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A made-in-Hong Kong moment for Irish rockers Kodaline?

Like their second album, Coming of Age, band's next one will feature songs they dream up while on tour. So they could be about to lay down a Hong Kong track when they play city next week

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Kodaline on stage in Milan earlier this year.  Photos: Corbis
Kate Whitehead

Fresh from playing summer music festivals throughout the UK, Irish alternative rock quartet Kodaline are preparing for their debut gig in Hong Kong on August 11. The Dublin quartet are riding high on the back of their second album, Coming Up For Air, released this May.

"It's been amazing to tour because with two albums we've got more to draw from," says guitarist Mark Prendergast from his home in Swords, outside Dublin. "There's more fast stuff, more heavy stuff, lighter stuff — so it's more exciting for everybody."

The other Kodaline members are lead singer Stephen Garrigan, drummer Vinny May Jnr and bassist Jason Boland.

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Three of the band grew up in Swords. Boland came from nearby County Kildare. Prendergast first met Garrigan at a skateboard park when they were in their early teens. They spent hours listening to guitar solos — a lot of Led Zeppelin — and organised a battle of the bands at their school.

Originally known as 21 Demands, the band's debut 2007 single, Give Me a Minute, became the first independently released track to top the Irish singles chart. Then they promptly disappeared from the public eye and went through all the angst of growing up and breaking up necessary for writing and recording emotional, heartfelt tunes.

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