June 30, 1997, still ranks as one of the biggest party nights Hong Kong has seen. While the festivities might have been something of an anti-climax, there were enough events that night, and for about a week prior to the night, for people to either celebrate - or mourn - the lowering of the British flag.
Next week, two years since the change of sovereignty, seven international artists will descend on Hong Kong clubs - a drastic improvement on the relatively uninspired events of the one-year anniversary. Perhaps the depths of the Asian economic crisis can be blamed, but June 30, 1998 passed with limited fanfare. This year's eve of HKSAR Establishment Day, however, comes close to living up to the much-hyped nature of handover night itself.
The Byss Bistro event parallels the mammoth Handover UNITY party that showcased such dance music stars as Paul Oakenfold, Grace Jones and Boy George. It even bills itself as 'Hong Kong's biggest party in two years'.
Due to be held at the huge HITEC location, the 6.5-hour event will feature, among others, Gilles Peterson, the man behind the highly successful Talkin' Loud label. Including such acts as Galliano and Incognito, Peterson's acid jazz label spawned a trend in British music fusing jazz, funk, hip-hop and soul in the late 1980s.
The label has since branched out, carrying in its roster drum and bass heavyweight Roni Size. Peterson's DJing playlists are equally eclectic and include tracks by jazz greats Duke Ellington and Miles Davis, hip-hop outfit the Roots and house star Ultra Nate.
Also on the bill for the night is United Future Organisation (U.F.O.), the critically acclaimed Japan-based trio of Tadashi Yabe, Toshio Matsuura and Moroccan-born Raphael Sebbag. The group's Latin-favoured acid jazz tracks, combined with their love for lounge lizard kitsch, caught clubbers' attention in the early 1990s. With three albums to their credit and a fourth due for release this year, U.F.O. are regarded as one of the most innovative outfits to come from the Japanese club scene. Also on the Talkin' Loud label, but less acid jazzy is 4 Hero. The duo of Dego Mcfarlane and Mark Mac has created a futuristic drum and bass sound.
A first for the local club scene is the appearance of graffiti artist Futura 2000. In addition to a live spray-painting performance, a canvas of Futura's work will be on display. This science-fiction fan and Brooklyn native has been a graffiti artist since the mid 70s in the belly of the New York subway system, and it has been almost two decades since he first exhibited in the Bronx, New York. He has gone on to exhibit in Los Angeles, Paris, London and Barcelona among others.
