Peter Hook & The Light will perform Joy Division’s ‘Unknown Pleasures’ and ‘Closer’ live in Hong Kong on the 31 March, 2014.
Unknown Pleasures – A Joy Division Celebration from Peter Hook & The Light
When: 8pm, 31 March, 2013
Where: Star Hall – KITEC
How Much: $580, $480, $380 – Advance tickets are available at Music Life (Sino Centre, Mongkok). For enquiry, please call +852-27830135
Details: www.peterhook.co.uk
As part of an ongoing promotion of all things Italian, The Italian Cultural Institute of Hong Kong (part of the Consulate General of Italy) are bringing singer-songwriter Francesco Baccini to Hong Kong for a free concert at the Sheung Wan Civic Centre Theatre on the 28th October, 2013. The support band are local favourites Solar and you can register for free tickets here http://bit.ly/1a0UKiL
Francesco Baccini – Piano and Voice
Support: Solar
When: 8pm, 28 October, 2013
Where: Sheung Wan Civic Centre Theatre
How Much: Free, ticket registration http://bit.ly/1a0UKiL
Sinéad O’Connor wrote an open letter to Miley Cyrus after the 20-year-old claimed that Wrecking Ball’s controversial video was inspired by Nothing Compares 2 U, the Irish singer was compelled to warn Cyrus that she is being ‘pimped’ by the pop industry. This is the full text of O’Connor’s blogpost.
Dear Miley,
I wasn’t going to write this letter, but today I’ve been dodging phone calls from various newspapers who wished me to remark upon your having said in Rolling Stone your Wrecking Ball video was designed to be similar to the one for Nothing Compares… So this is what I need to say… And it is said in the spirit of motherliness and with love.
I am extremely concerned for you that those around you have led you to believe, or encouraged you in your own belief, that it is in any way ‘cool’ to be naked and licking sledgehammers in your videos. It is in fact the case that you will obscure your talent by allowing yourself to be pimped, whether its the music business or yourself doing the pimping.
Nothing but harm will come in the long run, from allowing yourself to be exploited, and it is absolutely NOT in ANY way an empowerment of yourself or any other young women, for you to send across the message that you are to be valued (even by you) more for your sexual appeal than your obvious talent.
I am happy to hear I am somewhat of a role model for you and I hope that because of that you will pay close attention to what I am telling you.
The music business doesn’t give a shit about you, or any of us. They will prostitute you for all you are worth, and cleverly make you think its what YOU wanted.. and when you end up in rehab as a result of being prostituted, ‘they’ will be sunning themselves on their yachts in Antigua, which they bought by selling your body and you will find yourself very alone.
None of the men oggling you give a shit about you either, do not be fooled. Many’s the woman mistook lust for love. If they want you sexually that doesn’t mean they give a fuck about you. All the more true when you unwittingly give the impression you don’t give much of a fuck about yourself. And when you employ people who give the impression they don’t give much of a fuck about you either. No one who cares about you could support your being pimped… and that includes you yourself.
Yes, I’m suggesting you don’t care for yourself. That has to change. You ought be protected as a precious young lady by anyone in your employ and anyone around you, including you. This is a dangerous world. We don’t encourage our daughters to walk around naked in it because it makes them prey for animals and less than animals, a distressing majority of whom work in the music industry and it’s associated media.
You are worth more than your body or your sexual appeal. The world of showbiz doesn’t see things that way, they like things to be seen the other way, whether they are magazines who want you on their cover, or whatever… Don’t be under any illusions… ALL of them want you because they’re making money off your youth and your beauty… which they could not do except for the fact your youth makes you blind to the evils of show business. If you have an innocent heart you can’t recognise those who do not.
I repeat, you have enough talent that you don’t need to let the music business make a prostitute of you. You shouldn’t let them make a fool of you either. Don’t think for a moment that any of them give a flying fuck about you. They’re there for the money… we’re there for the music. It has always been that way and it will always be that way. The sooner a young lady gets to know that, the sooner she can be REALLY in control.
You also said in Rolling Stone that your look is based on mine. The look I chose, I chose on purpose at a time when my record company were encouraging me to do what you have done. I felt I would rather be judged on my talent and not my looks. I am happy that I made that choice, not least because I do not find myself on the proverbial rag heap now that I am almost 47 yrs of age… which unfortunately many female artists who have based their image around their sexuality, end up on when they reach middle age.
Real empowerment of yourself as a woman would be to in future refuse to exploit your body or your sexuality in order for men to make money from you. I needn’t even ask the question… I’ve been in the business long enough to know that men are making more money than you are from you getting naked. Its really not at all cool. And its sending dangerous signals to other young women. Please in future say no when you are asked to prostitute yourself. Your body is for you and your boyfriend. It isn’t for every spunk-spewing dirtbag on the net, or every greedy record company executive to buy his mistresses diamonds with.
As for the shedding of the Hannah Montana image… whoever is telling you getting naked is the way to do that does absolutely NOT respect your talent, or you as a young lady. Your records are good enough for you not to need any shedding of Hannah Montana. She’s waaaaaaay gone by now … Not because you got naked but because you make great records.
Whether we like it or not, us females in the industry are role models and as such we have to be extremely careful what messages we send to other women. The message you keep sending is that its somehow cool to be prostituted… its so not cool Miley… its dangerous. Women are to be valued for so much more than their sexuality. we aren’t merely objects of desire. I would be encouraging you to send healthier messages to your peers… that they and you are worth more than what is currently going on in your career. Kindly fire any motherfucker who hasn’t expressed alarm, because they don’t care about you.
As posted on www.sineadoconnor.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUiTQvT0W_0
What: Alicia Keys “Set The World on Fire” Tour
When: 8pm, 22 November, 2013
Where: CotaiArena, Venetian
How Much: HKD/MOP$1,580, 980, 480. Tickets on sale: 10am, 4 October, 2013 from www.CotaiTicketing.com, or by phone at +853 2882 8818 (Macao) / +852 6333 6660 (HK) / 4001 206 618 (China)
Noughts and Exes teamed up with musicians from around Hong Kong for a flashmob performance of their song ‘Hearts’.
Moonlight and Passion
Hong Kong’s neon-lit concrete jungle stands bright against the night sky, a vibrant reminder of the city’s modernity and ability to continually evolve while retaining its unique identity. The Chinese lanterns that have become one of the symbols of the Mid-Autumn Festival float against the neon, their shapes and soft light a welcome traditional warmth in a cyber world.
Legends and and myths surrounding the origins of the Mid-Autumn/Lantern/Moon Cake Festival have, like our city home, evolved but the core traditions of families coming together, giving thanks for the harvest and past bounties, and praying/giving offerings for a good future remain strongly rooted. Into this convivial family festival João Marcos Mascarenhas and Sabrina Foote will be injecting some Latin passion and exuberance with their Festival de la Luna con Música Latina. bc chatted with them, trying to find what could possibly couple moon cakes with merengue.
When/how did your love of Latino music begin and how has it evolved over time?
Sabrina: Actually my love of Latino music began at very early stage when I was studying in London. I learned Spanish as a second language and used to spend most of my holidays in different cities in Spain. During that period, I joined and participated in all the Latin student unions and communities, hence spending a lot of time with different Spanish-speaking people from all the Latin countries. Then later I worked in the hospitality business in Spain.
I love the sound of Spanish with its very soft flowing speech and, together with the Latinos’ natural passions in life, the music and songs are so expressive and communicative, even for people who don’t speak the language.
After a long while away, recent time in different countries in Latin America has crafted me back into being almost a Latino again, especially in most of my music choices.
What prompted you to organise a concert marrying Latin passion with the family romance of the Mid-Autumn Festival?
Sabrina: In my experience with the Latin culture, celebrations and love feelings in daily life are demonstrated with warm gusto. Old customs of families gathering when there’s a full moon and celebrations of love through music and dance are very similar to the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival where families congregate, old and new romances are honoured, love ones come together, and children play among all the drinking, eating, music and dances.
I wanted to revive my secret passion for Latin music and at the same time promote Latin music in Hong Kong. Most importantly, I am very fortunate to have met a very devoted and talented Latin artist in João, my musical director, who is highly respected in the music industry and among the Latino communities.
Do you have any special musical plans for the Festival de la Luna con Música Latina?
João: Of course! The whole event by itself is already unique and special. But I have to say very proudly that my band is the most special feature. I am a hybrid of the academic, jazz, and commercial music worlds in composing/arranging/performing/producing/teaching/researching. All of that makes me very selective when it comes to choosing the right musicians to perform or record under my direction. For this band, I carefully chose the best Latino musicians, as I want the evening to be as authentic as possible. I got the crème de la crème of Latin musicians in Hong Kong! Simply, the best ones! My advice: Don’t miss Festival de la Luna con Música Latina!
For those who know nothing of música Latina, how would you describe the upcoming show?
An enjoyable evening to spend with your family and love ones with good food and romantic and energizing music with all the electrifying Latin rhythms of boleros, bachatas, merengue, salsa, samba, and much more.
For the singles; you never know – you might get lucky with all the Latin passion around!
Chris Polanco is your guest artist; what is it, do you think, that has allowed him to become one of the most sought-after drummers in Hong Kong?
João: My friendship with Chris started when I met him in 2001. At that time I was the music director at the Grand Hyatt; my Brazilian band worked there for 7 months, while Chris was working somewhere else. I believe we were the only Latino musicians in Hong Kong at that time, or maybe the first ones. We were somewhat pioneers! After that job I went back to Brazil to do some music production and then went to the USA to get my Masters in composition. Chris stayed in Hong Kong. Later, in 2007, I came back to start my PhD in music composition at HKU, which I finished last year. Chris had his own band, Azucar Latina, performing regularly in the Hong Kong area. Since I cannot get away from my Latino roots, every time I had a chance I would stop at Chris’s performances and jam. During this period I saw Chris becoming an excellent percussionist, keyboard player, and music producer. His charismatic personality and unquestionable musical talent put him in amongst the music stars of Hong Kong.
Joining Chris and João on the Grappas stage are El Salvador’s Oscar Azahar, a seasoned professional saxophonist; Colombia’s Fernando Nohra, a drummer who’s been performing across the globe for over 20 years; Mexican Victor Geronimo on the bass and providing backing vocals; Filipino John Ralph Campo, whose trumpet has been energizing crowds for years, and, last but not least, our very own Angelita Li whose vocals will add a touch of femininity to the Latino passions.
What: Festival de la Luna con Música Latina
When: 9pm, 19 September, 2013
Where: Grappa’s Cellar, Jardine House, 1 Connaught Road, Central
How Much: $288 (inc one drink) advance tickets from [email protected] / tel: 2521 2322
Fragile and emotional neoclassical are perhaps the best terms to describe Ólafur Arnalds music, a man who over the past 5 years by combining classical instrumentation with an ambient aesthetic has established himself as one of the most interesting musicians to emerge from Iceland’s vibrant music scene. His sorrowful neoclassical pieces evoked the stark minimalism of Sigur Rós, combined with the simple ambience explored by Brian Eno. Through these influences and others, Arnalds has created a simple, short-form take on modern classical music that has enough crossover appeal to be enjoyed by fans of post-rock, ambient, and even pop music genres – but Arnalds by mixing strings and piano with loops, ambiance, electronics and beats is sculpting his own epic, string-laden compositions.
Only 26 years of age, Arnalds returns to Hong Kong (after a sold out show in 2010) hard on the heels of his well-liked soundtrack to Broadchurch and in support of his ‘major label’ debut For Now I Am Winter which sees Arnalds adding an impressive amount of variety into what is already a well-established formula, what will be interesting is how the vocal embellishments to some of the new album’s tracks come across live?
To find out more have a listen https://soundcloud.com/olafur-arnalds
What: Ólafur Arnalds
When: 8pm, 16 September, 2013
Where: Grappa’s Cellar, Basement Jardine House, 1 Connaught Place, Hong Kong
How Much: $300 from http://olafurarnalds.ticketflap.com
Cold Cave Live in Hong Kong @ Saffron on the Peak – 9pm, 18 May 2013
Wesley Eisold, the man behind Philadelphia’s Cold Cave, is the former frontman for hardcore bands like Some Girls, American Nightmare, and Give Up the Ghost. He was also involved in a plagiarism controversy with Pete Wentz and receives a songwriting credit on a Fall Out Boy album. Not exactly the first person you’d expect to be making beautiful, experimental synthpop.
Cold Cave weaves incomprehensibly distorted vocals with bits of synthetic feedback. But songs like “Love Comes Close”, “Life Magazine” and “Confetti” also come bearing serious hooks. That mixture of postpunk unease and fluid bleep would’ve made Cold Cave fit right in on the early-80s Factory Records roster alongside Section 25 or the Durutti Column.
As with their ancestors, for Cold Cave the synthesizer is as much about mayhem as it is melody. It is a means of conveying, via dissonance, ideas about disturbance and decay as effectively as the harshest guitar rock. Cold Cave strive for balance, between the ugly and the beautiful, between rupture and rapture. The songs on Cold Cave’s albums have an immediacy that belies their sometimes thought-provoking titles like “The Laurels of Erotomania” and “The Trees Grew Emotions And Died”. In this way they look to mark that transitional moment when synthesizer music went from a subversive device for sound collagists to a serious commercial force. They are cerebral and savage, yet sweet and seductive.
And their mainman Wesley Eisold is an absolute new young god of nihilism and despair. His interviews include quotes such as, “I couldn’t understand why people were wearing watches, because they seemed like hourglasses of death, keeping track of how much time was running out”. He talks of his “absolute fixation with nostalgia and the idea of people and loves that never happened, so much that I can’t function properly with the people in my actual life”. And in two pithy sentences – “I dread clubs but I love the music they play in them,” and “I find it all so disheartening, what we hope to find when we leave our homes,” – he strives to capture Cold Cave’s aesthetic: the Morrissey of “How Soon Is Now” wailing over Nitzer Ebb beats.
According to Eisold, if anything, their music reflects what it feels like to live in the present. Eisold, whose baritone is as rich and resonating as that of Phil Oakey, Nick Cave or Iggy Pop, says “Of course we love the lineage of the genre, early experiments with machines to convey human emotion; the marriage between pop and industrial music. At the time it was documenting the early stages of a new world, and we are recording what it feels like to be alive in that world.”
When asked whether there is a set of guiding principles at work here, a Cold Cave aesthetic that runs from the artwork to the music, he answers: “We spend a lot of thought choosing what we do. The artwork is as imperative as the music. It is the only imagery attached to the recording. We judge books by covers everyday and it is my hope to have the sleeves represent the emotion, or lack of, in the music.”
