¡@

¡@

¡@

¡@

¡@

¡@

¡@

Lona Records Keeps The Experimental Flame in Hong Kong Alive

By Eric de Fontenay (Founder & Publisher)

Lona Records is a Hong Kong boutique indie label set up by Alok Leung in 2003. The label has attracted a very international and growing roster of acts focused on alternative and experimental music. I first discovered the label through four-piece rock outfit UNiXX that plies its trade in dark, shoegazing garage rock, flecked with overtones of The Horrors and circa-1993 Suede and is about to tour the mainland.

Alok is a self-taught guitarist and bassist who formed several bands in the 90s, including Pillow and Slow Tech Riddim, which combined electronic music with live instruments. He decided to go solo in 2001 and set up his own record label Lona Records the following year. Working as a producer, he released 5 albums and 5 CD singles from 2002 to 2009. He has played and participated in more than 50 shows and experimental events / projects in Hong Kong and across China.

How did you come to launch Lona Records in 2003 and how have you grown since?

At the beginning, I only set up Lona Records to release my own works. I subsequently met a number of recording artists that shared the same vision as myself. So from around early 2005, I started to release works of other artists from countries like the UK, US, Italy, Germany, Poland, Japan, Netherlands, mainland China and Hong Kong. We are also planning on releasing some works by artists from Denmark and Argentina etc.

Lona Records has also organized several concerts and exhibitions in recent years. We've gotten some very good feedback, but still there is not much room for survival here in Hong Kong.

Let me get straight to the point: how has a label focused on alternative/experimental music survived over the last 7 years in a market like Hong Kong?... no offense of course.

Every record label has to have its own direction. Experimental / alternative is my favorite music genre. Lona Records though has never looked at the Hong Kong market as a viable one - experimental music can't really survive here.

Tell me a little about the 3" CDR series you launched in 2005 "to explore the aesthetic boundaries of experimental sound."

After launching this series, I found that many people were interested in it. Personally, this idea is almost like the 7" vinyl. One shortcoming though is that Mac users cannot play these CDRs.

China is notorious for piracy. How has it affected Lona Records' business?

The problem of piracy does not really affect us a lot, because the quantities for each releases is still relatively small. I believe that the people who like our works are be willing to buy the originals. We are also planning to enter the digital download market.

I've become a huge a fan of UNiXX, which I've called one of my Hong Kong band's to watch in 2010. How do you choose which bands to add to Lona's roster?

The main directions of Lona Records include:
1) experimental, i.e. Avant-garde, Ambient, Minimal, Noise,...
2) Alternative, i.e. Alternative rock, Neo-Classical,....

With the latter, apart from UNiXX, we also have a Hong Kong band called The Yours and Jeffrey Butzer from the US. We always have an open-minded attitude when considering the demos received.

How do you see the growing independent music scene in the mainland affecting Hong Kong?

There are many excellent recording artists in mainland China. You'll notice that while these artists have been influenced by foreign cultures, they are still able to retain elements of traditional Chinese culture in their works. On the contrary, we don't have such a 'local' culture in Hong Kong. I might also explore the possibility of doing something in Beijing in the future.

http://www.musicdish.com/mag/?id=12630

________________________________________________________________________________

(2010/FEB/23) New Release Alok - MsNWarning

¡@

¡@

¡@

¡@

¡@

¡@

¡@

¡@

¡@

Description:

Recorded and Mixed at bitMap & Rate Studio, Apr 2007 - Jun 2009
Produced by Alok

Tracklisting:
01. M  (5:51)
02. s   (7:14)
03. N   (9:05)

M (Edit Version) Video Here: http://www.lona-records.com/media.html

http://www.lona-records.com/discography/locd57r.html

http://www.myspace.com/alokhk

Buy Here: http://www.lona-records.com/shop.html

________________________________________________________________________________

A new Wilson Tsang's video: DIVERSION #5 -

vocal: Lee Chi Leung §õ´¼¨} music: Wilson Tsang ´¿¥ÃÄf

http://www.lona-records.com/media/wilsontsang_vdo.html

______________________________________________________________________________

(2010 / FEB / 13) New Release UNiXX - 7 Deadly Sin

¡@

¡@

¡@

¡@

¡@

¡@

¡@

¡@

Bio:

Form in 2001, UNiXX¡¦s member went through a few changes but the leader of the band Sean P.Yung is the core of the band. Today, the band consists of Sean, vocal and guitar, Ed, guitar, Steven, bass, and Tatsu, drums.

Description:

The result of 5 years of development, the new album from UNiXX went through change of members and even lost of master recording in the early years. UNiXX¡¦s first album Nasty Fantasy was released in 2004 to a tremendous critical acclaim and a build-up of a solid fan base. Based on the first album and their live performances, UNiXX quickly acquired a reputation as the darkest rock band in Hong Kong.

As the line up became stable, the second album is finally completed to everyone¡¦s satisfaction. In 7 Deadly Sins, the audience is shown a even darker and more explosive UNiXX that is like an angry man unleashed. The lyrics show the band in a more critical view of the world around us. Musically, the band is like a cut-loose titan reminding us of The Smashing Pumpkins unrestrained, or The Cure with only the anger. The album progresses through emotional ups and downs in high energy alternative rock, while the title song ¡§7 Deadly Sins¡¨ punctures the heavy mood of the songs with the most reflective tune in the album. The songs ¡§Wasted¡¨ and ¡§Perfect Betrayer¡¨ were previously issued nearly five years ago, but find a new breath in the new album. ¡§Shut It¡¨, normally the band¡¦s opening song for a show, would certainly leave you screaming in agreement, in the most political song of the album. Notably, Alok(A Roller Control) remixed the track ¡§Black Shadow¡¨, off the first album, with a disco punk kick to finish 7 Deadly Sins, the most exciting album of 2010, and it¡¦s only January.

§@¬°«e­^°ê´Þ¥Á¦aªº­»´ä¡A¨ä¤å¤Æ¨ü¨ì¤F«e©v¥D°êªº¼vÅT¡A¦]¦Ó¦¨´N¤F³\¦h­^­Û¦±­·ªº¼Ö¶¤¡CUNiXX¬O¤@¤ä­»´ä¿W¥ß¼Ö¶¤¡A¤]¬O·í¦a­^­Û·nºu¼Ö¶¤ªºªíªíªÌ¡C²Õ¦¨©ó2001¦~ªº¥L­Ì¡A¥H­^­Û¡þ¥tÃþ·nºuªººX¸¹¡A¦b­»´ä¿W¥ß¼Ö°éÄ­ÆC¤F¤@¸s¼ö·R­^­Û­·ªº¼Ö°g¡F¦b¸g¹L¤Ï½Æªº¿ý­µ¤u§@©M²{³õºt°Û¸gÅ礧«á¡A¥L­Ì©ó2004¦~¥Xª©¤F¨ä­º±i¿ý­µ«Ç°Û¤ù¡Ð¡mNasty Fantasy¡n¡C³e¹ýµÛ¥D°ÛSean©Ò¨¥ªºÂ²¬ù©M¯Âºé¡A¡mNasty Fantasy¡n²@¤£±»¹¢¥L­Ìªº¦Û§Ú¨H·Ä¡A¬Æ¦Ü¦bºqµü¤¤¹D¥X¦¨­û¶¡ªºÀZÃû»P¹½¥@Æ[¡A»¤µo¥X¤@ºØª½±µªº¶Â·t±i¤O¡C¼Ö¶¤²Ä¤G±i±M¿è¡m7 Deadly Sins¡n¡A¸g¹L¤­¦~ªº¨H¾ý¡AUNiXXªº­µ¼Ö¤£¦A­­©ó­^­Û·nºu¡A¦Ó§ó±j½Õ¦h¤¸²Õ¦X¡A¥]¬A¥tÃþ·nºu¡BÃÞ¾c·nºu¡Bª^³ò¹q­µ©M«áªB§Jµ¥¥tÃþ·nºu¡A±a¨Ó¤@ºØ¥]§t¦UºØ¥i¯à©Êªº¦±­·¡C

Review:

It¡¦s been a while since the Hong Kong boutique indie label Lona Records released something by a promising local band. And just as with The Yours¡¦ Abraham, or Wilson Tsang¡¦s Whale Song, the label¡¦s latest local release is stirring up a bit of excitement.

The most recent Hong Kong group to sign up to Lona is UNiXX, a four-piece rock outfit that plies its trade in dark, shoegazing garage rock, flecked with overtones of The Horrors and circa-1993 Suede. More than five years after the release of their first album, Nasty Fantasy, UNiXX is going darker with an album that bears an appropriately menacing title: 7 Deadly Sins. - TimeOut Magazine

[独¥ß­µ¦a-2010¦~1¤ë6¤é]­»´ä独¥ß揺滚乐队UNiXX经历这¤L¦~¦hµf¤H¨Æ変动¦Z¡A终¤_¦b2009¦~§À§¹¦¨¤F乐队ªº²Ä¤G张专辑¡m7 Deadly Sins¡n¡C经过¤­¦~ªº¨IÕà©M·s队员ªº¥[¤J¥O乐队ªº¦±风¨ú¦V¤ñ­º张专辑¡mNasty Fantasy¡n§ó为¦¨¼ô¡C·s专辑¡m7 Deadly Sins¡n¬O¤@张¿Ä¦X¤Fpost-punk¡Bshoegaze¡Bnoise¥H¤Îpsychedelicªº¦N¥L¦Ó结¦X¦¨UNiXX独¦³ªº¶Â·t¾¸­µ揺滚乐¡C- www.indiechina.com

Members:
Sean P.Yung - Guitar, Vocal
Steven Kwan - Bass, Backing Vocal
Ed Poon - Guitar
Tatsu Yiu - Drums, Percussion

Official : http://www.unixx.net/

Buy Here: http://www.lona-records.com/shop.html

_____________________________________________________________________________

Review on Edwin Lo - Auditory Scenes: Environmental Sonic Improvisation on heathenharvest.com  (US)

While I can easily say that this is Edwin Lo's debut venture into an actual CD release, the Auditory Scenes series breaks from the mold of traditional releases into an actual subcategory of art for the man. MP3's like ¡§We are Still Young to Play this Game¡¨ and ¡§Tsing Yi¡¨ are available online at his website and he has been featured in numerous exhibitions and performances, the latest of which is still going on for any Hong Kong residents that come across this (Art in the Park: Making the Familiar Unfamiliar, which runs until January 31st.) Edwin Lo is also no simple amateur picking up sounds with a microphone in alleyways across Hong Kong. He has received several awards for his work, a grant towards his schooling, and a grant towards and degree from his university, the School of Creative Media (SGM). Though Edwin Lo may have a darker edge than most field recordings listeners may be accustomed to, it fits his urban lifestyle and tells a story beyond simple noises. While one can certainly not call Edwin's style ¡§music¡¨, his exploration of sound certainly perks up the senses just as well as any traditional music today, and its lack of absurd compression in the mastering phase allows for a enveloping listening experience.

Auditory Scenes: Environmental Sonic Improvisation was recorded on New Years Eve, 2007, somewhere in Hong Kong's crowded Causeway Bay area. The area is located on the Northern shore between Junk Bay and the Sulphur Channel, and Western Harbour Crossing and Cross Harbour Tunnel. It's unclear specifically where Edwin was at the time, but its clear that the recording took place during the New Years' countdown. Environmental Sonic Improvisation starts out ominously, droning air and the humming overwhelming sound of electricity and generators filling the air around. The first glance at humanity that we get to hear is actually disturbingly dark, sounding much more on the scale of tortured screams and ritual chanting in far in the distance than any kind of celebration. The second round of microphone placement on the environment paints a very different picture of obvious celebration and it becomes clear that though the album cover may give off a big of an under-dweller urban dark ambient appeal, its simply a darker observation of sounds on an optimistic scale. While those around him celebrate, count down the numbers to the new years, Edwin observes from the shadows, with his microphones, surrounded by the haunting, unchanging hum of the human electrical life support system.

We relive this memory, this moment in the mind of Edwin, over and over again until the 20 minutes of fascinating sound perceptions stops abruptly with laughing from strangers and the same familiar hum of urban life. It really makes Mr. Lo seem inhuman in a way, that he rather associated himself with the environments surrounded by his recording process than with human companionship on a night known around the world as a time to be with friends and loved ones. That realization gives Environmental Sonic Improvisation more than just a scientific view of sound recording an observation, but instills a bit of melancholy and desolation into the picture as well. So, in the end, ironically, a genre as removed from humanity as field recordings ends up with all too human emotion getting caught in the mix at the end. Really, its a very promising start for this young sound artist, and hopefully his commitment to this strange world of audio perception will continue to bring him success in the future.

Auditory Scenes: Environmental Sonic Improvisation comes packaged as a 3" CD-R limited to 50 copies. The CD-R itself is white with the artist name, Catalogue #, and label logo on a rectangular sticker. The booklet is a folded cardboard sleeve, on the back containing the track listing and recording details, links, and hand-numbered limitation. The front cover is as peculiar as the music itself, containing a warning sticker in English and Chinese regarding warning for poisonous rat bait. While I'm unsure what the sticker pertains to for certain, I can only imagine that it came from the environment that Edwin was recording from and thus goes further to detail the urban compact city landscape in which the recording took place. Excellent usage of an otherwise untelling image.

Contributed by: Sage

http://www.heathenharvest.com/article.php?story=20100116103247143