miss the show, you can still catch Hushpuppies at Kapok (G/F, 9 Dragon Road, Tin Hau Temple Rd, Tin Hau) on May 4 at 4pm.

Underground 58
The line-up for this latest edition of Underground is strong, as six bands champ at the bit to bring you a night of original rock music. Consent, finalist of the 19th CASH Song Writers Quest, are joined by dirty rocker Gong Wu, post-rock/dream-pop newcomer The Fragile, the dark and experimental The Sinister Left, the finalist of World Battle of the Bands Hungry Ghosts and pop/rock five-piece KillerSoap. The show on May 3 at Club Cixi starts at 8pm and entry costs $100. Underground 59 will be held on May 17 at The Cavern. Bands playing are Modern Children, Skin Deep, Poubelle International and Velvette Vendetta.

Best of All Worlds
Saying an artist’s work is a mix of cultures may sound like a cliché, but considering Keren Ann’s multi-cultural background, it’s the right description. Born to a Russian Jewish father and an Indo (Javanese cum Dutch) mother, Keren Ann spent most of her childhood in Israel and Holland, but is now based in Paris and New York. With her fragile angelic voice and folkish tunes, the singer-songwriter has captured the hearts of an international audience since her English debut album Not Going Anywhere in 2003. Many would agree that listening to her music is like hearing her whisper directly into your ears, which may have something to do with her performance for Le French May’s Painting in Sound on May 12 selling out within two days of the box office opening. An extra show has been scheduled for May 13 at the HK Arts Centre’s Shouson Theatre – and, needless to say, if you want a ticket you will have to act fast. The music starts at 8pm and tickets are $300, $200 and $150 from URBTIX, 2734 9009 .

Blunt Sound
I am not sure how many James Blunt songs you can name other than the immortal You’re Beautiful, but the BRIT award-winning English singer-songwriter will be taking the stage in Hong Kong for the first time this month before hitting the road again with Sheryl Crow in July. Other than hits like You’re Beautiful and 1973, to discover the other side of the singer look out for side cuts like No Bravery, which the ex-military man penned during his service in Kosovo back in 1999. He will perform on May 15 at the HK Convention and Exhibition Centre’s Hall 3. Showtime is 8pm and tickets are $880, $680 and $480 from HK Ticketing, 31 288 288.

King’s Legacy
Elvis Presley has been dead for quite some time, but The King has never completely left the building for he lives on in the hearts of people like the members of the International Elvis Presley Fan Club (HK) which this month celebrates its 40th anniversary and simultaneously pays tribute to one of the greatest artists of all time. Club president Kelvin has been a member for 20 years – two thirds of his life. He recalls how he came across the King of Rock ’n’ Roll: “I was sitting in front of the TV doing my homework one day and it was showing a programme on Elvis. I asked my mum why there was a show about a dead person and she told me how famous an artist Elvis was.” Later, his mum bought him an Elvis cassette and that’s when he officially declared himself a fan of the king.

The fan club now holds three major commemorative events every year on Elvis’ birthday, death and the anniversary of the fan club’s founding. As the club rocks into its fourth decade, world-famous award-winning Elvis impersonator Nonie Yambao from the Philippines will perform at the celebration, while ‘HK Elvis’ Justin Lim and Johnny Ma together with Hiroshi from Japan will portray a life story of the artist. Popular singers of the ’60s Christine Samson, Danny Diaz and Philip Chan will also attend. The event is set to kick off at 6pm on May 1 at Grappa’s Cellar. A stage front seat costs $500, others $350 at the door, and that includes an Italian buffet dinner, two drinks and a lucky draw. Check out www.elvis.org.hk for more information or if you want to join the club.

Round-up