Sounds & Sights of Silva - Hong Kong
Let Shoegaze Bring Us Back To That Room
Kowloon Walled City was a city on the eastern side of of downtown Hong Kong. Factories churned out the world’s supply of fish balls and textiles, dentists operated unlicensed clinics for whoever dared seek them out, kids played with telephone cables on rooftops shrouded in the clouds, apartments were continuously being built on top of each other where seemingly it could all come crashing down at any moment.
Its existence and continued self-determination was a conundrum – first as a Chinese outpost during British rule of Hong Kong after the Treaty of Nanjing, then still exempt from British governance during the 99 year lease of Hong Kong but essentially ignored by the Chinese government until it was time to tear it down in 1993. Hong Kong’s identity has been pushed and pulled in so many directions over the last century and a half, but Kowloon Walled City remained its own entity that was at once dangerous, but also a symbol of perseverance.
Shoegaze music creates an ethereal haze of sound that supersedes all other noise, both escaping nagging voices and drowning out the monotony. In a way, it makes sense for a place like Hong Kong – its so busy that the best way to cope is to build a wall of effects-heavy guitars and vocals and shred until everything calms down. So the shoegaze show at Music Zone seemed to be a perfect companion to my visit, an overwhelming 24 hours where I couldn’t seem to get a handle on the ways of the city and needed shoegaze to bring me back to that room.
Lucid Express (HK), Pocari Sweet (Guangzhou, China), and Jo’s Moving Day (Guangzhou, China) shared the evening. I’m friends with Lucid Express but this was my first time seeing the band perform, and it was beyond expectations. Their set, along with the others’, created an atmosphere that I’m not sure I’ve felt at a concert before. I was swept away in the effects and guitars and told the band this much when I saw them afterwards.
I visited Kowloon Walled City Park the morning after the show. It was a solemn stroll away from the noise of the city, the antithesis of the shoegaze concert the night before but a strangely similar comfort. The original gates are still mostly intact and the community center at the heart of the city now displays a museum dedicated to its history, but the haphazard stacks of apartments are now replaced with carefully curated gardens and walking paths where locals get in their morning calisthenics.
The park ironically finds itself now in the shadows of skyscrapers.
Lucid Express - “Prime of Pride”
Lucid Express put out a survey on their social media asking fans what songs they wanted to hear. I immediately requested “Prime of Pride”, one of my favorites (but a deeper cut) from their self-titled record. Near the end of the set, they snuck in this song and lead singer Kim gave me a nod and a thumbs up.
Pocari Sweet - “海風吹”
Jo’s Moving Day - “1968 Itinerary”
I was not aware Guangzhou, China had a burgeoning shoegaze scene, but both Pocari Sweet and Jo’s Moving Day are pushing the scene forward very intently. Both bands very clearly have a vision and are well on their way to perfecting it. Their shoegaze sound is vintage, but also leaves room for improvisation and invention in a way that will help distinguish them moving ahead.
Follow the full playlist of Sounds of Silva featured tracks.
Listen to Zach’s radio show archive for Friend From A Big City on Deadbeat Radio.
[Zach 2023 Travel Log #3]