'I'm a workaholic,' says the Hong Kong-born guitarist and co-singer. 'People don't know how hard I work. I expect everyone to pull their fair share of the weight and some members end up saying they can't handle it.' Farooqi insists on practise sessions up to four or five times a week at his studio in an old warehouse in Kwun Tong's grimy industrial belt.

'If it was a hobby it would be easier, but I'm really trying to make something of the band,' says the 30-year-old, a kindergarten assistant by day. 'The odds are stacked against us. Hong Kong is hard for bands, especially one playing hardcore music.'

His single-mindedness is paying dividends, with King Ly Chee's third album due out this year, two Southeast Asian tours under their guitar straps and a MySpace fan base stretching from the Philippines to Scandinavia and the US. Despite the lineup changes, the five-piece remains true to the goals set when he formed the band in May 1999 - to play hardcore music but with a social conscience and pro-Asian message.

'When I first started changing lineups people asked why we didn't just start a new band. But I said the same problem would simply crop up again later,' says Farooqi, who began his music career here after returning from college in the US. 'We're always shocked when someone leaves, but we usually remain friends. I don't want friendships to end just because we're not in the same band any more.' Sometimes it's hard for those who leave, he says, 'but time heals' the rifts.

Each departure is seen as an opportunity to improve the group. When singer Alex Chung left two years ago, the group hired a female lead, known simply as G, a 17-year-old student whose full name is Tsui Nga-tsz. 'The first time she saw us she was 12 years old. She knew the band and was into the music,' Farooqi recalls. Tsui had joined an all-girl heavy metal band, Engrave Thy Heart, which Farooqi had seen perform. 'Her stage presence was unbelievable. She wasn't timid, not at all what you'd expect from a local Chinese girl,' he says. 'When Alex quit I had no one else in mind. It had to be her.'

As a fan, G was familiar with the band's songs, though she had to quit Engrave Thy Heart to keep up with Farooqi's exacting schedule. Bringing in her own influence, she shied away from performing some of the group's older tracks, such as Sickened Eyes, an anti-materialism rant she felt no affinity with. 'It's not that she's a material girl - far from it - she just didn't have ownership of the lyrics,' says Farooqi.

Two of the current lineup are comparative veterans, having spent several years in the band: bass player Pong, a shop worker, and drummer Man, who works in advertising. Guitarist Brian, an environmental worker, rounds out the roster which has been together since 2006. This lineup has tasted more success than previous incarnations, with King Ly Chee being picked to support ageing punks NOFX on their Asian tour.

'I still can't believe we toured with them,' says Farooqi. 'I remember the first time I saw them in 1994 and would never have believed then we would go on the road with them. Just talking with them about other bands they used to hang out with was amazing.'

It was reward for Farooqi's dedication to the cause. 'I saw it as a culmination of our hard work,' he says. The tour also prompted them to write a song, Unite Asia, which appears on their latest EP released online yesterday.

King Ly Chee are renowned for being fiercely patriotic about Hong Kong, but Farooqi wanted to honour the wider fan base with a song describing Asian identity and its young generation.

The EP is being released for free download by the website of Chinese music magazine painkiller mag.com.

'When we were on tour in the Philippines and Indonesia, people turned up in flip-flops and shorts. They had no money and after the gig some would ask us for a free CD. We were happy to give them because the people appreciated our music,' Farooqi says. 'We want to make our new music available to anyone, anywhere without them having to pay.'

The gesture fits King Ly Chee's charitable mould. The band's lyrics, written in English, Chinese and sometimes Korean, Tagalog or other languages in countries where they have fans, always have a social conscience, addressing themes of deprivation, preserving culture and sending positive messages over feedback-drenched guitars and lightning-fast rhythms. They played benefit gigs last year at Queen's Pier and the Star Ferry terminal to oppose their demolition.

'They're destroying our heritage. Central is just shopping malls now,' says Farooqi. 'Playing at those sites was a big deal for us. People need to be aware what's going on and that there are questions to be asked.'

With work starting on a new album, the first by the existing lineup and to be released on Farooqi's own label, Start From Scratch Records, plus a typically punishing gigs schedule, a hectic year is in store for King Ly Chee.

But there's no letting up with Farooqi around.

HK Live! featuring King Ly Chee, Maniac and Uni-K, Sat, 9pm, Fringe Club, 2 Lower Albert Rd, Central, HK$100 (advance), HK$150 (door). Inquiries: 2521 7251