18 | Friday, May 8, 2020 HONG KONG EDITION | CHINA DAILY CULTURE HKHK

At Home With Art Online music rocks

Central’s The Aftermath Bar before social Imagine Imagine Imagine Records distancing founder Yuman Ng remembers the became the new excitement of finding Hong Kong normal. Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra’s “Phil Your references in Blur’s The Magic Whip. Life With Music” series of virtual concerts have reached tens of thousands of viewers through social media. PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY

With music venues closed, live music photography and video streaming platform Hong Kong Rocks! set up a 24-hour streaming service.

HK’s music-makers were quick to adapt Hong Kong indie music band Wow and to the new normal of sharing performances Flutter streams a show as part of their “Live@Home” series. online when COVID-19 arrived, ruling out a live

Hong Kong indie rock band Esimorp’s show was streamed on audience. Also, staying indoors seems to have inspired The Aftermath Bar’s online platform. a substantial body of new work, writes Rob Garratt in the second installment of a series on art in the time of a pandemic.

The mailouts into a schedule of locally- to drop in anytime,” explains founder unmitigated surprise from an act no longer- broadcast livestreams. Oliver Spiesshofer. “This has brought one expected to hear from again. But term outcome in people from all over the world, with there was more than nostalgia at stake; for those powering Levelling the curve about 50 people dropping in every day.” reconciling the pop hookiness which the city’s nightlife and Such enterprising online With little chance to exercise the in- made them famous with the artsy intro- entertainment infrastructure — activity spiraled as a direct person distribution model it relies on, spection of the band’s latter records. not just performers but the managers, antidote to an ever-longer music fanzine Press : Release has held Throughout, frontman Damon Albarn promoters, sound technicians and every- slump in live shows. out a new issue and instead taken to makes repeated, endearing local refer- one else who supports and depends on Large-scale concerts social media to highlight eclectic selec- ences, singing of “the slow boat to Lan- gigs and those who go to them — won’t and gatherings tions and livestreams. tau through misty seas” on Ong Ong, be clear for months. began to be canceled “There’s been a big hole in everyone’s and “Eight o’clock Kowloon emptiness” But rather than wallowing in woe, or scaled back in Hong lives, and we don’t know when it will be on Ghost Ship, while Thought I Was a this unprecedentedly bleak moment in Kong as early as filled,” says co-founder and publisher Spaceman invokes “The fi ght for Happy Britpop group Blur’s much- human history also inspired many pas- January end, disap- Nick Langford. “There’s no upside at Valley”, and Mirrorball evokes “Ocean loved album, The Magic Whip, ike moreL indus- sionate, industrious individuals to step pointment crest- ing all, no benefi t to musicians not being in Park where the seagulls cry” and riding was created when they got tries than it is wise up the game and bring the scene online early February with the front of people for a live performance “a Jordan train”. stranded in Hong Kong a few or possible to count, — whether by hosting livestreamed con- cancellation of the entire — just try and imagine your favorite art- “I just felt ‘wow’ — and then, OK nice, years ago. over the past three certs directly into audiences’ homes or 100-plus show Hong Kong ist playing not to a live audience, but a thanks,” remembers Yuman Ng, man- months Hong Kong’s live digging deep to curate social distancing- Arts Festival, while mourning smartphone screen? It’s tragic.” ager of Hong Kong-based Britpop reviv- music scene ground to a friendly content. mounted in March as international However, people staying indoors alists Black Co¡ ee and founder of local spluttering halt, as venues shut- Long before The Rolling Stones, Lady visits from Korean indie upstarts Hyu- has been good for Langford’s sec- indie label Imagine Imagine Imagine tered and social distancing became Gaga, Billie Eilish, Taylor Swift, et al koh and US rock icons Green Day, ond-hand record business, Vin- Records. our sad but sensible new normal. assembled virtually for “One World: Marilyn Manson, Pixies and Black tage Vinyl HK — clocking a Together At Home” — the April 19 Flag were all axed. 50 percent increase in sales Inspiration, information fundraiser which raised more than For local professional perform- compared with the same That such a short, inconsequential $120 million for the World Health ers, many who depend on the spot- period last year. period of empty time could birth such a Organization — Hong Kong had light for their livelihood, the coŸ n was “People are online, scout- satisfying surprise is a stunning example adapted to online-only entertain- fi nally nailed shut in early April, when all ing around, looking for some- of the mystical mechanics of artistic ment. nightlife venues were fi nally, and sensi- thing,” he adds. “Right now, people need inspiration, but also o¡ ers some solace Since mid-February, members of bly, ordered to close. a distraction.” to homegrown musicians, stuck at home Hong Kong Philharmonic Orches- Having made the decision some weeks and self-isolating, might draw from dur- tra have been sharing heartfelt solo earlier, the promoters behind Central’s Blurred lines ing this unique and frightening moment performance videos recorded in vibrant music and art hub The After- Amid the pandemic, few noted that in music history. their own homes, reaching tens of math Bar, took inspiration from venues April 28 marked the fi fth anniversary of Chris B directly contacted more than thousands of viewers across Face- in the US and Europe and decided to The Magic Whip — arguably one of the 100 Hong Kong bands to see how they book, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, take the music online. Presenting full, most high-profi le musical works of art are using the spell spent mostly at home WeChat and Weibo, as part of the evening-long multi-act bills from their conceived and created in Hong Kong. and apart, and was surprised to find A Hong Kong Sinfonietta virtual concert, in “Phil Your Life With Music” series. stage, with pro sound and shot on mul- The album was created by a visiting upbeat replies from more than half, the which each member of a violin quartet joins “Music is a source of courage, tiple cameras, they o¡ ered a welcome Western act, Britpop icons Blur, who majority of which were taking time out in from home. healing, calm and unity,” said chief improvement on individual artist’s DIY, authored their fi rst album of new mate- to work on new material — often fueled executive Benedikt Fohr. “It is our smartphone-shot bedroom e¡ orts. rial in 12 years, and likely swansong, by video conferencing software unimag- mission to share our passion with “We decided the best thing to do is during an unplanned stay in the city. inable to earlier generations. people everywhere, not just in desig- whatever we can to stay relevant,” said The circumstances of The Magic Whip While many rehearsal studios have nated venues but in other accessible co-founder Alicia Beale, adding that all might o¡ er some solace to today’s musi- been closed and musicians may choose ways. I hope our videos will brighten the acts and tech sta¡ volunteered to cians holed up in lockdown. Icons of an to self-isolate, apps like Zoom can now your life and keep us connected, work pro bono. “It’s been a cool creative earlier era, the heady 90s, Blur had no accommodate multiple players jamming until we meet again.” experience to fi gure out how to do it, apparent intention of creating new work in real time, without the stutters and Hong Kong Sinfonietta later everyone really connected in the scene — when they broke a lengthy hiatus to play delays that plagued us just a few years launched a similar concept, show- let’s just keep trying to do cool, interest- a series of lucrative reunion shows in ago. casing YouTube submissions from ing, creative things. And it looks good.” 2009, nor again in 2012 and 2013 — the “It’s interesting the way a lot of musi- its members stuck at home, under Meanwhile, after weeks of canceled latter of which included a May gig at cians are taking this as a chance to cre- the title “Staying close to our Artists.” gigs and inactivity, TY Productions’ Jazz Hong Kong’s AsiaWorld-Expo. ate, a sense of making the most of it,” Hong Kong singer- The indie music scene has proved Dialogues series moved online — charg- When their next engagement, at adds Chris B, whose own band is cur- songwriter William equally enterprising, with local sing- ing viewers HK$50 for an exclusive link Japan’s Tokyo Rocks Music festival, was rently self-isolating. “There is a chal- Elvin appears in er-songwriters Olivier Cong, Marstn, to the stream — while existing virtual canceled, the quartet found themselves lenge for bands to get together, you do a DIY streamed Tomii Chan and William Elvin being programs including Wow and Flutter’s with five days to kill in “Asia’s World worry about where your bandmates concert. just a few of the artists who have tak- weekly Live@Home series and Hong City”. Rather than mount The Peak or have been.” en to Instagram Live and Facebook Kong Arts Centre’s House Music Series ride the Ngong Ping 360 cable car, the “Around half were very enthusiastic, Live to host DIY streamed concerts. have seen a sharp spike in activity and quartet booked sessions at Kowloon’s saying it was an important time to take And it’s not just music — comedy interest. Avon Recording Studios, laying down out and write and record — some at a troupe TBC Improv HK have hosted the basic tracks for 15 new songs. distance, others in their own spaces.” several live-streamed laugh-fests, More than music Chris B, founder of long-running By compiling a regular update of what flitting between seven members Increasingly, this second wave of music platform The Underground, bands have achieved with this time, in seven locations simultaneously, online activity has been driven not just remembers spotting the Britpop icons Chris B hopes to inspire more artists The Aftermath while Peel Street Poetry has moved by musicians, but by the apparatus that riding the MTR one morning. “It didn’t to seize the singular opportunity of this Bar in pre its weekly open mic online. support and enable them. Promoters of seem weird to me — it was the quickest unprecedented tragedy. COVID-19 days. The music and “If there’s one good thing to come The Week Hong Kong started a series way to get from Central to Jordan,” she And it’s certain that, much as Hong art hub presented out of this, it’s getting artists to real- highlighting a di¡ erent song by a local laughs. “The person I was travelling with Kong’s unique urban environment professionally- ly up our streaming game,” posted indie act every day, entitled #SocialDis- couldn’t believe they wouldn’t take a taxi shaped The Magic Whip, music being shot videos of Glen Lloyd, the AV artist otherwise tancingSounds, while video platform — they said ‘it’s just some middle-aged made right now will reckon directly with their most recent known as Junk!, following his fi rst Hong Kong Rocks began a 24-hour non- white guys’. But it was Blur!” the terrors of COVID-19. performances home-streamed concert outing on stop radio-like YouTube stream, picking Following further sessions in Lon- “A musician writes about their expe- online. March 28. at random from the group’s archive of don and another fact-finding mis- riences and things they feel strongly Proof that digital concerts were more than 900 videos. sion to Hong Kong, the 12-track The about,” she adds. “Whatever else hap- the new norm came when online “Since live events stopped, we want- Magic Whip (named after a Chinese pens, in eight to ten months there’s community The Underground Hong ed to give the fans of Hong Kong’s live firework) finally emerged nearly two going to be a bunch of babies — and a Kong turned its regular gig listing music scene all over the world a chance years later to glowing reviews, an lot of new music.”