bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Lee Wing-Sze

Since the advent of music software, authentic musical instruments have played smaller roles in recording studios, largely due to the lower cost of software and shrinking budgets.

However, musician Arnold Fang Hsin-hao has been lucky enough to produce his latest acoustic album, Hardwood, with only real musical instruments.

With help from his friends and other local musicians, the 28-year-old has realised his long-standing dream of making an acoustic record.

Fang, who started to share his music with other people through the internet four years ago, says: 'Because of my limited budget I couldn't afford to use authentic instruments to record my songs. But I have been lucky enough this time to gather a group of musicians to record this acoustic album.'

Thanks to his friends and the musicians who worked as volunteers, Fang says the cost of the new production has been manageable.

Although he released his debut self-financed album Raindance in 2000 and a second album, Fast Pain, in 2002, this is the first time Fang has featured instruments such as the clarinet, double bass and cello in his music.

Among the players who have helped him are Pong Nan and music students from the Academy for Performing Arts  and the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

'There are some effects that technology cannot produce. I also wanted to explore musical instruments that I am not familiar with and co-operate with other musicians through producing this acoustic album,' says the musician, who used a keyboard and software he had downloaded from the internet to record his previous albums.

By the age of six Fang could play classical piano, and a few years later he started to write songs.

While studying in Michigan, US, after finishing Form Six in Hong Kong, he opened a new page in his musical book and started experimenting with Western music.

During this time he also learned to play the guitar.

'We once went to a pier with a group of schoolmates. One of them took out his guitar and started playing the songs of Hootie and the Blowfish,' the environmental science graduate recalls.

'It was a really fascinating realisation for me that with just a guitar, you can sing and share music with other people wherever you like.'

In 1997 he returned to Hong Kong. After working for a couple of years he went back to America in 1999 to take a two-year masters course in public health in Boston.

'My studies and my job exposed me to issues related to human rights and unfairness, which I wanted to write about in my music,' says Fang, who is now working for a local non-governmental organisation.

'Like Beyond and British band U2, music is not just about performance, it is also a tool to influence society.'

For instance, the song Stand Firm, which is featured on the new release, was inspired by a series of incidents, including the Sars outbreak and Article 23 demonstrations last year.

'The song, which I wrote last June, is a testimony to all the incidents that happened in this place. It is not intended to criticise the government, but rather to inspire people not to back down when they believe something is right.' While producing a well-received and popular album is Fang's major objective, he also hopes that he will get a chance to try his hand at writing music for other media, such as documentaries and films. 'I'm not really into performing. I'm more interested in making music, like writing music scores for movies and different projects,' he says.

'But there are still lots of things for me to learn.'



Getting back to basics