Music producer Mark Lui Chung-tak has set up a 5,000 sqft studio in the hope of improving the quality of albums by local singers.
Unlike your typical cramped studio, in which artists spend just a couple of hours recording, Lui's space is a club-like environment that boasts such features as a pool table and chill-out areas. 'Working in an enjoyable environment, I'm sure that singers can produce more enjoyable music,' he said.
Lui (above) studied civil engineering at London's Imperial College, but found himself hooked on music. He said there's a difference between downloading music in MP3 format and listening to a CD.
'The whole mechanism of sound is different. An MP3 compresses the data into a very small file in which much of the substance is lost. People may not notice it right away, but the whole texture is altered. As a musician, I'm not very happy that the music people listen to isn't of the best quality,' he said.
Lui has worked with many successful and aspiring Canto-pop singers, including Leon Lai Ming, Kelly Chen Wai-lum, Andy Hui Chi-on, Miriam Yeung Chin-wah and Justin Lo. And in doing so he has acquired a reputation as a producer of pop idols rather than genuinely talented singers. But he said it's his job to maximise an artist's talent, whoever they may be. 'I'm paid to do the job, but the quality still needs to come from the artist himself.
'If you don't have the voice, then go and be a celebrity, and if you can't act, then be a model, and if you're short, then don't be a model. Let's face it, that's how [the industry] works,' he said.
