“This is my first time coming to perform in Hong Kong. Hopefully there will be more.”
Caroline Polachek, YOASOBI, IDLES, Homeshake and Swae Lee all uttered this phrase in one form or another during their sets at Hong Kong's biggest music festival, Clockenflap, on the first weekend of December. But it is not easy to book many international artists for the first time. If Japan, South Korea and now Thailand have established themselves as the leaders of the Asian music industry, Hong Kong has largely been left in a gray era.
The Special Administrative Region, created in 1997, inherited a rich cultural scene with the films of Wong Kar-wai and the regional influence of Canto-pop. But creativity isn't always encouraged in a city where the cost of living is so high and where space is so expensive. Protests and unrest in 2019, followed by drastic government-imposed pandemic restrictions, ruined the city's music scene for eternity.
Photo courtesy of Clockenflap
Clockenflap is back in 2023 with two highly anticipated festivals, the first in March and the second from 1st to 3rd December. Three-day passes for the December edition of Clockenflap sold out weeks before the full line-up was announced.
Friday's launch sets a balanced mix of exciting international events, local gems and the thriving local scene all rolled into one. Despite their global success, Pulp, Caroline Polachek and IDLES haven't garnered as much buzz as Chinese rapper Lexie Liu or Taiwanese indie-rock band No Party For Cao Dong. The most memorable moments of this first night included Liu's stirring performance, one of the most hypnotic sets of the festival. Mixing Buddhist mantra, hip-hop and electronic music, she also performed her latest album, as well as “Delulu”, a Gen Z anthem, for the first time live.
British post-punk heroes IDLES continue to make their mark on festival goers. Before taking to the stage, the Bristol band said Consistency that “playing in Hong Kong, in front of an audience we've never seen before, is a gift” — precious, given that the concert was the first of their 2024 world tour. Guitarist Mark Bowen wore one of his iconic dresses – yellow – and some mosh pits started, electrified by the band's energy. But it wasn't without difficulty, as YOASOBI fans were already scrambling to secure a seat for the duo's performance, scheduled for two hours later.
IDLES, photo courtesy of Clockenflap
