Name: Chet Lam Yat-fung Born: Hong Kong Zodiac: Pisces Chinese zodiac: Dragon
Studio albums: Pillow Songs (2003), Travelogue 1 (2003), Travelogue, too (2004), The Soundtrack of our Lives (Music Theatre Soundtrack, 2005), Camping (2006), The Private Life of C (Mandarin, 2007), Once in a Lifetime (Music Theatre Soundtrack, 2007), Travelogue, three (2008), My Lonely Planet (Mandarin, 2009), Back to the Stars (English, 2010)
My role as Ambassador of the Hong Kong A Cappella Festival is to ... let people know that this is more than just a form of singing. A cappella is like a human activity, it's a more sublime form of singing. It's not just about music. It's about co-ordination and having fun, too. This is something that can be a very enjoyable activity for anyone.
The Hong Kong Melody Makers ... invited me to this event. I was singing with Potenza [a smaller, all-male group comprising Melody Makers] at my sister's [Eman Lam] concert a while back. I wanted to participate in the festival last year but my schedule wouldn't allow [it]. This year I said 'yes' before they even finished the question. It's really a great honour to be a part of this festival.
Growing up ... I wanted to be a writer. I didn't think of music as a career at all. I grew up in a public housing estate. I would go to the library and read a lot. I also watched a lot of movies. Then I started writing songs to express my feelings about my background or community.
I am a ... songwriter, first and foremost. It's always been about songwriting for me. I have some thoughts, then I put them into words. And then I spread the message with music. The writing process is ... all here [pointing to his head]. Well, hopefully. But sometimes I'd try to make some excuse to get out of town ... looking for inspiration. But the harder you look for it, the easier it'll escape you. When you stop looking for it, that's when it'll come to you. It's like love - really! Sad but true.
