Upclose with A Roller Control

HK Magazine: Who or what are Switch, Remote and Knob?
Alok Leung: We decided not to use our real names, thinking it would give us a sense of mystery. Remote, the composer, started the band at the beginning of the year. Then came Switch, who does lead vocals and writes the lyrics, and finally Knob, who does the mixing. I joined last as Socket on guitar.

HK: How did you guys come up with the title “A Roller Control”?
AL: There isn’t much meaning to it. We wanted something a bit disco, a bit dance floor. We were also thinking along the lines of something fun like a roller coaster. But the “control” part is about being digital. We use plenty of equipment in our music and we are always the controllers.

HK: You are known for making the audience clap along to the music. What’s that all about?
AL: It’s simple really. We wanted to go back to the basics and come up with a simple way to interact and communicate with the audience. We wanted to make them feel involved, even audience members who haven’t ever heard our music. And what’s the easiest way to do that? What can every person do?

HK: What’s your perspective on the local Hong Kong music scene?
AL: I’ve been a musician for 15 years. I love music and Hong Kong
music especially. We all grew up here. We listened to a lot of English stuff, and synth-pop was our biggest influence. In the beginning it was difficult to do the music I wanted to do in Hong Kong. But now that I have my own record label, I’d really like to use what I’ve learned over the years to help other indie bands here. I think there’s very little support for these bands in Hong Kong, not enough togetherness and collaboration.

HK: Which Hong Kong band would you most like to jam with?
AL: DP, they’re two really cool guys.

HK: Do you ever get crazy fans who throw themselves at you?
AL: No, because we are not attractive! Hong Kong people will listen
and dance but they’re a bit shy. We do want them to throw themselves at us though.