Last month’s Annie Who fashion show featured the human beat box Butterscotch as the night’s entertainment. A quick definition of a human beat box is someone who uses their mouth as a musical instrument. Beat boxes emerged during the early days of Hip Hop music and have remained something of a novelty.

Skilled beat boxers often wow crowds by making unbelievable sounds and can recreate entire songs using just their mouth. The best can convincingly mimic instruments and sing vocals at the same time!

Butterscotch gained mainstream notoriety a few years ago after performing on the TV show “America’s Got Talent.” I happened to be in a good spot during her recent Hong Kong appearance and captured it. But while watching the performance, something about her routine seemed oddly familiar.

In its first decade, Hip Hop music was all about creativity. People strove to invent new routines and the music was exciting as it constantly evolved. Originality was key in differentiating yourself and being successful.

Being unique was so highly prized in those days that people who copied an individual’s style were looked down upon and called ‘biters’. No one would dare do the same routine as another artist.

During Butterscotch’s performance, she launched into a routine that included a rendition of Donna Summer’s hit “Love to Love You Baby”. This immediately struck me as strange since on a previous occasion years ago, beat box Killa Kela also performed the same song in Hong Kong.

Beatbox Killa Kela in a show from 2006

There are so few beat boxers out there who achieve mainstream success (and large public performances,) that it’s bizarre to have them performing the same song. They must know of each others routines through competitions, DVDs and Youtube.

Having two famous beat boxers perform the same song isn’t the same thing as two d.j.s playing the same song. In a performance, a beat box will only do a handful of choice cuts. Out of all the music out there, why should two beat boxers perform the same exact song?

Human beat boxers are still a novelty for most people, and it’s bad show business that two of the more visible ones would go over the same material. Hearing the same song repeated by two different artists detracts from the wow factor of the performance. It comes across as unoriginal. Perhaps it was just a coincidence and they both developed a routine around Donna Summer’s “Love to Love You Baby,” but there are endless songs out there and one of them should have the smarts and versatility to perform something new.

LKF Tower, which houses the LKF Hotel as well as popular spots Tazmania Ballroom, Azure, and Finds, has two new attractions. The recent additions, Lily and Bloom, opened by the people behind Volar and Halo, occupy an interesting two-level space.

Lily, on the sixth floor, is primarily a lounge, while Bloom on the fifth level is a restaurant and raw bar. The two are connected by an ornate wooden staircase.

The vibe at Lliy and Bloom is much different from the group’s previous venues, or for that matter, anything else in the neighborhood.

The spaces have a mixture of influences, and the mature decor features lots of wood with a dark, sultry vibe. In the back there’s a two-story atrium with an interior balcony that offers Lily’s guests a glimpse down into Bloom.

At first glance, Lily reminded me a little of The Pawn, but with more of a New York twist. This is sort of amazing since The Pawn is housed in an old heritage building, while LKF Tower is a very recent construction. (Is it just me or does it seem like New York inspired spaces are getting more and more common in Hong Kong?) The interior of Lily features large wooden booths which give it an upscale tavern / supper-club type atmosphere.

Lily and Bloom are a smart, more adult alternative to the group’s other spaces in the neighborhood. Though still in soft opening when I visited, Lily already was attracting a large, high caliber crowd. The same faces you find at the group’s other venues made up the early adopter clientele.

LKF Tower’s ties to Hong Kong clubland
It’s interesting to note that three of the city’s top clubs all have a presence in LKF Tower. Finds, one of the earliest tenants, was opened by the people behind Drop; Tazmania Ballroom is the new offering from the Dragon-i people, and now Lily and Bloom arrive from the Volar / Halo / Roxie gang.

Recommended!

Lily
6/F, LKF Tower
33 Wyndham Street
Use the LKF Hotel entrance (just above Lan Kwai Fong)
Central, Hong Kong

Bloom
5/F, LKF Tower
33 Wyndham Street
Use the LKF Hotel entrance (just above Lan Kwai Fong)
Central, Hong Kong

No time for a proper post, but just had to draw your attention to this! Friday, August 6th, features an Ed Banger double feature!

First Uffie is putting on an invitation-only in-store performance at the Diesel Planet Store on Queens Road Central (at 7pm,) and later Busy P, So Me, and DJ Mehdi will be rocking Volar. This crew is no joke!

For a little background info please read here and here.

Special shout to Uffie – who has ties to Hong Kong! It’s going to be a crazy night!

“Random Is Beautiful” is an upcoming solo exhibition by KS, a lead designer from Hong Kong’s Sub Crew brand. In watercolor and ink drawings, KS explores what qualities stand out about an individual’s face.

The opening takes place Friday, August 6th, at the Above Second gallery in Sai Ying Pun. Sub Crew is the brand founded by Hong Kong actor Sam Lee, so you can expect a diverse crowd including clothing industry people in addition to the usual art lovers. Details about the opening below.

Random is Beautiful – an exhibition of watercolors by KS
Friday, August 6th, 2010
Opening from 6pm-10pm
Above Second Gallery
G/F, 31 Eastern Street
Sai Ying Pun, Hong Kong

Ten years ago Hong Kong was buzzing with optimism about the Internet. PCCW made headlines for purchasing the domain name cyberworks.com for $1,000,000 U.S. dollars, and dot com hysteria quickly spread to other local businesses.

The hunger to appear up-to-date and part of the next big thing gave birth to some truly ridiculous names for Hong Kong companies. Pretty soon every advertisement featured a name with the prefix ‘e-something’, ‘i-something’ or with the word ‘cyber’ awkwardly appended. The only trouble was that most people had no clue what the Internet was useful for, or how to make a business from it.

As dot com fever reached its peak, even Central’s nightlife was affected. Often you heard people asking “Are you going to the launch party tonight?” There was even a building on Wellington Street legally rechristened ‘Dot Com House’ during those days.

It was in this frenzied environment that I first I met Casey Lau, the gregarious organizer of the upcoming StartupsHK event on August 7th. Even back then, Casey stood out as one of the few people who fathomed the power and usefulness of the Internet.

Fast-forward to 2010 and Casey is a veteran of Hong Kong’s Internet scene, a successful entrepreneur, a savvy content guy, and the only person I know who had a full-costume Star Trek wedding (yes, that pushes him into über-geek territory.)

Casey’s StartupsHK event on Saturday, August 7th, promises “no suits and no PowerPoint.” The one-day event, which features guest speakers (including Pat Lee from rottentomatoes and alivenotdead,) is a great way for aspiring startups to meet and share information. The other benefits include hearing tales from experienced entrepreneurs, learning about existing resources in Hong Kong, discussing funding channels, and the ability to generate buzz by demoing their projects.

For a quick look at the speakers, panels and agenda go here.

Best of all it’s FREE, and just requires registration in order to attend.

For more information, please visit the StartupsHK website.

Recommended!

StartupsHK
Saturday, August 7th, 2010
10am to 7pm
Cyberport
Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong
FREE!

JUICE, a store we’ve covered before here and here has recently moved to a new location in Causeway Bay. The shop is the retail arm of Edison Chen’s CLOT brand, and is a Mecca for streetwear lovers due to its exclusive, limited-edition merchandise.

The store opening also coincided with CLOT’s six-year anniversary, which drew a a large amount of fashion industry insiders and press.

Though Hong Kong is already well known for fashion, CLOT helped put the city on the map for high-end streetwear. Over the years, CLOT has launched their own signature line along with a truly impressive number of collaborations. In addition to familiar names such as Nike, Levis, and Reebok, they have worked with a who’s who of sought after Japanese labels. Their latest collection continues in this vein with iconic partners including Stussy and Disney!

Which famous names in street fashion turned up for the opening?

In order to celebrate the occasion, there was a traditional lion dance performance held in front of the new ground-floor location. Major fashion figures and celebrities participated in the ceremony.

from left: Edison, Andre, Gildas, and Hiroshi Fujiwara

In addition to CLOT front-men Edison Chen and Kevin Poon, I also spotted Hiroshi Fujiwara, Kazuki Kuraishi, Andre (the French graffiti artist,) Gildas (from record label / lifestyle brand Kitsune,) and Nike’s Fraser Cooke in attendance.

I shot a short video of the scene as the ceremony took place. On one hand I wanted to capture the celebrities assembled, on the other hand, the lion dance was really out of the ordinary, so I had a tough time deciding what to focus on! The result is a somewhat schizophrenic video. Note the height of the lion dancer on the pole – it’s rare to see the lions climb that high in Hong Kong.

The new Juice store

The new Juice is just one block away from the previous store. The main difference here is that the new address is a ground-floor location with lots of windows facing the street. The previous shop was on the second floor of a mostly residential building and the security guard was always lazy to let people in!

The new shop makes good sense from a foot-traffic perspective. It’s situated directly across from the large, multi-brand i.t store, which does a steady amount of business with nearly the same demographic.

The interior of the new shop reminds me of the original design of JUICE, which contained lots of wood. It’s warmer, and less slick than the previous iteration.

Kevin Poon from CLOT (at center in white) at the opening

Congratulations to the CLOT / JUICE gang. Wishing you continued success in the new year!

Juice
Shop A, G/F, 9-11 Cleveland Street, Fashion Walk
Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

a few days before the new JUICE store opened…

On Friday, July 9th, Hong Kong’s Above Second Gallery is launching an exciting solo exhibition featuring the artwork of MEGGS, a rising talent from Melbourne, Australia.

Having previously exhibited in Tokyo and London, the artist’s work often shows a masterful use of color and typography that can be traced back to influences including comic books, graffiti, and packaging design.

But there’s more to MEGGS’ work than just flashy images.

Similar to a frame in a comic book, there’s also a strong story-telling quality to his work. In his paintings, MEGGS succeeds in capturing expressive moments and conveying a split-second of action (as in the image above.)

In some ways, MEGGS, who hails from Melbourne, is a throwback to an earlier era. New York graffiti legends from the 1970′s and 80′s were heavily influenced by comic books. (We know this because cartoon characters and explosive lettering styles appeared all over the city’s subway cars during the time period!)

King For A Day

The subject of MEGGS’ exhibition opening on Friday, titled “King For A Day,” is a topic familiar to everyone in Hong Kong. It deals with society’s obsession with fame and celebrities. (One only needs to walk past a 7-11 here, to understand just how widespread interest in celebrity gossip is in this city.)

The exhibition is curated by May Wong, who, before co-founding Above Second, was the person behind Apostrophe Gallery.

A special after-party!

In addition to the opening at the gallery which starts at 6pm on Friday, Above Second is also holding a superhero themed after-party. The party takes place at Roxie and goes from 10 til midnight as an invitation / guest-list only event, opening up to the public after 12. (See below for how to get on the guest list!)

Recommended!

MEGGS – “King For A Day”
Friday, July 9th, 2010
Above Second Gallery
G/F, 31 Eastern Street
Sai Ying Pun, Hong Kong

The opening is Friday, July 9th starting from 6pm. The show runs until August 4th, 2010

MEGGS – “King For A Day” after-party
Friday, July 9th, 2010, starting at 10pm.
Roxie
24-30 Ice House Street
Central, Hong Kong

From 10pm – 12 midnight, (open bar,) strictly by invitation only.
To get on the guest list, email: maymwong@gmail.com

After midnight: Roxie members: complimentary entry
People in superhero dress code: complimentary entry plus one free shot!
Non-Members and no costume: $250 (includes two drinks)

Last week I hopped on the MTR and headed out to Quarry Bay. My mission was to try out the new pizza place, NYPD (New York Pizza Delivery,) which just soft-launched their first branch in Hong Kong.

I had high hopes for NYPD. The owner had commented on Hong Kong Hustle after reading our post about the city’s lack of New York style pizza. As I walked towards the place I wondered if this could finally be it.

Getting off at Quarry Bay, I took exit B, and rode the escalator down to Finnie Street. From there I took a sharp left, ending up at the far end of a dead-end street. Here, surrounded by auto shops was the low-key NYPD storefront.

Originally founded in Shenzhen, the company recently decided to expand into Hong Kong. Their location in Quarry Bay is a good, low-rent spot, perfect to test out their formula. As Hong Kong Hustle readers know, it’s wise of them NOT to open a place with seating, since the ratio of profit would be tiny considering the city’s exorbitant rents.

Walking into the place, which consists of a counter and a kitchen, I looked up at the menu on the wall and selected the first choice, a 16″ cheese pizza.

Just outside the door is one small table and a few chairs. Since it was an off hour, and no one was there, I decided to try out the pizza on the spot. The pizza was freshly made and only took around ten minutes to come out.

With high hopes I took my first bite. Verdict – pretty damn good! Although the cheese could have been a little saltier, and the tomato sauce a little tangier, overall it was a very enjoyable slice! The crust was a good consistency and the fact that they make normal sized pies (real 16″, and not those sissy gourmet pizzas,) is a huge plus. So far, NYPD is the best Hong Kong has to offer if you’re looking for N.Y. style pizza.

In addition to taste, NYPD also offers a good value compared to other pizza places in Hong Kong. A large 16″ pie is a reasonable $138 HKD. Pizzas also come in 9 inch, and 12 inch varieties. Toppings are reasonably priced as well. A 16 inch “edge to edge” layer of pepperoni goes for just $148 HKD.

If you’re sick of ordering a pizza, only to eat the whole thing and still be hungry, NYPD is for you! (I was stuffed eating just half the pie!)

If you think of a giant slice of pizza on a paper plate with a stack of napkins and a Coke as the perfect meal, you’ll love this place!

Let’s hope that NYPD can stay consistent (hire and retain decent workers,) and can quickly roll out a second location in another low-rent area such as Sai Ying Pun (to start delivering to Central.)

Still in soft-opening…
Right now NYPD is operating in soft-opening mode with reduced hours. Soon it will be open from 10:30 to 10pm at night. I believe they currently close at 8:30. On our initial visit, the staff was friendly and helpful.

I only tried the regular cheese pizza. Most toppings will only cost you $10 HKD to $20 HKD more, which is a bargain. (However, a mixed (50/50) pie goes for $178 HKD.)

NYPD also delivers! Call their number below to find out what their delivery range is.

There’s currently a single table to dine out, so don’t assume that you can sit and eat. (Perhaps a counter that allows people to stand outside and eat would be a good idea.)

This first branch of NYPD is ideal for ordering pizzas ‘to go’ or for pick ups.

Recommended!

NYPD Pizza (New York Pizza Delivery)
G/F, 15 Finnie Street
Quarry Bay, Hong Kong
2668-NYPD or 6973

After taking Exit B of the Quarry Bay MTR station, you will proceed down an escalator that drops you off onto Finnie Street. This will be your exact view. Take a left on this street and walk down into the dead end. NYPD will be on your left. Enjoy!

Consider yourself warned! Thursday, July 1st, Volar will host Major Lazer, the biggest thing in underground dance music.

This is the group behind ‘Pon De Floor,’ a wildly popular dance track that erupts in multiple crescendos, driving dancefloors berserk.

But who exactly is Major Lazer?

Major Lazer is actually a super-group composed of two influential dance music producers, Diplo and Switch. Though you might not be familiar with their names, the two have shaped contemporary music enormously, influencing everyone from M.I.A. to the Black Eyed Peas.

Here’s Diplo throwing down with Steve Aoki looking on.

Diplo and Switch decided to collaborate around a theme and created a fictional character named Major Lazer, a Jamaican commando who battles the undead. The album, titled “Guns Don’t Kill People… Lazers Do,” was influenced by dancehall music, an offshoot of Jamaican Reggae. Although the songs were recorded in Jamaica and feature vocals from big names in contemporary dancehall music, the album itself is a fantastic cultural jumble of different influences.

The appeal of Major Lazer’s sound is widespread. Boy George even played ‘Pon De Floor’ at prime time during his recent gig in Hong Kong (the crowd went crazy).

Also part of the Major Lazer show on Thursday is Skerrit Bwoy. Easy to spot with his yellow Mohawk, the Bronx-based dancehall selector and personality is sort of a Flavor-Flav style hype-man for the group.

Among his other talents, Skerrit Bwoy is a master at ‘daggering’, a creative, comical, over-the-top performance of simulated sex. Hong Kong, this is going to be one interesting night!

For a taste of Major Lazer’s sound and a good definition of daggering, have a look at the video for ‘Pon De Floor’.

Check out Diplo and Skerrit Bwoy performing live at a BestBuy store below (I don’t think they will be invited back again.)

Highly recommended!
 
MAJOR LAZER featuring Diplo and Skerrit Bwoy
Thursday, July 1st, 2010
Volar
Basement, 38-44 D’Aguilar Street, Lan Kwai Fong
Central, Hong Kong
Free for members, $300 HKD cover for non-members (includes two drinks!)

New York d.j. / producer / remixer / and record label boss, Drop The Lime will be hitting Volar on Friday, June 25th. Expect another tight, high-energy set from a seasoned international party rocker. The Hype Nasty crew will be supporting!

Drop The Lime also records under the name Curses. Check out this remix of one of his more underground songs.

Drop The Lime
Friday, June 25th, 2010
Volar
Basement, 38-44 D’Aguilar Street, Lan Kwai Fong
Central, Hong Kong
Free for members, non-members: $300 HKD (includes two drinks!)