Clockenflap Pushes Hong Kong to the Forefront of the Global Music Scene: Review
The post Clockenflap Pushes Hong Kong to the Forefront of the Global Music Scene: Review appeared first on Consequence.
“That’s my first time coming to perform in Hong Kong. Hopefully there’ll be more.”
Caroline Polachek, YOASOBI, IDLES, Homeshake, and Swae Lee all pronounced this sentence in one way or another during their sets at Hong Kong’s largest music festival, Clockenflap, during the first weekend of December. But it’s not easy booking that many international artists for the first time. If Japan, South Korea, and now Thailand have established themselves as leaders of the Asian music industry, Hong Kong has very much been left in a gray era.
The Special Administrative Region, formed in 1997, inherited a rich cultural scene with Wong Kar-wai’s movies and Canto-pop’s regional impact. But creativity is not 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 pandemic restrictions imposed by the government, have tamped down the city’s music scene for what felt like an eternity.
Photo courtesy of Clockenflap
Clockenflap returned in 2023 with two hotly-anticipated festivals, the first in March and the second from December 1st through 3rd. The three day passes of Clockenflap’s December’s edition sold out weeks before the announcement of the full line up.
The opening Friday sets balanced thrilling international acts, regional gems and the thriving local scene all together. Despite their global achievements, Pulp, Caroline Polachek, and IDLES did not garner as much excitement 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 blistering performance, one of the most hypnotizing 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.
UK post-punk heroes IDLES still left a mark on festival goers. Prior to jumping on stage, the Bristol band told Consequence that “playing in Hong Kong, in front of an audience that we’ve never seen before, is a gift” — a precious one, given that the concert was the very first of their 2024 world tour. Guitarist Mark Bowen was wearing one of his iconic dresses— yellow — and a few mosh pits started, electrified by the band’s energy. But it wasn’t without difficulty, as YOASOBI’s fans were already trying to secure a place for the duo’s performance, scheduled for two hours laters.
IDLES, photo courtesy of Clockenflap
It’s an understatement to say that the J-pop superduo was expected. More than — gently — disturbing IDLES’ concert, some fans lined up for three hours to buy Ayase and Ikura’s merch. Their performance was packed, and if not placed at the right spot, it was difficult to enjoy the full depth of their sound. They also met a few technical issues with speakers. Many of the fans overcame it easily, given YOASOBI’s energy and the excitement around hearing their latest song, Biri-Biri, live for the first time. But for the ones who were not so interested in the J-pop duo, they naturally flowed towards Canadian rapper bbno$’s show.
The first night finished on those notes, around 10:30 pm. It’s quite early, but it’s justified given the unique location of the festival: downtown by the harbor waterfront, surrounded by skyscrapers. Thus, festival goers went home—as Clockenflap understandably doesn’t offer campsites for the occasion–or rushed to the many after parties all around the city, including Soho House Hong Kong which had invited Indonesian rapper Ramengvrl for the occasion.
Ikura of YOASOBI, photo courtesy of Clockenflap
Saturday was for many the occasion to discover the infrastructures and other experiences that the festival offered outside of music. That included gong baths, meditation, shamanic drumming sound journeys, a Levi’s Tailor shop, and a great diversity of shows for kids, with giant talking puppets that merged naturally into the psychedelic atmosphere of the festival.
Festival goers also got the chance to enjoy some of the best food in the city, as Clockenflap partnered with up-and-coming restaurants (fun fact: Hong Kong has the highest density of restaurants in the world). From bao burgers by Little Bao, to Burmese delicacies from Club Rangoon, creamy hummus from Francis, tasty Fairfax Sandwiches from Eggslut, and good old pepperoni pizzas from Pizza Express: all the tastebuds were satisfied. Many also discovered the sustainable steps Clockenflap took for this edition such as exclusively using reusable cups, and giving away water bottles which festival goers could refill for free at the festival’s fountains.
But few chose to lay around. 88Rising’s Atarashi Gakko! took over the Orbit stage with their cheeky and kinetic choreography. But if it was a bit too intense for some people’s mid-afternoon, Homeshake soothed the atmosphere a few meters away.
How could we not highlight the mesmerizing performance of Caroline Polacheck, especially the tour debut of her latest single, “Dang.” Seemingly not very well-known by the Clockenflap crowd, she quickly won their hearts with a romantic sunset performance. The only downside of her set was her repetitive use of Mandarin instead of Cantonese to thank the crowd, a slippery territory given the political situation of the Special Administrative Region.
Caroline Polachek, photo by Chris Lusher
De La Soul followed, taking Clockenflap’s audience for a trip down the memory lane with their biggest hits “Me, Myself and I” and “Eye Know.” The group’s energy and enthusiasm helped make up for a lack of connection Hong Kong’s youth felt with their music. Jarvis Cocker-fronted Pulp wrapped up the night like only they know how to do it, and in painful circumstances.
“This is a very unique concert,” he told the crowd, “because I fell down some stairs when I first arrived in Hong Kong. I had to go to the doctors so I do have two fractured ribs… so I’m not really sure what’s going to happen in the next hour.” Challenge accepted for the singer, who held up admirably playing guitar and moving around on stage chanting “Common People” with a responsive crowd.
Pulp, photo courtesy of Clockenflap
Saturday was also the occasion to dive deeper into the local scene. NYPD (which stands for Nan Yang Pai Dui, aka Drifters of South Asia) were brought in at the last minute by the festival, but were highly expected. Coming back from an Asia tour, the local post-punk indie band took over the second biggest scene of the festival with an ease that must have created some jealousy among international acts. It’s as simple as that: the band has been there for years, have helped build the indie-rock scene as it is today, and delivered a frenetic performance at Clockenflap for the second time in a row. NYPD were the only band who could claim that this year.
Hong Kong DJ Xiaolin decided to leave the usual intensity and depth of her sets to embrace daylight, and play groovy ’90s house and cheeky electro. As she said, the set embraced “dreamy and feel-good energy, with sunset vibes.” The rising hip-hop collective Yack studio wrapped up Day Two for the Hong Kong scene by doing the city’s hip-hop fans proud.
Sunday finished Clockenflap on a high note. After selling out all Friday, Saturday, and three-day weekend tickets, organizers announced that all Sunday tickets also sold out, marking the second successive edition of the festival that reached 100% capacity.
That was Live Nation’s bet after acquiring the festival earlier this March. At the time, this was received as mixed news, given the recent Taylor Swift–Ticketmaster controversy. Reviving the music scene through Live Nation’s expertise was definitely of interest for Hong Kong’s cultural scene, but whether Clockenflap would get the best of both worlds was very much left to say. Until this last day.
Taipei-born R&B chanteuse 9m88’s act was one to remember. She performed her latest album, SENT, with sensuality and elegance, wearing a modernized ki pao dress by local fashion designers Yat Pit. Following on the same line, Leah Dou’s performance proved popular. The 26-year-old Chinese musician and vocalist has developed a genre not that popular in China at the moment, which switches between trip-hop, jazz, and folk music. Those interested in seeing singer Faye Wong’s and musician Dou Wei’s daughter perform for the second time in her life at Clockenflap, they stayed for her soothing, happy and mysterious energy.
Finally, Swae Lee wrapped up the festival with an inexhaustible set. He’d joined Clockenflap just a few days before the event, as Japanese singer Joji canceled his performance due to health reasons. The rapper, who was in town for Pharrell Williams’ Louis Vuitton show, closed with some of his solo and Rae Sremmurd classics, such as “Unforgettable,” “Black Beatles,” and of course, “Sunflower.” Given the last minute nature of the show, the crowd forgave him the long-minutes of lip-synching over his featured songs.
The challenge was high for Clockenflap: coming back after a 4-year hiatus with two editions within nine months isn’t easy. But through their diverse lineup, the value they placed on the local scene, and improving festival infrastructures, they definitely came back to the front of the Asian music scene better than ever.
Clockenflap 2023 photo gallery (click to expand and scroll through):
Clockenflap Pushes Hong Kong to the Forefront of the Global Music Scene: Review
Lorelei Durand
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