Samuel Ferrer and Jennifer Palor of Shaolin Fez
Led by Samuel Ferrer and singer Jennifer Palor, Shaolin Fez is a 22-strong ensemble that places a unique take on jazz and symphonic disco. Prior to the band’s March performance, titled “Live and Let Die: The Music of James Bond, Mission Impossible, and more…,” the duo sits down with Andrea Lo to talk about the band, their influences, as well as their upcoming gig.
HK Magazine: How did Shaolin Fez first come into being?
Samuel Ferrer: It came into being when I was first writing music—I had some old tunes that I never arranged. I had always wanted to arrange those songs. I had a singer in mind who ended up having to pull out. I still went ahead with the demo, but I didn’t have a singer for it. I saw an interview with Jennifer, so I checked her out online and was extremely impressed. We started making the CD two years ago, which we released last summer. It’s taken a long time, in part because I have never produced one before. Things got very big—we ended up with 20 musicians on the album, and also a children’s choir.
HK: What is the meaning behind the name?
SF: That’s a bit more random. I was struggling with names for a while. I liked the idea of coming up with some part of the name that was eastern and that’s how the Shaolin part of it came in. Fez was just a word [that] could mean Fez in Morocco, or fez hat. It’s kind of a non-sensical name. I mean, what does Duran Duran mean?
HK: How would you classify yourselves musically?
Jennifer Palor: The first time I heard the music, I thought it was kind of James Bond on acid. That’s what interested me because it was so different to everything else I’ve heard. I thought it was cool to be part of it. As a singer, with that kind of fat sound that’s backing you up, it's exciting.
SF: One of my influences is Jamiroquai; I like that kind of upbeat, busy bass line music they have. The old James Bond stuff by John Barry—the arranger for that music—influenced my writing. We have a lot of vintage qualities to our music, and that’s even truer when we perform live—especially when we play James Bond music.
HK: When you began Shaolin Fez, did you anticipate it to have as many players as it does now?
SF: Yes, I always knew it had to be big. I sometimes think we could make it smaller—and maybe someday we will for touring and such—but my concept is always quite large in terms of orchestration and instrumentation for the group. Only occasionally do I want to bring it down.
HK: What inspired you to perform Bond-themed music?
SF: We did a concert with the Hong Kong Philharmonic about four years ago. There was a James Bond suite in [the performance] that featured some tunes and instrumentals—the audience loved it. The idea I had then was that this should be taken out to the people. Why not get a smaller group together and bring it out to the clubs?
HK: Can you tell us more about the upcoming gig? What can we expect from it?
JP: I think this is the biggest yet, and it’s pretty exciting. There is a lot of new stuff that we are going to be doing aside from the album.
SF: This is big for us both in terms of the amount of music we’re playing and expanding to.