Five of Hong Kong’s best independent music labels embracing a growing scene
In 10 years Hong Kong’s independent music scene has grown from nothing to a healthy ecosystem, that now showcases a diverse range of artists and genres from house to hip hop, from techno to grime. Here are five stand-out labels
From having virtually no local independent electronic music labels a decade ago, Hong Kong now boasts a flourishing ecosystem. Run by members of Hong Kong’s growing community of musicians, DJs and party organisers, some have been around for several years, while others have only been launched recently. Here are five of the best:
Silk Road Sounds
If you like an eclectic music policy, you’ve probably been to a Yeti Out night, where house and techno are thrown together with bass music, hip hop and most points in between. The Yeti Out crew’s new label, Silk Road Sounds, takes much the same approach, yoking together experimental music in a dizzying array of styles from a variety of countries along the old Eurasian trade route for its debut album Silk Road Sounds Volume 1, which was released on January 16.
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“We launched our music collective Yeti Out back in 2010 in London, focusing on community and parties,” says Yeti Out and Silk Road Sounds co-founder Arthur Bray, a Hongkonger who runs the label with twin brother Tom and London-based Erisen Ali. “It was a natural progression to eventually launch a record label which extends our music taste to digital and physical releases.”
Bray describes the label’s sound as “diverse club music that pays homage to local musical subcultures in various regions. It bridges East and West, such as Taiwanese rapper Aristophanes versus London’s Jam City on the track U Were Not Here, and Double Clapperz contributing their take on what Tokyo grime sounds like, similar to Hong Kong rapper YoungQueenz’s Cantonese interpretation of trap music.”
FuFu Records