Though having spent my formative years here, and only back recently from my home in South Africa to try and see if there are any opportunities here to further my career in music,
from everything I have seen to date, the Hong Kong music scene seems it can be described in one word: limited.
Speaking to other musicians- largely amateur or semi professional musicians like myself, making music in English as opposed to trying to break into the Canto Pop market, there are only three types of music a person can experience ‘live’ on any given night. One either goes to a club and hear the same EDM tracks that all the other clubs are playing, or you hit the bars in Wan Chai and hear the same old 80s cover songs being played yet again. Or you can try to enjoy the so-called jazz scene where those who have been around these venues longer than I have laugh at most of the musicians and will tell you that they’re about as original as an Hermes handbag bought from the Mongkok night market.
To put it kindly, there doesn’t seem to be anything actually original going on in Hong Kong in the creative arena, and especially when it comes to music. But there are ripples of originality which could turn into waves with the help of sponsors and angel investors. There’s the luck of the draw involved here…and the need not to go too fast too soon and get lost along the way. Enter the creators of Fortune Sound.
Mitsuko and Joseph are two very down to earth people with a very clear idea of what they want to achieve and why. They’re not kidding themselves that things are going to be easy. They understand the limitations here- the venues, and, let’s face it, audiences.
Hong Kong might have seven million people, but music is not a priority to many. Making it a priority- or trying to- is an important baby step.
Fortune Sound are taking baby steps- a brand that focuses on a new genre of music called Future Beats- Down Tempo, R&B and Old school funk mixed with the soundscapes from Electronica. It’s chill out and chilled out sounds for a new generation.
Mitsuko and Joseph are heavily inspired by DJs and music from the US and are very aware of what is currently happening overseas. They both feel that Hong Kong is at least 2 / 3 years behind the music scenes in even nearby Taipei where there’s suddenly been the birth of a new style of what might be termed “Urban Funk”.
Says Joseph, “You go to a Hong Kong club and everybody will be going crazy to the general EDM stuff. It’s often all they know. However, if you were to play that same set in the US or anywhere else, most people would think it’s very outdated.”
This brings to mind the question, do the people in Hong Kong actually understand music, let alone, what is actually good music though “good” is something very subjective and in the ear of the beholder.
What Fortune Sound has set out to do is showcase a special group of producers in Hong Kong creating some amazing, original music- producers comprising . mainly those who grew up in Hong Kong, went overseas to study for a few years, absorbed and were inspired by the music they heard, and are now bringing these influences under a new guise back home to Hong Kong.
It’s the total antithesis of Canto Pop and all that Berkley School Of Jazz meandering and hotel lounge singing that’s described as “Jazz”.
No, Fortune Sound is about The New. It’s about showcasing and introducing new music from new talent by offering them a new platform.
“One of the criteria for someone wanting to perform at our event is that they have to have at least one original track that they are passionate about and want others to hear.” They want this ripple to spread…But they’re in no hurry. “We are just going to see how it goes and take it from there.” Says Mitsuko.
Their first event will be this Friday at a secret location in Causeway Bay (Invite Only). “We want to keep it small and keep it as more of a showcase. From there we will take it one step at a time to develop the brand.” Says Joseph. It’s those baby steps.
by Kat Coetzee
Comments