For genre-defying ni.ne.mo it's all about the attitude
They’ve been labelled hipsters, but ni.ne.mo insist their sound represents substance over style. Whatever you do, don’t flash them the peace sign, writes Rachel Mok
IT’S HARD TO SAY IF it’s a blessing or a curse for a band to be labelled “hipsters”. With a sound that encompasses retro, electro and lo-fi elements, members wearing rolled-up trousers and sunglasses, and cutting-edge graphics on their promotional material, electro-pop quartet ni.ne.mo are often described as the “Kwun Tong hipster band” by those in the know (the quartet used to have a rehearsal room in the district).
“I don’t understand why people think ‘hipster music’ means ‘trendy music’. In the past two years, event organisers such as Your Mum have brought in similar bands to us, and then people suddenly think this style of music is ‘trendy’,” says vocalist Tedman Lee Pui-ming. “We have been playing since 2009. Who would have thought that Hong Kong would be so slow in accepting this kind of sound?
“Some Hongkongers like to label people for the way they dress,” says the 27-year-old singer, who returned to Hong Kong after graduating from university in the midwest state of Ohio in the US. “Like if you wear a hip hop outfit, you must play or like hip hop music. But that’s so untrue.”
Lee is proof that ni.ne.mo think a little differently to many of their contemporaries. On the day of interview, he is wearing a buttoned-up floral shirt, and is listening to Limp Bizkit’s latest album before we start.
Guitarist Joshua Yeung Wai-lok adds: “In other places, a style refers to a musical genre. But here in Hong Kong, a style refers more to a trend, not the music.”