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SCMP Reporter

A childhood passion has won Christopher Chak fame and awards for his music,  yet he shuns a full-time career in the industry because he simply enjoys the  creative process of composing
A postgraduate student's passion for composing music has continued since the age of seven and recently came to fruition with an award-winning song and other honours.
Fame and success arrived  for Christopher Chak   last year with the  Canto-pop hit Under Mount Fuji, performed by Eason Chan Yik-shun.  The song was named the most popular  Canto-pop song at last year's TVB music awards.
It not only brought  Chan many accolades and awards but also shone the spotlight on Mr Chak.
Despite  having only  composed a  few songs,  his name has gradually become more familiar to Canto-pop fans, with more of his work being taken up by  singers like Kay Tse On-kay  and Eric Suen Yiu-wai.
Mr Chak, who labels himself as a newcomer  to the music industry, said he got his foot in the door  in 2005, when he sent demo tapes to record  companies in Taiwan and was signed up as a composer.
The following year, he entered a songwriting contest and met renowned record producer Alvin Leong, who was one of the judges.
'He liked one of the songs I submitted and selected it for Eason's album, which was released towards the end of that year,' he said. 'That song became Under Mount Fuji.'
Mr Chak, who was too shy to reveal his age and would say  only that he is in his 30s,  is animated when he talks about his music. 'I composed my first song when I was in primary school, around the age of seven or eight  I guess. It was sort of like a children's song. I  wanted to become a songwriter when I was in high school.'
Mr Chak said he had composed  only a  few songs and   the money from songwriting was not a major part of his income. 'But I treat it just as seriously as I would if it  was my career, while trying to enjoy it as an interest,' he said.
Apart from   writing songs, he is  completing a postgraduate degree and has  an internship - he would not say doing what.  Although  busy,  he  still finds  the time to look around for various  sources of inspiration for  his music.
'I like listening to music, music written by others including songs and music without words that I hear. Various things I see and experience like lyrics, movies and images are  sources  of my inspiration,' he said. 'I do not go to particular places for inspiration. Although experiences can sometimes provide inspiration, my imagination seems more important.  Yes, I sometimes use the time during travelling, like on the MTR, to think about melodies in my head.'
He has  no fixed schedule  for composing. 'Last year I wrote only three new songs, but hopefully I can write more often if time allows,' he said.
Mr Chak won seven songwriting awards last year, including best composer in the 7th Global Chinese Music Awards,  best melody in the CASH  (the Composers and Authors Society of Hong Kong) Golden Sail Music Awards  and best composer in the China Billboard 2007 list.
Despite the success of Under Mount Fuji, he initially thought it would not be popular.  'The style of the song did not seem to fit with the current norm of the Canto-pop market,' he said. 'The positive response for this song was something that I would never have imagined, not to mention getting any awards!'
Canto-pop, a mix of  genres, may make it difficult  for singers and songwriters to develop their own style.
But Mr Chak disagrees.  'It gives singers, writers and musicians more room for creativity and allows more co-operation between people with different music backgrounds or specialisations,' he said. 'Every genre of music has its own merits. The quality of music  is more important than its classification.'
But he said commercial considerations limited creativity to a degree. 'It is true that writers  encounter some constraints due to commercial considerations. This is unavoidable but understandable; there is always a need to strike the right balance between artistry, creativity and commerciality in pop music. This does not only happen in Canto-pop.'



Hong Kong Faces