Swedish Transmission
Being poor is not only an affliction of local indie musicians. It rules universally in the music industry, even when you are signed under a fairly well-known label and have had the fortune to tour North America and Asia. The Radio Dept., a dream-pop/shoegazing three-piece signed to Labrador, the same label that owns fine Scandinavian pop acts like Club 8, Pelle Carlberg and Edson, are still not rich - even after Sofia Coppola put three of their songs on the soundtrack of her movie Marie Antoinette. Still, the boys – Daniel Tjäder (keyboards), Martin Carlberg (guitar) and Johan Duncanson (guitar and vocals) – are grateful that although they sometimes have to supplement their income working with kids or the mentally disabled, they can nowadays mainly live off their music.

‘We don’t make a lot of money but we feel really privileged to be able to do this full time. It takes time to make an album for us because we live in different cities and, when we see each other to record songs, we often have new influences and want to create something new,’ explains Johan, on why it took them three years to make Pet Grief, the acclaimed follow-up to their debut album Lesser Matters. ‘We are not your everyday band that records an album in two weeks in a studio. We do things quite differently.’ By that he means the band insists on doing everything at home – the songwriting, the recording, mixing, cover art and T-shirt design. ‘We’re so DIY,’ he laughs.

Their third album, Clinging To A Scheme, was scheduled for release last September but has been postponed to this autumn. Again, it has been a three-year wait for fans. The album – as demonstrated in the first single Freddie and The Trojan Horse, a homage to krautrock – is said to be ‘influenced by minimalistic post-punk, krautrock and ambient noise’. But not, as Labrador’s website claims, ‘repetitive “motorik” beat’ which, according to the vocalist, is the label’s ‘cheesy way of putting it’. And he may be right, seeing that during recording the trio have been listening to the likes of Public Enemy, Stereolab and Saint Etienne, Durutti Column, Ariel Pink, Vangelis and Young Marble Giants.

Although the band declare themselves poor and are certainly not a household name, they do have ardent fans – at least in Hong Kong and Taiwan – and regional bloggers have been celebrating their ‘God-like’ band’s eventual descent into Asia. The Radio Dept. play Hong Kong after Shanghai and Beijing, then headline the Music Terminals festival in Taipei.

Those fans also know that their favourite band is not exactly the apple of Labrador’s eye. Being the straightforward person he is (of Pet Shop Boys and Sonic Youth’s respective new albums, he says, ‘I love Did You See Me Coming off the PSB album but apart from that song I wasn’t too impressed. I haven’t heard the SY album yet.’ As the two bands are The Radio Dept. influences he then adds, ‘Still love those bands though because they are so pretentious and arty,’) he is not reluctant to talk about how The Radio Dept. electro-noise pop doesn’t actually fit Labrador’s signature sweet twee-pop sound. ’We don’t like any of the Labrador bands musically. In Sweden people don’t see us as a Labrador band, more like the band who were signed to the wrong label,’ he says. ‘We have a bad record deal so we’re stuck for two more albums.’

The Radio Dept. play HITEC 3/F Auditorium on July 31 at 8pm. Tickets are $380 from HK Ticketing, 31 288 288.

Jun’s Check
Jun Kung is one of a kind – you will probably catch him working constantly with major pop stars by day and playing in a corner bar by night. He is also the kind of musician that may not be widely recognized on the street, but those in the know all regard the Macanese as one of the finest musicians in HK, and one who deserves more recognition. But he seems to be indifferent to this – his mind is solely on his music and he talks of his involvement in the new jazz group, Body Check.

On what’s he’s been up to… ‘I have been working on various projects. I am trying to finish my album and have been working on a lot of Cantopop concerts with artists I respect like Kay Tse, Justin Loo and Khalil Fong. It keeps me kind of busy but it is a blessing and I am proud to be working with people I really respect. I am working a lot on Khalil’s coming [Timeless] concerts but I am also working on a once-in-a-lifetime project called Body Check – I just cannot say no to this. Peter Scherr, who was the first person I played with when I started my career in HK, one day mentioned to me he had this idea of a summer tour with a group of musicians. I thought he was kidding – you know in HK a lot of people talk but do nothing. But he wasn’t kidding – so we gathered these cats and we are starting with two shows at Backstage.’

On Eugene Pao, who the busy drummer plays with regularly in Eugene and the POWS and the Eugene Pao Quartet… ‘Eugene is a mentor to me, and he is also someone who gives me hope. It is great to know and be friends with a living legend. Born and bred in a town like this, he is well known internationally as a musician. That taught me that one cannot blame the scene. Blame yourself for not putting in the effort to come out and play. You have to play – otherwise how can people see you or hire you for their next session?’

On playing with major acts, his bands with Eugene, with JUNK Unit and now Body Check… ‘The Cantopop thing is to pay the bills. But of course I enjoy it. I know people stereotype Cantopop but I think they are wrong. There is great Cantopop and there are great evergreen Cantopop songs. I think we are at a stage where certain formulae don’t work anymore – I am glad to see we have bands like Mr, RubberBand and Kolar instead of the same old Beyond. We have more than Beyond. And there are more artists releasing records through independent labels. I don’t dislike Cantopop – I like good Cantopop. I mean, you are a part of Hong Kong. How can you not care about what’s happening?’

On the importance of responsible drinking… ‘The other day I met an expat who has lived in Hong Kong for 15 years and he was saying Cantopop music this and Cantopop music that and I was like, “How dare you say that? You are part of the reason why people don’t respect our identity. There are local and amateur bands, come and support them.” It ended up that I realized alcohol makes a difference. Like my grandma says, if you cannot drink, don’t drink. When it gets into their system, people start talking stupid stuff and I am allergic to these people. HK has a good jazz scene, though, I must say – people do love jazz. A lot of expats do come to our gigs.’

On playing in Macau… ‘Macau is about catering – I do lots of corporate events in Macau. You have to give them what they paid for – you have to give them more than what they have paid for so they say, “Oh, this man is great! He is entertaining! Let’s get him again next time!”’

On his next album, release date uncertain… ‘I have been working on it since 2004. There are so many friends involved in this – it is like all my friends are there. It will be a pop, commercial album with songs I want to sing live. I am doing it the old way – I put out this album to sell shows. You know people don’t buy albums, but you hope maybe after they download it somewhere, they will come to see the show. I hope to start with some intimate shows and then grow to bigger venues towards the end of the year.’

Members of the new all-star jazz group Body Check are Jun (drums and electronics), Briggan Krauss (saxophone), Peter Scherr (bass) and New York’s much sought-after guitar slinger Teddy Kumpel, who has jammed with artists like Nine Inch Nails, Teddy Thompson and Feist. They will play at Backstage on August 6 at 10pm and August 7 at 10:30pm. Entry is $200 (with one standard drink).

Avoid If You’re Depressed
Often the experience of truly understanding the power of a musical group is personal – very personal. My awakening to Swiss-based gothic/darkwave duo Lacrimosa was back during Euro 2000, the 2000 EUFA Football Championship. After the Netherlands were knocked out by missing two penalties in 90 minutes and three more in the penalty shootout against the Italians, my heart sank and I dragged myself to bed. It was 5am – sunlight hit me through the window, and, not being able to sleep, I put on a record of Lacrimosa a friend had given me some time previously. When the heavy, intense and emotional music started to come out of my cheap stereo, the air froze and I couldn’t breathe. And when vocalist Anne Nurmi sang with that devilish and simultaneously angelic voice in a language I couldn’t comprehend, I started to weep. Today I still cannot decide if the tears were for the stupidest defeat of my favourite team or for the music but, putting my personal emotion aside, the Swiss duo still remain one of the best and most popular gothic rock units in Europe. And that from their first album in August 1991 till their latest, Sehnsucht, including both their sound and signature black-and-white artwork. The multi-talented pair – Tilo Wolff on vocals, piano, trumpet, flugelhorn and guitar and Anne Nurmi on vocals and keyboards – will be playing the HK leg of their world tour at HITEC Auditorium on August 6 at 8pm. Tickets are $680, $480 and $280 from Music Life (B/F, Sino Center, Nathan Road, Mong Kok, 2783 0135).

Chasing the Dragon
Gothenburg-based Little Dragon may have worked with other top notch Swedish exports like electro-jazz duo Koop and singer-songwriter José González, but their enigmatic mix of electro, jazz, pop and even R&B – thanks to the diverse musical tastes of the four high-school best friends – is what easily won their debut self-titled album approval from critics and audiences. The seductive voice behind the troupe, Swedish-Japanese vocalist Yukimi Nagano, talks of her temper, being raised by hippy parents and how she may have become a heavy metaller... not.

I have read that the name Little Dragon was “inspired” by your temper. How did it happen? How would you describe your character actually?
As a band of close friends you argue about stuff sometimes. I think we all have a temper more or less, so I would say that the guys are all Little Dragons in their own way. Maybe I’m the one with the more explosive temperament but it’s not that threatening. That’s why I’m a Little Dragon not a big dangerous one…

I have listened to the upcoming album Machine Dreams and the music seems darker this time. Is that a deliberate direction?
Yes, we like dark, mysterious sounds but I think there is a playful element in some songs as well, so we tried to keep it diverse. I would say that the new album is more up tempo and easy to dance to – that was a conscious choice. We love playing songs for a dancing crowd!

Any stories behind the songs in the new album that you can tell us now?
Feather is about being a woman with big aspirations, dreams and strength and is dedicated to female pride. Thunder Love is a about haunting, forbidden love.

Born to Japanese and American parents you once described as hippies, you grew up in Sweden. Did your parents do anything crazy during your upbringing?
My mother brainwashed me with astrology in a harmless way. She also influenced my relationship to food and has made me feel at home in health-food stores. My dad is just a very disoriented, forgetful, dreamy, control freakish workaholic. I’m a lot like him in certain ways – I don’t know if it is because of how he raised me or just genetic. Both my parents are quite childish or in touch with there childish sides. I think it has affected me in a good way.

When Little Dragon first started out, things were a bit rough weren’t they? Looking back, what are your fondest memories of those times?
Things are still rough and we are still working hard to get things to go around. We have had a lot of good tours together and we have grown musically.

Little Dragon is your and your best friend’s project but, as rock’n’roll goes, people develop different ambitions, different career paths and so on. Has this ever concerned you?
Of course! But why worry about that now because we love playing together at the moment and we are enjoying these moments so much. But, sure, perhaps one day when we are all grey-haired or without hair or teeth we might call it off.

Did it ever occur to you that, living in Gothenburg, a city where black metal rules, you might have actually ended up being in a metal band? Do you listen to metal music at all?
It never occurred to me. Metal is not my cup of tea…

You have worked with Koop and José González and were well received. Who would you want to work with in future?
Just Little Dragon, none other. Though I will always sing back-up for José González because I love him, but that’s different…

What are you listening to these days and what you think of those records?
LCD Sound System, Prince and Michael Jackson, of course. Also South African
house music! Since we have been driving long distances in the van on this tour, there’s been a lot of minimal house on the stereo.

Little Dragon are Yukimi Nagano (vocals, percussion), Erik Bodin (drums), Fredrik Källgren Wallin (bass) and Håkan Wirenstrand (keyboards). Their second album Machine Dreams will hit the street this month. They will play at Grappa’s Cellar on August 7 at 8:30pm. Advance tickets at $260 are available from HK Records outlets, Grappa’s Cellar and Love Da Records; a walk-in ticket on the day is $300. All tickets include a drink.

Facts of Life
When he started collecting records at 12, Wayne Cristaudo came across names of philosophers like Nietzsche and Kant as he read interviews with educated singers and musicians. He later fell in love with philosophy in university and now he cannot separate music and philosophy anymore. ‘For me, music and philosophy are both about expressing truths about life and the soul, about our aspirations and grief,’ he says. To him, the relationship between philosophy and songwriting is a very strong. ‘But perhaps it helps to make sense of that by saying I think songwriters like Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Townes van Zandt, Nick Cave, Johnny Cash, Tom Waits, Gene Clarke, Pete Townshend have brilliant minds and that their songs illuminate – even when they are singing about the darkest and most despairing of subject matter.’ To illustrate that, he is hoping to write a book one day in which he will argue that the most important spiritual writings of the late 20th century are to be found among singer/songwriters. Cristaudo’s last book is titled Power, Love and Evil: Contribution to a Philosophy of the Damaged – you can get a copy at his next live show at Fringe Club where he will play with his band, the Psy Kung Cowboys.

But do not worry – you don’t have to be a scholar to enjoy Cristaudo’s music. ‘My songs do not so much seek to express ideas from Aristotle, Plato or Nietzsche – all of whom I have written on – but rather I am only interested in philosophy in so far as it deals with life and death; and my music is the same.’ The title song to his last album, When the Night Does Fall, is about the process of dying. With a heavy touch of blues and country, one can easily associated his sound with the musicians he admires like Tom Waits and Nick Cave. He released When the Night Does Fall last year (and confesses he still has copies stacked up at home as he is very slack at promotion), and is planning to put out the follow-up, Perfect Sea, next January. As for the coming show, other than songs from his own catalogue, expect a few covers from artists like Ronnie Lane and Townes van Zandt. He does share some connection with what Van Zandt once said about Pancho and Lefty, a song about two bandits. ‘He said he wrote it two weeks before he saw the same story on television. Songwriting does have this incredibly predictive power,’ he says. ‘My song Perfect Sea, unbeknownst to me at the time, contained the next 10 years of my life in about six lines.’

Cristaudo is playing with Psy Kung Cowboys – Pete Scherr (bass), Johnny Abraham (drummer) and Jose Dan (guitar) – on July 31 at 10:30pm at the Fringe Club. Tickets are $100 in advance from the Fringe Club box office or $125 at the door.

Underground News
Things have been a bit quiet after Soler returned to Underground but the fun starts rolling again on August 8 at Melting Pot as Underground 83 brings together indie veteran 22Cats, newcomer Tacit Closet and InRadio, rock diva Reign Lee and the long-awaited Noughts & Exes, and also Forget the G from Macau for a strong line-up of local original music. The show starts at 9pm, entry is $100.

Meanwhile, those whose ambition is to be the next U2 (or whatever band you look up to) pay attention – entries for the GBOB open on August 1. Register at http://gbob.com/china – the application fee is $50 per person and the HK heats will take place in September and October. Winners of the China final will fly to London for the world final, where the prize will be US$100,000 and a week in a top London recording studio with a producer.

Under the Table
This year’s HK Arts Festival saw Polish group Karbido amaze local audiences with a table they built and equipped with all sorts of surprising objects that make music as you have never heard before. And now you can have the ‘table’ of your own. Thirty-five-year-old artist Tor Clausen, who bases his woodwork shop in Olympia, is a music lover and guitar player. After graduating with a degree in natural science and design, he developed a musical furniture invention career some 15 years ago. An exhibition of his work is now open in Shatin Home Square – and the most “playable” of his furniture must be the Rumba Table. It has 16 modules with interchangeable percussion inserts such as tambourine, bongo, shaker, bell and chimes, which means you can literally jam with your family over the dining table – though, you may not actually eat off a US$28,000 piece of furniture. ‘Well, the people who can buy it won’t think it is expensive,’ smiles the creative designer. Also in the exhibition are another table, a treasure chest and a garden swing. Each piece of musical furniture takes him about a week to finish, though the Rumba Table took much longer. His works are now patented in the US. ‘The most difficult thing about making these is to make them flat and smooth yet so that they can make different sounds,’ says Clausen.

He will ‘perform’ with local percussion group Four Gig Heads during the exhibition – as far as he remembers, this will be the first time a group of professional musicians performs with his furniture. ‘It is really exciting,’ he says. Local sound artist Phoebe Hui was also invited to create musical furniture for the event. Her “fingerboard” bar table is, literally, a bar table which the 2nd Bloomberg Emerging Artist Award winner made herself. She also wrote a software program through which users can switch between playing the piano table and simply listening to different songs through a touch-screen monitor installed in the table itself.

You can try the musical furniture at Rhythm @ Home exhibition from now till August 16 at HomeSquare (Atrium, Level One, HomeSquare, 138 Shatin Rural Committee Road, Shatin, 2634 0666). There will be two music performances by Four Gig Heads at 2pm and 4pm on the weekends. Entry is free and opening hours are from 11pm to 9pm.