After a couple of singles, local band Streets of Rage have released their debut EP Raw Dog.
The five-song collection is a mix of cynical and optimistic tunes about life in the 2020’s from five dudes who as they describe themselves on Facebook have “No agenda, no negativity, no hate, just a bunch of dudes who love making heavy music”.
Grab a copy on Bandcamp streetsofragehk.bandcamp.com
A slew of local artists including AGA, Alfred Hui, Gin Lee, Jay Fung, Joyce Cheng, MIRROR, Edan Lui and the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra created a distinctly Hong Kong style Countdown Concert in West Kowloon.
Live music has been one of the industries hardest hit by Covid and after a 2021 almost devoid of concerts, we can only hope that the Countdown Concert is the start of a year full of gigs and the uplifting feeling and happiness that sharing live music brings.
The concert was live-streamed on New Year’s Eve and is now available on the HKTB youtube channel.
https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2022/Hong-Kong-Countdown-Concert-West-Kowloon-31-December-2021/i-T2X9s6B
https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2022/Hong-Kong-Countdown-Concert-West-Kowloon-31-December-2021/i-rsFHkjQ
https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2022/Hong-Kong-Countdown-Concert-West-Kowloon-31-December-2021/i-74BN29d
https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2022/Hong-Kong-Countdown-Concert-West-Kowloon-31-December-2021/i-bd7Hd7D
https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2022/Hong-Kong-Countdown-Concert-West-Kowloon-31-December-2021/i-HPhPb6q
1.《＠princejoyce》鄭欣宜 (Joyce Cheng)
2.《Megahit》Anson Lo@MIRROR
3.《喘息空間》 Gin Lee
4.《金星女孩》Anson Kong@MIRROR
5.《Wonderful U》AGA
6.《So Called Love Song》AGA
7.《理性與任性之間》AGA
8.《開始倒數》AGA、 Jay Fung
9.《3am》AGA、 Jay Fung
10.《冬日寂寞考》Jay Fung
11.《思念即地獄》Jay Fung
12《另一個諾貝爾》陳卓賢@MIRROR
13.《狂人日記》Jer@MIRROR
14.《Tonight》AGA x 香港管弦樂團 (HK Philharmonic Orchestra)
15.《一步一悔過》Jay Fung x 香港管弦樂團 (HK Philharmonic Orchestra)
16.《女神》鄭欣宜 (Joyce Cheng) x 香港管弦樂團 (HK Philharmonic Orchestra)
17.《e先生連環不幸事件》Edan x 香港管弦樂團 (HK Philharmonic Orchestra)
18.《日出時讓街燈安睡》GinLee x 香港管弦樂團 (HK Philharmonic Orchestra)
19.《青春頌》許廷鏗 (Alfred Hui) x 香港管弦樂團 (HK Philharmonic Orchestra)
20.《IDK》Gin Lee
21.《幸福門》Gin Lee
22.《先哭為敬》Gin Lee、《很堅強》鄭欣宜 (Joyce Cheng)
23.《最難行的路》鄭欣宜 (Joyce Cheng)
24.《天下無雙》許廷鏗 x Jay Fung
25.《我的快樂時代》許廷鏗 (Alfred Hui) x Jay Fung
26.《修羅場》許廷鏗 (Alfred Hui)
27.《佛系人生》許廷鏗 (Alfred Hui)
28.《停半分鐘聽一闋歌》許廷鏗 (Alfred Hui)
29. 《鏡中鏡》姜濤
30. 《12》MIRROR
31.《BOSS》MIRROR
32《IGNITED》MIRROR
https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2022/Hong-Kong-Countdown-Concert-West-Kowloon-31-December-2021/i-F3NbqsH
photos: HKTB
Poet Amanda Gorman has Instagrammed a video of herself reciting her new poem inside an empty theatre. Gorman said “I wrote A New Day’s Lyric both to celebrate the new year & honour both the hurt & the humanity of the last one.”
Ahead of the poem’s release, Gorman is quoted in a Vanity Fair interview that A New Day’s Lyric was partly inspired by the stories of grief and perseverance she’s seen shared on social media.
Earlier in December, Gorman published the poetry collection Call Us What We Carry.
May this be the day
We come together.
Mourning, we come to mend,
Withered, we come to weather,
Torn, we come to tend,
Battered, we come to better.
Tethered by this year of yearning,
We are learning
That though we weren’t ready for this,
We have been readied by it.
We steadily vow that no matter
How we are weighed down,
We must always pave a way forward.
This hope is our door, our portal.
Even if we never get back to normal,
Someday we can venture beyond it,
To leave the known and take the first steps.
So let us not return to what was normal,
But reach toward what is next.
What was cursed, we will cure.
What was plagued, we will prove pure.
Where we tend to argue, we will try to agree,
Those fortunes we forswore, now the future we foresee,
Where we weren’t aware, we’re now awake;
Those moments we missed
Are now these moments we make,
The moments we meet,
And our hearts, once all together beaten,
Now all together beat.
Come, look up with kindness yet,
For even solace can be sourced from sorrow.
We remember, not just for the sake of yesterday,
But to take on tomorrow.
We heed this old spirit,
In a new day’s lyric,
In our hearts, we hear it:
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne.
Be bold, sang Time this year,
Be bold, sang Time,
For when you honor yesterday,
Tomorrow ye will find.
Know what we’ve fought
Need not be forgot nor for none.
It defines us, binds us as one,
Come over, join this day just begun.
For wherever we come together,
We will forever overcome.
Even looking behind the mirror there’s not been much to get excited about for local live music fans over the last 18 months as COVID and government regulations have decimated live music and concert venues.
Sometimes though, behind a cloud there is actually a silver lining as fans of the iconic hardcore band King Ly Chee found earlier this month with the surprise announcement of the band’s first concert in four years.
As resurrections go, this was totally unexpected – seismically similar to the ABBA reunion among pop fans perhaps – as the band’s break-up in 2017 seemed terminal with former members all getting involved in new bands and musical projects.
In 1999 when Pakistani frontman Riz Farooqi returned to his birthplace from New York ‘hardcore’ barely existed in Hong Kong. Riz though was a passionate devote… finding happiness, joy and release/freedom in the music and community.
Finding some like-minded musicians King Ly Chee was born and a generation of HongKongers found their voice and identity in Hong Kong hardcore.
bc magazine spoke with Riz Farooqi ahead of their new concerts:
King Ly Chee live again, honestly didn’t expect to see that to happen – how did it come about?
The band ended in 2017. I carried the band through numerous lineup changes which I did because I had made a commitment to myself back when I started the band in 1999 that I would keep it going no matter what. So regardless of who left I just kept it going which is why it ended up feeling like a revolving door of members. But by 2017 I was done looking for new people – it finally came to a point that it just wasn’t right to keep replacing people. That particular lineup that ended in 2017 included a total of 5 people (Myself, Ivan, Brian, Ho, and Joe) who pretty much made the band their lives and dropped everything to be able to honour commitments when it came to shows, touring and recording.
So in 2017 it was done and I was ready to move on with my new band Dagger.
But then Covid came and put a complete stop to Dagger because my drummer, Ivan, lives in Macau. In fact the very last show I’ve played was two years ago when Dagger played at The Wanch in Feb of 2020 which was also the last time I saw Ivan. So it’s been two years of absolutely nothing going on in my life. NOTHING. I even started another band, Regret, in that time trying to get the fire going again. But the drummer of that band, Egas, ALSO lives in Macau.
I started reminiscing and a bunch of old KLC photos and videos kept popping up on my newsfeed. These photos were from an era of the band that was MOST beloved by Hong Kong. That’s not even an understatement…looking at all those photos and videos of people right here in Hong Kong losing their minds to this band was something that really meant a lot to me. Interestingly enough the drummer for that era is an amazing dude named Kevin (out of all the band members I’ve had the honour to play with in KLC, he was always the closest to me – like a full-on brother), just so happened was also missing that era too. I contacted Andy who played guitar back then and the three of us decided to try it out to see how it felt. It was just a quick jam – but we ripped through all those songs as if literally NO time had passed. After the first jam we all kinda sat there smiling from ear to ear.
There have been many members of King Ly Chee since 1999, who will be in the 2021-22 line-up?
That’s the thing. When people ask if we’d ever reunite I always say, “which era”? For Hong Kong there was never any doubt that the ‘Stand Strong’ era would be it. So the band that is back together is myself, Kevin, and Andy (Unfortunately Alex is not in Hong Kong so it won’t include him, but our good friend Ho (also an ex-member of KLC) will be on bass).
What has it felt like to prepare for a gig and play the King Ly Chee songs again after such a long time?
As mentioned above, it was like literally no time had passed. Kevin, Andy and I got right back into it and the craziest part was that the vibe was exactly the same from back then. People have to understand, we’re talking about something we did almost 20 years ago, and for it to click like the way it did today in 2021 is something none of us envisioned. But it felt right being back in the practice room together and we’re currently gearing up to play the first of our comeback shows. We’re STOKED.
For those who might recognise the name but don’t know the band, can you give us a quick potted history of who are/were King Ly Chee?
King Ly Chee is a hardcore band I started back in 1999 as a way to introduce the world of “hardcore” to HKers. I wanted to introduce this underground culture in a language that was more easily digestible to the local population (Cantonese) because it’s what saved my life once (as did metal and punk rock) and I wanted to see if it could help others as well.
Are you going to record/film/live stream the upcoming King Ly Chee shows?
The current plan is to film the first show back and then see what happens.
The first show sold out in minutes, the second almost as quickly – is King Ly Chee back as a band? Will there be any new KL songs?
We have been totally shocked by how fast both shows sold out!
Yes, we have 2 brand new songs done and will continue to write into the new year. We’ve talked about maybe getting a brand new EP out in 2022 but will see how it goes. The most important thing about getting back together is to just have fun and put zero stress on each other. All of us are married, have full-time jobs, the majority of us have children, we’re just getting back together to have fun, play shows, write music, and use this all to have an excuse to be in the same room together.
Which of the various online music channels can readers buy/stream King Ly Chee?
We’re on everything – bandcamp being the best because bands get paid the best on this platform.
Where can people purchase King Ly Chee albums, merchandise?
Currently, the only store selling our stuff in Hong Kong is the amazing Infree Records in Mong Kok run by a true HK legend Soni. If you all haven’t visited this store yet, you’re missing out on an absolute cultural event.
As a musician what has been the hardest aspect of life under COVID?
Not being able to play shows and tour. I couldn’t care less about recording – I actually HATE recording – being a studio musician/band has never interested me at all. For me the whole point of being in a band is to actually play shows in front of people engaging with music screaming their heads off.
Apart from the King Ly Chee gigs, what’s on the musical horizon for your other bands Dagger and Regret.
Nothing else…not until it’s easier for people to travel to Hong Kong.
Apart from writing, singing and performing in three bands Riz Farooqi started and runs the hardcore website UniteAsia which brings together bands and fans of hardcore, punk, metal from across Asia.
https://www.bcmagazine.net/2017/05/07/king-ly-chee-break-up/
https://daily.bandcamp.com/features/riz-farooqi-interview
Vice: How King Ly Chee Is Keeping Hong Kong Hardcore Alive
Facebook: www.facebook.com/kinglychee
Instagram: kinglychee
Bandcamp: https://kinglychee.bandcamp.com
Spotify: King Ly Chee
King Ly Chee @ Cultkey – 27 December 2021
King Ly Chee @ The aftermath – 29 January 2022
images: skipp zhang, fb
The Wanch team announced on their website and Facebook page today that the popular live music venue will reopen in early 2022. The new location will be just along the street from its previous incarnation at 90-92 Jaffe Road in what was previously Uptown 90. That’s opposite Joe Bananas.
Here is the post:
“Hi Everyone,
It has been challenging times since the pandemic hit worldwide in 2020. Times have been difficult for individuals, businesses, and the arts. It was a difficult decision to suspend operation of The Wanch back in August 2020, but a necessary one. At that time we made a promise to Hong Kong and the music community to reopen The Wanch when the time was right.
Well that time has come as on Dec. 1st we take possession of the venue that will become the new home of The Wanch at 90-92 Jaffe Rd, 1st Floor Henan Building (Formerly Uptown 90). Renovation starts the same day and we are targeting to open the doors with our first show sometime in Feb. 2022.
We will keep you all updated on the progress of the renovation with weekly pictures & videos on our website, Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter. We look forward to rocking Hong Kong once again and joining all the other music venues that have been keeping live music alive. We look forward to being part of Hong Kong’s music scene & community once again.
Take care & watch for our updates.”
Many of Hong Kong’s musical legends created marvellous memories in the old location. Let’s hope the new Wanch inspires a new generation to create and inspire the beauty and sensuous pleasure that is ‘live music’.
The Wanch
1/F Henan Building (Formerly Uptown 90)
90-92 Jaffe Road
Wanchai
It’s Official! The revised dates for the eleventh Gay Games in Hong Kong are 3-11 November 2023.
The organising committee announced the new dates, a new logo and website, www.gghk2023.com. But said that the #UnityInDiversity message remains the same as they want to make the Gay Games in Asia the most diverse and inclusive ever.
The updated logo sees the six colours of the pride rainbow on the iconic Sampan joined by the additional colours of Black, Brown, Pink, Baby Blue and White. “Inspired by Daniel Quasar’s Progress Pride Flag, the new colours represent the marginalised communities of people of colour, trans individuals, those living with HIV/AIDS and those who have been lost; their inclusion into our icon reflects our genuine hope to celebrate diversity, inclusion and community in the widest possible sense.”
The 9-day events program for 2023 remains the same and features 36 Sport Events, an Arts & Culture programme, a Festival Village and the Opening/Closing Ceremonies.
The games are open to all adults over 18, regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation, nationality, or ability.
Gay Games Hong Kong 2023
Date: 3-11 November, 2023
Venue: Hong Kong
Tickets: Free
The Hong Kong Tourism Board will hold its first-ever New Year countdown concert at the West Kowloon Cultural District, Art Park.
Tickets for the concert, which will feature Mirror, Gin Lee, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Alfred Hui, AGA and other local singers are free and will be distributed by lucky draw. The concert will be live-streamed for those without a ticket.
Registration for the ticket draw is from November 15 to 26 at https://nycdconcert.discoverhongkong.com
Attendees must be double jabbed, wear face masks and use the LeaveHomeSafe app.
New Year Countdown Concert
Date: 10pm, 31 December, 2021
Venue: West Kowloon Cultural District, Art Park
Tickets: Free
The Hong Kong French Film Festival (HKFFF) celebrates its 50th edition this year. Since 1953, the festival has brought more than 1600 French films to local screens.
Organized by the Alliance Française de Hong Kong, and featuring more than 50 films, the 50th HKFFF runs from 24 November – 14 December at 5 cinemas. A full screening schedule can be found on the festival’s website.
The HKFFF’s opens with two films Martin Bourboulon‘s Eiffel and Titane by Julia Ducournau. There’s a tribute to female directors and a collaboration with Greenpeace – Cinema for the Climate.
50th Hong Kong French Film Festival
Date: 24 November – 14 December, 2021
Venue: Various cinema and online
Tickets: various
More info:
www.hkfrenchfilmfestival.com
