Adam Leung got the idea for his band's name while learning about hernias. The 23-year-old medical student was dissecting a male corpse when he first came across a small cord that's crucial for reproduction. From which was born Spermatic Chord. Two years later, Leung confesses to being a little embarrassed about it. 'The name doesn't really reflect who we are now,' he says. Not only that, but the band have also grown into a collective of 12 musicians who pop in and out of the lineup according to their availability. Tomorrow night, Leung and four others will take to the stage in a 600sqft studio apartment in Wan Chai to mark the opening of the Sonatrope film festival. They'll bring with them three melodicas, a banjo, a lot of percussion, pan flutes, 'something from Thailand or Indonesia', a guitar, tin cans and a toy axe. 'That may give you an idea of what we might play,' Leung says. Spermatic Chord's fluid line-up and unconventional approach to music means the band's sound changes for every show, but Leung hints at a Middle Eastern theme for Friday night, with Latin jazz, calypso, death metal, grindcore and bossa nova thrown in. It'll be abstract but structured, he says. 'We don't really know what we play ourselves, actually.' And Sonatrope organiser Becky Ip is none the wiser. 'I have no idea what it's going to be like,' she says. 'I don't know who's going to be there. I have no expectations.' She chose Spermatic Chord to play because of their versatility and do-it-yourself ethos - a key theme of the festival, which will show independent films that relate to music subcultures such as hip hop, electro, noise-pop and punk. Spermatic Chord will be followed by local one-man electronic band Choi Sai-ho (also known as S.T.), who will show off his mash-ups of bleeps, strings, kooky beats and cyber-fuzz. Choi, who is classically trained and also a multimedia artist, has collaborated with Hong Kong rock band False Alarm and worked on scores for local independent films. Last year, he was the first Hong Kong Chinese musician to join the Red Bull Music Academy in Melbourne, Australia. Choi, 24, says his acceptance into the academy shows that there are talented musicians in Hong Kong, despite the city's reputation for churning out formulaic mainstream fare. Not only did the academy - a two-week programme of lectures and workshops - expose him to new ideas about music, it also brought him in contact with new social and cultural ideas. 'It's fun and inspiring because you can also meet different musicians working on different types of music,' Choi says. Although he grew up learning violin in a traditional manner, Choi took a shine to electronica after seeing the Chemical Brothers play in Hong Kong in 2002. He'd never seen musicians play without instruments and use visuals to support their performance. 'I thought, 'Wow, that's very cool'.' Today, the student of creative media at City University is doing his own visuals for his performances, including a track that samples Nintendo's Gameboy and is accompanied by graphics based on a Mark Six lottery ticket - elements intended to reflect Hong Kong's games culture. Choi draws on a wide range of influences, including Aphex Twin, Kraftwerk, Radiohead, DJ Shadow, Metallica and 1980s Cantopop. He says he's enthusiastic about the Sonatrope festival. 'We should have more festivals and let more people have an alternative approach or alternative choices.' Choi's set will be followed by performances from DJs Elle Est ChiNOISE and Kawaki. Sonatrope film festival opening, with Spermatic Chord, S.T., Elle Est ChiNOISE, New Pony, Kawaki, tomorrow, 9pm, KLUUBB, 14/F Foo Tak Bldg, 367 Hennessy Rd, Wan Chai, HK$40. Inquiries: 6358 2804
