It used to be that international-level events in this town were few and far between. Years ago you would wait for months just for something to take place. And when it finally arrived, often the draw would be a famous name on the decline, not someone at the top of their game. Hong Kong just wasn’t on the map for international talent. But that’s simply no longer the case. What’s behind the city’s turnaround? (more…)

I took a quick trip up to Shanghai to celebrate New Year’s 2008. As the former most international city in China, Shanghai is eager to reclaim its title. The city has been booming for a decade with foreign companies flocking there to open operations and brands seeking to establish a foothold with consumers in Shanghai’s relatively affluent market. Foreign concepts are pouring into the city making it more international all the time. The dual barriers to entry - high rent and staffing costs that make Hong Kong difficult to do business in, are lesser issues in Shanghai.

While Hong Kong is considered the “Manhattan of Asia,” Shanghai is often sighted as Hong Kong’s biggest threat. Instead of viewing Shanghai as a threat, smart Hong Kong companies have already embraced the city as a new market, leveraging their expertise and proximity to create spin-offs suited for China. The pace of these role-outs is getting faster and faster.

My brief trip allowed me to check out several new world-class additions to the city that have close ties to Hong Kong. (more…)

Tuesday night I headed over to the Hong Kong Exhibition Center to check out a special Nokia event. Titled, Nokia Music Playground, the line up for the night included Edison Chen, Rainie Yang from Taiwan, and FAMA, as well as D.J. Kulu’s Ultra Lounge crew. (more…)

I’m almost back to normal after a long week of parties and events, the climax being the third anniversary of CLOT on Friday night. CLOT is the multi-dimensional company formed by the actor and singer Edison Chen with several of his close friends. In three short years, CLOT has made a name for itself collaborating with top international talent in the fields of music, film, clothing, sneakers, and toys. (For more background info on CLOT check out my related entries here.)

Previous CLOT anniversary parties have been my pick for best party of the year, so I attended Friday’s event with great anticipation. A combination of factors make their events consistently excellent: the venues they choose are always interesting; the crowd is a diverse mixture (though heavy on the entertainment side;) the music is provided by top international d.j.s.; and the champagne is plentiful. As far as parties go, their formula is a good one! (more…)

The CLOT third anniversary is swiftly approaching! Rumor has it that the special guest d.j. is one of the hottest global d.j. / producers around. If the info is indeed true, I’m extremely excited since this will be his first time performing in Hong Kong. CLOT’s previous events have historically been my favorite parties of the year, and I expect the third anniversary to be equally amazing!

The past year for CLOT has been a milestone with several huge achievements. In addition to tens of high profile collaborations (such as LEVIS, and EA,) there’s been the Kanye West concert, the wildly successful launch of the CLOT Nike sneakers, and the CLOT clothing line - Alienegra, not to mention all of the action with Soleciety in Shanghai.

Congratulations Edison, Kevin, Pavlos and Billy - here’s to another year of taking giant steps forward! (p.s. I’ll leave the beer-bong home this year!)

Stay tuned for coverage!

Illustrious Hip Hop producer Just Blaze was back in Hong Kong recently to play an event for Diesel. The party took place on a Thursday at Volar. During his set, it was cool to hear Just depart from the commercial Pop / Hip Hop standards, and play some older Hip Hop, as well as some classic House music from the 90’s. His scratching was solid and matched his choice of beats.

One of the top producers in Hip Hop and R&B today, Just Blaze has created several tracks for local Pop star Edison Chen’s upcoming album. I’ve heard a sneak preview and the beats are strong - with Edison rapping in Mandarin. This is a very significant trend - a Pop star focusing on the China market, looking beyond the region to enlist a top international producer. Look for more of these combos in the future. Apart from Japan, utilizing the talents of a top American producer rarely happens in H.K. and China, and we are sure to see more of this in the near future. Props to Edison and the CLOT crew for again thinking ahead of the curve and putting their assets to good use.

Was out the other night and I ran into Pav with a couple of foreigners. I started talking to them and one of them turned out to be the human beatbox Killa Kela. He told me he was performing at a Hip Hop concert the following Monday. This was news to me, since I hadn’t heard anything about it, or seen any promotion. It turns out that Edison was doing a big concert, and he brought Killa Kela, as well as the dancers the Clowns from the film RIZE to perform.

I’ve wanted to check out Edison’s music for a while, since I missed his last concert. I’ve seen a music video or two, but I still don’t have a feel for what type of sound he has.

I like what he’s doing as far as elevating the scene here in Hong Kong. He’s been leveraging his pop star status to get sponsors to put on interesting events. Edison along with Kevin and Pavlos have a company called CLOT. They’ve opened up JUICE, a shop in Causeway Bay to distribute new Japanese streetwear brands and accessories like Bearbricks etc. They’ve put on several exhibitions and brought over contemporary street artists. They seem committed to exposing people to new sounds and culture - and I appreciate that.

The night of the concert I met up with Min who gave me a backstage pass and a ticket. I wandered around checking out the venue. It was at the Wanchai convention center (that was built for the 1997 Handover ceremony) and the concert hall was huge! When I walked in the first thing I admired were the backdrops that I was told had been done by Phase 2, the legendary New York graffiti artist. I have to give props to the CLOT crew for getting him involved. The backdrops had interesting iconography including an image of Angela Mao from an old H.K. film.

There was a military theme to the concert, and the performers all had nicknames. It started off with Anthony Wong Chau Sang (the H.K. actor and sometime music performer,) giving a speech as “The General”. I guess the main point was that the entertainment industry here is screwed up, and they’re going to war against it.

The highlight of the concert for me was Maria Cordero’s performance of a new version of one of her old songs (she was a popular singer in the 80’s). I believe the song was “Sai Hei,” which I think is from the H.K. film, City On Fire starring Chow Yun Fat. Maria Cordero is sort of like the Aretha Franklin or Tina Turner of Hong Kong. She had a huge stage presence and totally commanded the audience as she performed. Her voice was clear and just boomed. It’s hard for modern singers to follow up after a strong vocalist like that. Most new acts just don’t have the vocal power of someone who is seasoned from working in clubs for a few decades. The one person who performed who does have a strong voice - Hanjin chose two slow songs to perform that showed off his vocal eloquence, but did not fit the bill or the audience. With a different song selection he could have rocked it.

Edison and M.C. Yan both performed well, but they were held back by the beats. The songs were over-produced, and didn’t allow their voices to stand out. The instrumentals were just not catchy enough. You don’t need much to rock a concert, a basic beat and some sort of hook will do. It’s all about how you use your voice, and what type of rhythm you can get going.

Which brings us to Killa Kela, who was the audience favorite. He makes incredible noises and beats with his mouth - no instruments or anything. The crowd was awed and captivated by his performance. I was into it, but was actually expecting a little more from him.

Overall the concert was impressive - it also featured the singer Steph, the krumping Clowns dancing and a good turntablist set from D.J. Tommy.