Cantopop Group at17
Folktronica group at17 formed when Eman Lam and Ellen Joyce Loo met at a singing contest in 2000. The funky duo have been key players in the alternative music scene ever since. They talk to June Ng about their “Over The Rainbow” project and how you don’t have to be pretty to be successful, though it helps.
Sometimes we’re a little too serious and mature—and therefore pretty boring.
We have a clear musical direction, so we’re more creative and experimental in our personal lives.
But on the other hand, if you find a foolproof formula for living your life, you become complacent and too lazy to explore other possibilities.
You never know who’s down there in the audience, watching what you’re doing.
Art should be a part of everyday life, not something in a museum that people can’t touch. The only bright side of suppressing art and creativity like this is that it stimulates creative people from the underground.
If you isolate arts and culture in people’s lives, the scene will never grow.
Pop dominates everything. Even if something new comes up, next year’s promoter might not think it’s profitable and drop it.
“Over The Rainbow” is our year-long project. We’re releasing an album every three months, with each album representing a color of the rainbow. Last time it was “Orange,” which was very loud. The next release will be “Yellow.”
Your future can outgrow your dreams—so it doesn’t really matter that much if you never became the person you wanted to be when you were young.
We can live life in a more creative way by asking more questions. There’s no such thing as an absolute solution.
Despite the many social problems in Hong Kong, our society seems only to care about the Hang Sang Index.
What’s money to you? When the market can fall like that, and Lehman Brothers can go bankrupt, shouldn’t we reconsider what we value the most?
Be brave. Do whatever you want. We’re putting on a show with diva Rebecca Pan Di-hua. She’s 77 but she still lives her life without fear.
We are pretty because we love what we do. When we first came out, some people tried to make us into “stars.” And we tried. But we soon discovered that what mattered most was our music.
Ellen hasn’t put down a guitar since she first picked it up when she was 9. But I’m different. I can leave anytime. In fact, I never really love anything in my life.
It can be quite a misfortune to find the one you want to spend the rest of your life with in your 20s. That’s just too early. But if it makes you happy...
There is too much emphasis on the negative in the media. Everyone has an evil side, but it doesn’t always need to be broadcast that loudly.
Life isn’t about bitterness. But it is a fundamental component.
