words rachel mok

Indie music making takes place against the odds in Macau.

I was to meet Macau dream-pop four-piece Evade in a café right in the heart of Macau’s Senado Square, but first I checked out the tiny record store Pinto Musica nearby, which guitarist Brandon later said is the “only proper record shop” in the city. Our original plan for the interview was to get a drink someplace with live music, but after singer Sonia sounded out her band mates, no one could come up with a venue – unless it was a casino. I started to have a bad feeling about looking into the indie music scene of this former Portuguese colony.

My first encounter with Evade was in the middle of March – they were playing at the opening party of a street-art exhibition over here in Hong Kong. Vocalist Sonia, carrying a mysterious little purse throughout the whole set, made beautiful noises along with those sensual beats and dreamy guitar riffs. Though I was curious about the purse, and was entranced by the music with its easily identified influences – Cocteau Twins, Slowdive, World’s End Girlfriend… When they introduced themselves and said they were from Macau, I can’t deny I was surprised.

“How many local band gigs are there a week in Hong Kong?” Brandon asks before our present interview ‘officially’ begins. I say there are quite a few, and Sonia butts in, “So you can count the number of gigs on a weekly basis. We do it on a yearly basis… around five to six shows a year, I think.” What with music-making being so rare in Macau, the formation of Evade was a huge coincidence. When Brandon entered a music contest in secondary school, he was introduced to Sonia through a common friend – whose name they both have forgotten! – and they discovered a shared taste in music. Their respective groups were eliminated in the first round of the competition and they decided to form their own band. Evade was born in August 2004 as a typical rock group – the singer, the guitarist and a drummer. But it just didn’t sound right; electronic and dream-pop are where their roots lie. So soon Sonia’s boyfriend, Jason, joined as bassist and Brandon’s clubbing buddy, Faye, was seconded as the laptop artist.

With few chances to play in what was the last European colony in Asia, the band have performed in Hong Kong twice and notice differences in the two SARs’ audiences. “After the last show in Hong Kong, we were approached by six or seven of the audience, asking where they could find out more about our music,” Sonia recalls. “I was so happy.” Faye adds that the difference in culture can be extreme. “Here (in Macau) people come for the show because they have nothing better to do. After you play, they won’t bother to come up and talk to you,” he says. In a city with a population of half a million, not that many are so into music that they will actually pick up an instrument and start their own band. “There are people who like and play music,” says the guitarist, “but just not enough to create a scene.” And Hong Kong indie rockers think they have it bad!

The band agree that in Hong Kong, not only are the facilities better but music lovers have more chance of being exposed to artists of all genres. “Bands in Hong Kong are more substantial. They won’t disappear suddenly… usually they can at least release a record,” Faye shares his view on our music scene. “At least you have HMV.” That’s why Evade have put releasing their first EP before everything else. That EP, made on a ‘dream’ theme, will, the band hope, be printed and distributed in Asia’s World City after the Olympics, though Evade are also looking for a release in the Taiwan market.

As the interview draws to a close, I am curious about what the quartet like to do besides make music in this casino-dominated city. They smile, embarrassed, and stare at each other. “I think it must be that thing…” Sonia speaks for the guys. “Dating.” Honest and direct, the band are just as lovable as their music. And now, what about that purse in the live gig? Was it a trick? “Oh no, it was just my mobile phone,” says the singer. “Jason couldn’t play that gig and I was worried he would call during the show, so I carried the phone with me during the set just in case!”