Jaded Canto-pop songwriter tunes in to social issues instead
As a Canto-pop songwriter, Paul Lin Che-yeung is an unlikely champion of political causes and social issues.
Yet the lyricist, who has written for the likes of Sammi Cheng Sau-man and Gigi Leung Wing-kei, was angered by the government's handling of the Sars crisis and the sense of political paralysis that helped spark the July 1 mass protest.
The 30-year-old began writing and singing songs inspired by such issues and posted them on the internet, from where they can be downloaded.
He says the suicide of Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing in April also spurred his decision to pour out his feelings and thoughts in his music.
'Cheung's death was shocking in a chaotic April. He was so famous and successful in the eyes of many but still, he was so depressed that he chose to end his life. Every piece of news at that time was bad,' he recalls.
'I love Hong Kong and I cannot bear anymore misgoverning in my homeland.'
Disillusioned with the shallow world of commercial pop, Lin now finds it more enjoyable and meaningful to write songs for Hong Kong people than for pop stars.
'What drives me to write songs is not money, but my bond with the place I love.'
Lin says that for many years he counted himself as one of the apolitical masses of Hong Kong. But he says that eventually he decided he could no longer keep his mouth shut. 'It is time for me to voice my opinion. I can no longer remain silent in the face of Hong Kong's millions of wounded hearts.'
He says of the Sars outbreak: 'It was the time when hopes were torn apart by tears. Everyone was in a panic and every tourist was scared away by the heavy atmosphere. I wanted to be part of the history of that time, and song is the best way to store our collective memories.'
Lin's role model is singer and songwriter Sam Hui, generally regarded as the father of Canto-pop, whose songs captured the feelings and spirit of the working class.
'Year after year I still remember those old songs by Sam Hui. You can easily recall the songs even when you are so old you can hardly remember anything else.'
Lin first tried his hand at music by taking part in song contests at Chinese University. After graduating he started writing popular songs for local singers but eventually grew disillusioned with the work.
'There is no response to your songs as all the credit goes to the singers,' he says. 'Besides, there are too many limitations when you are told to tailor-make songs for a specific singer.'
'This is a two-way communication when responses are directly made to you. The sense of satisfaction is much greater than writing songs for pop singers,' he says.
'Someone is really sharing the same feeling as you and they take your songs seriously. This is the most important motivation for me, to compose songs for them.'
