Tag: music

  • Bloodz Boi on his Debut Australian Tour, raw and unfiltered

    Bloodz Boi on his Debut Australian Tour, raw and unfiltered

    The Beijing rapper brought to Melbourne a deep-cut show of emotion.

    In the world of cloud rap, few artists carve out a niche as distinctively as Bloodz Boi. The rapper debuted on Australian shores and played two intimate shows in Melbourne and Sydney. He is known for his lyricism, lo-fi beats, and a stage presence that commands attention. The Melbourne show provided a raw, unfiltered look into his heart. We met up with the artist in tow, so read on as Yang Fan sheds light on his introspective approach to music and performance, and a desire for authenticity over fame.

    Sarah Wei: Is this your first time in Australia?

    Bloodz Boi: Yeah, first time. 

    SW:What do you think motivates your music?

    My life, yeah, I think my life. Right now, it’s mostly from my life, and maybe just art in general influences me. As soon as I start fighting with my mind… It’s not a very serious thing.

    SW:Is it the same when you create a set for a performance?

    I don’t perform a lot. I don’t want people to see me because every time I perform, I have to reface every scene I created from my songs. 

    My music and songs are careful and are not from good memories. So, while singing them, I want to make them very legit, make myself be there, make myself very sad or something, to feel that. I want to give the people 100% of what I am thinking. It is the emotions that are way more important than anything else.

    It’s like revisiting your emotions… Once you make a song or once it goes out to the public, do you ever revisit it?

    No, I don’t listen to my music. I have taken down a lot of music. The feeling is right now. I always change.

    SW: Why were you drawn to cloud rap?

    Because I’m a soft person. I don’t have a hard style; I am living myself. I don’t like the high energy. 

    SW: And what about DJing? Do you still do that?

    DJ for radio is good enough [currently Bloodz Boi hosts for NTS Radio]. I don’t like to DJ offline. 

    You don’t enjoy it as much?

    Yes. Sometimes, I will. DJing is like karaoke to me. I am saying, you can’t go to karaoke every week, or you will lose your passion. I listen to a lot of music, so I like to listen to it on a club monitor.

    SW: Do you feel much impact from the nightlife in Beijing?

    Like before 2019. When Dada [a Beijing club] opened, the first day I was there. The very old, the old one. I was in high school at that time. My music was influenced a lot.

    SW: Did you find a sense of community there?

    Yes. I made a lot of friends in Dada. I have a very good friend in high school, we grew up to grow up together. I’m older than him, and after his final high school exams in China, I brought him there the same day. Now, he DJs there, every weekend, there or someplace else in Beijing. I have met a lot of interesting people, but I have lost them in the last four years because I don’t talk to people.

    SW: Would you want to reconnect with them?

    I don’t want to be here in any community now, I don’t want to socialise. I only have one or two friends in Beijing. My very close friends don’t listen to my music, they’re not about the music. Never listen to my music, please. Like, I want people to know me. So, my real name is Yang Fan, I want people to know me.

    On the internet, it’s really interesting. Like people, if they saw you making music, they saw you as an artist, and then saw your listing. They think you are very famous.

    When people see you making music, they recognise you as an artist and then notice your fame. But the truth is, anyone can make music these days, much like anyone can send an email. But why? Oh, [because you] got to do something, you know? So, there are not many people making music like ours. I don’t want to trade myself.

    SW: How about China’s underground music scene?

    If you are an underground artist, you are an underground artist; there is no crossover into the mainstream. If you are commercial, you are getting big. Rich and poor. There is no crossover.

    SW: Is your collaboration mostly from your online friends?

    From different countries, talking different languages. Music is not about the language or anything else. So it’s really good. We can meet through the music.

    SW: Is there any artist you really want to work with?

    I want everything just natural. You know? For some people I make music with, it wasn’t because I like their music; it was just because I like this guy. And it’s way more than music.

    Like, I am a fanboy of some people as well. But I don’t want to break the feeling. I just want to listen to them, I don’t want to make music with them.

    If we make music, I want it to be natural. We meet, get to know each other, and then make the music.

    SW: Then, does each new track become individual to the artist?

    Yes, right, right. I never make a song where it’s just half a song, and here you go, do the rest. No, I won’t do that. Every song is just for him or for her.

    SW: How much of your identity do you tie to your music?

    Yes, all of them. I mean, I want the people to like me, for me. The music is a part of me. In the music, I can express all of myself. It is more than the music. It is the real me. There are some people who tell me it’s too real. Like this is too much. They can’t take it. This is too heavy… Like last night [at the concert], I tried my best. But the set up was not good, and it might have made people misunderstand.

    [At his Melbourne show, Bloodz Boi reperformed songs multiple times]. 

    Some people really come for me. I have to do that. I have to do that for them. I want them to feel, to listen, to my set and receive the vibe.

    Find Bloodz Boi’s music, tours, and radio shows here.

    Live Concert Images Courtesy of Valerie Joy.

  • Dark Mofo and MONA in Hobart: An Insider’s Guide.

    Dark Mofo and MONA in Hobart: An Insider’s Guide.

    From MONA, Night Mass, Altar to the Odeon Theatre, find out where to go and what to see.

    Dark Mofo is synonymous with artistic exploration, immersive experiences, and provocative displays, a winter festival for arts, culture and music in the heart of Hobart. This year, the two-week-long festival brought in the likes of Black Flag, Eartheater, Tianzhuo Chen, Laurel Halo, Dean Hurley, Max Richter, Ryoji Ikeda, Berlin Atonal, and ¥ØU$UK€ ¥UK1MAT$U. Alongside a new vanguard of Australian artists from GLVES, Tasman Keith, V, Arcana, Kaylani, Kinder and OKENYO.

    Then across the waters is MONA — Museum of Old and New Art — founded by David Walsh and accessible via a 25-minute ferry ride from the city in an art-deco bar boat. On show now is Oceans of Air (17 December 2022—24 July 2023), a solo exhibition of Tomás Saraceno that approaches the Argentinian artist from a native lens. Paintings, sculptures and interactive works are on view to reflect our relationship with nature, society and spiders.

    AT MONA

    Oceans of Air, curated by the in-house team Emma Pike and Olivier Varenne, separate the exhibition into over eleven rooms of dark-walled encounters with nature. Within the subterranean galleries, a serenity follows as you walk through the maze of literal spider webs in Webs of At-tent (s)ion. Then there are declarations of ‘Invertebrate Rights’ and sound installations that make up a wire-strung symphony.

    The 4pm orchestra show is a project by Tasmanian musician Dean Stevenson, who writes a new piece of music every day from scratch and performs it at 4pm with a different ensemble of musicians. Grab a drink and sit in the open lounge, or for something more private behind closed green curtains The Lady’s Lounge for high tea. Then there is Event Horizon by James Turrell, an immersive experience of the Ganzfeld Effect, leaving you feeling lost between the beginning and end.

    Newly opened inside the MONA Library is a recording studio open to public bookings with a viewing glass to studio sessions by The Frying Pan Studio. Inside is original equipment from The Beatles Abbey Road Album, Pink Floyd and The White Stripes. Be part of history.

    Western Flag, John Gerrard, Dark Mofo 2023. Photo credit: Andy Hatton, 2023.
    Western Flag, John Gerrard, Dark Mofo 2023. Photo credit: Andy Hatton, 2023.

    DARK MOFO

    A two-week-long winter festival for arts, culture and music that takes over the city of Hobart at night.

    NIGHT MASS

    Unveiling Hobart’s Underground from Altar, The Grand Poobah, The Alleway and an Underground Cinema.

    In Altar, graffiti-clad walls set the scene as international DJs deliver melodic techno, bass, and trance on the upper floors. Downstairs, immerse yourself in hardcore metal, rap, and raunchy drag shows that defy convention. With every hour, new performers take the stage until dawn.

    Seek solace in Poobar’s back room, where tarot card readings intertwine with string melodies and theatre performances of the oracle predictions. As you venture further into the labyrinthine depths of Nightmass, stumble upon the underground cinema nestled by the Alleyway entrance. The Alleyway hosts loft DJs surrounded by outdoor campfires, where the underground cinema offers satirical theatre and drag bingo.

    And if you’re lucky enough to enter the coveted Red Room in the Odeon Theatre, prepare to be enchanted by boundary-breaking performances. Be quick, though, as space fills up swiftly once a show concludes, or you’ll be lining up for hours. Night Mass is an immersive journey into Hobart’s underground scene.

    TRANCE Photo credit: Rosie Hastie, 2023.
    TRANCE Photo credit: Rosie Hastie, 2023.

    But the stand out performance showcasing underground sub-cultures was TRANCE by Tianzhuo Chen (Thu 8 – Sat 10 June). The ‘3 day rave’ put on three 12-hour long performances in an immersive nature-scape with art installations, interpretive characters, bass DJs and music performances. Artists from around the globe flew in to participate including Dis Fig, City, KIM KHAN, Lavinia Vago, OMI, and ¥ØU$UK€ ¥UK1MAT$U.

    ODEON THEATRE AND IN THE HANGING GARDEN

    Two music venues for international and local acts in a historic theatre and open-air stage.

    The opening night show In The Hanging Garden tilted The Gathering — saw powerful verses of BARKAA, the alluring flow of Tasman Keith, and the soulful dameeela. These remarkable First Nation artists forge a profound connection with the audience and land, setting the tone for the rest of the festival. Amidst this symphony of sounds, In The Hanging Garden is a multi-level outdoor venue adorned with cathedral-like light installations serving local wine or food from wild wallaby, pepperberry and more.

    Then at the Odeon Theatre, its architecture is reminiscent of a bygone era. The ornate details, from the intricately carved pillars to the rich tapestries adorning the walls, create an atmosphere of musical grandeur. PS. It’s the location of The Red Room, but only expect a seat if you arrive by midnight when doors open.

    As for the shows, the first weekend saw Black Flag’s unapologetic energy and Thundercat’s instrumental jazz, while Ethel Cain’s haunting melodies closed out the weekend.

    Enter the ethereal realm of Borderlands I, where Dean Hurley and Laurel Halo, two electronic composers from the United States, created soundscapes of tension and cinema to sit back and relax too. The second weekend for Borderlands IV will host Tujiko Noriko, Hiro Kone, KMRUKEN and Hüma Utku for their rendition of the electronic music concept.

    Crosses, Dark Mofo 2023 Photo credit: Rosie Hastie, 2023.
    Crosses, Dark Mofo 2023 Photo credit: Rosie Hastie, 2023.

    WINTERFEST AND DARK PARK

    Feed the body at Winterfest and the soul at Dark Park this winter solstice at Dark Mofo.

    As the frosty air wraps the city in its embrace, the people come out to play at night. Winter Feast beckons, a nightly feast where local and international cuisines intertwine over communal tables, fire pits and live music. From spit roasts, seafood, local wines and craft beers, the indoor-outdoor halls lit from neon red crucifixes and hourly fireworks have their own rugged charm.

    Spectra, Ryoji Ikeda, Dark Park, Dark Mofo, 2023 Photo credit: Remi Chauvin, 2023.
    Spectra, Ryoji Ikeda, Dark Park, Dark Mofo, 2023 Photo credit: Remi Chauvin, 2023.

    Dark Park, nestled within the former industrial site of Macquarie Point, blends raw and weathered elements with contemporary design. As you traverse the landscape, Spectra commands attention with its towering presence. A monumental beam of light crafted by Japanese artist Ryoji Ikeda can be seen throughout Hobart. But the ancient ritual of Ogoh-Ogoh genuinely captures the spirit of Dark Park. The pinnacle event is on the festival’s final night, as the Ogoh-Ogoh is set ablaze. In this ritual, the audience is invited to write their hopes, dreams, and wishes on paper, which they then cast into the bonfire. A practice of catharsis and release to end the two-week-long festival of art, culture and debauchery.

    Winterfest and Dark Park become the epicentre of Dark Mofo’s enchantment as the winter solstice casts its spell.

  • high or low

    high or low

    TEXT & PHOTO // Tomé Palla

    LISBON. A song produced by The Rooms with Eleonora Yung, Nathan San, and h.s studios.

    i’m out, try to find my about

    psychotic breaks left stuck in my mind

    life in between the poles

    the only thing i’m allowed

    lock him down for

    his highs too high, his lows too low

    while some crack up the floorthe others’ were

    never seen before

    watch him as he goes

    don’t forget to analyse his flow

    easy odd to come across

    bear in mind he’s either high or low

    he’s either high or low

    i’m out, try to find my about

    psychotic breaks left stuck in my mind

    easy odd to come across

    bear in mind, bear in mind

    he’s either high or low

    he’s either high or low

    he’s either high or his low

    he’s either high or his low

    stuck in between the poles

    A black and white photograph of a fire escape staircase attached to a multi-storey building, with windows visible in the background.

    This article is from a Paradigm Haus’ Downtown feature available to read in print. Get your limited edition copy here.

  • Mini Trees’ Lexi Vega on Expressing Her Life Through Music

    Mini Trees’ Lexi Vega on Expressing Her Life Through Music

    Lexi Vega from Los Angeles-based band Mini Trees speaks on the shift from drumming to songwriting, and how the pandemic and self-discovery play into her music.

    Interview by Ashmitaa Thiruselvam

    Paradigm Haus: Can you please tell us about the beginnings of your music career and how it came about?

    Lexi Vega: I’ve been playing and writing music ever since I was a kid but it wasn’t really until Mini Trees (in 2018) that I decided to actually try making something of it. Prior to that, I had been gigging in other people’s projects, playing the drums and kind of just taking a backseat to the whole thing. But I really enjoyed getting to play with so many people and I think it set me up really well to start my own project.

    PH: I heard that you were initially a drummer, why did you choose to further explore your creativity through singing and songwriting?

    LV: Songwriting is something that I’ve always done but used to reserve for personal self-reflection. It took me a while to get over the initial embarrassment of sharing something that felt so deeply vulnerable, and I think that’s honestly what held me back from doing so for so long. Mini Trees kind of came about by accident. The other bands I was playing in at the time all happened to be on hiatus, so I found myself with all this extra time to write and work out my songs in the studio with my friend and producer Jon Joseph. From there, things kind of just started to take off.

    PH: The tracks in your latest album Always in Motion hold so much meaning and draw attention to your personal experiences. Why do you feel it is important to create music in light of your past?

    LV: For me, songwriting has been a really important and helpful tool for processing and dealing with my past. It’s allowed me to search down deep and uncover emotions or feelings that I didn’t really know were there, and to also vocalize and “let them go”. I’ve found it to be an incredibly healing way to process it all.

    PH: I noticed that Always in Motion has also been produced as a Japanese CD on your website. What was the reasoning behind releasing a Japanese adaptation?

    LV: Early on in chats with my label (Run for Cover) I mentioned that I wanted us to partner with a Japanese label/distributor like Tugboat so that I could share my music more widely with Japanese audiences. My Japanese heritage has played a major role in my songwriting, especially the songs that deal with identity, so having unique Japanese releases felt like a small way to celebrate that.

    PH: Your album and EP Slip Away were released during isolation. Has the pandemic impacted you as an artist? Did it maybe help you in some ways too?

    LV: The forced “slow down” that the pandemic brought is what led me to write the album when I did. I was initially expecting to spend a lot of 2020 on the road to support the EPs but like everyone else, I was forced to stay home and rethink everything. All of that extra time to sit at home and process my thoughts definitely helped inspire the album; it was written entirely in 2020. It wasn’t all easy though; I definitely struggled with the isolation from family and friends and had a lot of anxiety and fear to work through. I know we’re not out of the woods yet but I’m grateful to be able to hug my family again.

    Mini Trees’ EP Slip Away by David Dean Burkhart (via YouTube)

    PH: Congratulations on announcing your performance alongside Hovvdy’s shows in May and June of 2022. It must be super exciting! What are some things fans can expect when they see you perform?

    LV: Thanks, I’m super excited! We’ll be touring as a full band and probably playing a lot of songs off the LP but we’ll definitely get the hits from the EPs in there as well.

    PH: What can listeners look forward to for the future of Mini Trees?

    LV: Well, I’m not planning on stopping or slowing down any time soon so hopefully a lot more music and touring. I’ll be on the road here and there this year (including the UK/EU this summer) and in between that I’m just focusing on writing and planning whatever the next thing is.

    Listen to Lexi’s latest album Always in Motion on streaming platforms.

    Find Lexi Vega on Instagram at @minitrees

    Discover more on Lexi and her discography on solo.to/minitreesband

  • Lexi Vega’s Top Songs, Local Indie Artists & Tour Essentials

    Lexi Vega’s Top Songs, Local Indie Artists & Tour Essentials

    We asked Lexi Vega from Mini Trees for her current top picks in songs, local indie artists and tips while going on tour with cult-favorite Death Cab for Cutie.

    This is part of our ‘Rapid Fire’ Series from our interview with Lexi Vega.

    Interview by Ashmitaa Thiruselvam

    Lexi Vega’s Top 5 Songs Right Now

    Medium Build “Rabbit”

    (Medium Build, Rabbit, 2021)
    (Medium Build, Rabbit, 2021)

    I just met Nick of Medium Build at SXSW and he has become a dear friend. I also just discovered that his music is absolutely incredible, so this one is one of my favs.

    Fenne Lily “Hypochondriac”

    (Fenne Lily, Hypochondriac, 2020)
    (Fenne Lily, Hypochondriac, 2020)

    My friend was just on the road with Fenne Lily which is what led to me hearing this song. It’s awesome and has a very epic key change moment.

    Mitski “The Only Heartbreaker”

    (Mitski, The Only Heartbreaker, 2021)
    (Mitski, The Only Heartbreaker, 2021)

    I’ve been a Mitski fan for a long time so it’s no surprise that I fell in love with the new record. This song pumps me up and makes me feel like I’m in an 80’s training montage.

    Tristen “Alone Tonight”

    (Tristen, Sneaker Waves Album, 2018)
    (Tristen, Sneaker Waves Album, 2018)

    My Nashville friends introduced me to Tristan when we were on the road last winter. I wasn’t previously familiar but her songwriting and catchy melodies hooked me immediately.

    Hiroshi Sato “Say Goodbye”

    (Hiroshi Sato, Awakening Album, 1982)
    (Hiroshi Sato, Awakening Album, 1982)

    I’m extremely late to the party on this one. I just recently started getting into Japanese city pop and Hiroshi Sato is one of the greats. Absolutely love the synths and grooves on this song.

    You can listen to Lexi’s playlist on Spotify here

    Top 5 Indie Artists in LA

    Gracie Gray

    DCR Pollock

    Jake Tittle

    All Things Blue

    AO Gerber


    Lexi’s Tour Tips

    It’s a marathon, not a sprint haha. Try to eat healthy, don’t drink too much, get good sleep, etc. My essentials would include headphones, a journal, and my coffee set up. I like taking moments to chill out and be alone in the morning and being able to brew myself a cup of coffee feels like a nice little slice of home.


    Follow Lexi on Instagram @minitrees and stream on Spotify at Mini Trees

    Listen to Lexi’s Playlist on Spotify

  • Percussionist Angela Wai Nok Hui Experimental Music Artist in London

    Percussionist Angela Wai Nok Hui Experimental Music Artist in London

    Percussionist and multi-disciplinary artist Angela Wai Nok Hui, tells the narrative of her youth spent between Hong Kong and London through her collaborative project Let Me Tell You Something. Still relevant today, the show examines identity, relationships and memory through the performance medium.

    Paradigm Haus: How did you feel after Let Me Tell You Something?

    Angela Hui: I can tell you how I felt right after the show. Wing is my producer and we are good friends as well. She told me that she had a strange feeling but she didn’t know how to describe it. However, I didn’t feel that way because I have experience performing and I don’t get this kind of “post-show depression”.

    I’m using the show as a medium to express my feelings to the world and to Hong Kong, to London and to my family and friends. The show is me and I am a person that doesn’t know how to use words as you can tell maybe.

    Let Me Tell You Something, Image Courtesy of Angela Wai Nok Hui (by Dimitri Djuric)

    PH: I saw one of the photos where you picked a branch off the street, how did you choose different mediums and how are they all tied together?

    AH: I collaborated with different composers. The composer Gregory Emfietzis has a piece called “Hestia”, which means “goddess of fire”, “goddess of home” and “goddess of a home setting”. That piece is interesting because Greg made this card game with a set of instructions. I composed the whole piece with his instructions, so the composition is the input of that piece.

    For the main component, Greg tried to make me tell a story in front of the audience and he also told me it would be great to find any objects that are related to the story. I chose a full flowerpot and a baby’s glockenspiel, which is a toy instrument used throughout the whole program. This baby glockenspiel appears in Lucy’s piece and Jasmin’s pieces. Then there were normal bricking sticks, which I didn’t choose.

    PH: What does collaboration mean to your creative process?

    AH: Collaboration is very important for me. Collaborating with people is like talking to people. Because I am a classically trained percussionist. I went to the Royal College of Music. I spent six years playing a lot of notes, marimba, timpani, Beethoven, symphony, counting bars, triangles and all that. I love them. I enjoyed the experience. But then I always find it’s a little bit lonely when I’m practicing in my own practice room. I enjoy collaborating and making stuff in a whole different way that I wouldn’t even think of before asking people to join me, to have a jam.

    This whole project started more than two years ago. Two pieces for Angus Lee, a Hong Kong composer, are actually finished. The final version finished in 2019 with Timothy Cape, where I made a very weird dance next to a bass drum. He is based in Italy, he would have come to London to work with me if not for the pandemic. We were doing videos back and forth. We were looking for weird and different sounds and we were jamming. He was making projections for me to have a feel and then I told him my feeling. But then he would say “maybe that’s not how I want you to feel, so maybe let’s do something else.” I work with composers, so I need to trust that person and open my heart to them.

    With Jasmin’s piece, This Land is Yxxr Land, people could interpret the title of the piece differently. This piece is very personal. It was basically during an interview with me. She tried to record the interview and then put it into a new looping tape. It sounds not true at all, very emotional, but whenever I play that piece, I recall all of the memories that I told her. It makes me smile. Especially the first performance in Hong Kong, lots of friends and family came. I don’t know why the first performance is mostly for friends and family. Then the second is that of more colleagues.

    The first performance is the first piece of the show as well. I did not play the pre-show cassette, so I used this piece to bring people into my world and I try to use the cassette as a gateway for them to come in.

    So when I played that piece on the first night, it really was special because a lot of people that I’ve talked about in this piece were all there in the venue. It was creepy and it gave me goosebumps. That was a special moment, I didn’t expect that. Even one of my aunties bought tickets and came. She was in one of the events or one of the memories that I talked about.

    A close-up of a musical instrument with wooden bars, reflecting an abstract image of a person playing or interacting with the instrument, illuminated with warm lighting.

    PH: Then how do you think the audience affects your performance?

    AH: Comparing day one and day two, I would say performing in Hong Kong, in general, is different from what I normally do. In London, my family wouldn’t be there. If there’s a piece that I need to be naked, I could do that. But in Hong Kong, I can’t do that. Even though I can do that, I have to go through lots of mental preparation to do that. But I haven’t really thought about why I’m having that feeling.

    PH: Can you compare your experiences in Hong Kong to the scene in London where you’re normally based?

    AH: Not to say that London is having a good time as well. I think there is the same problem everywhere in the world. It is fine, we have to deal with problems that’s kind of our life.

    Audiences in London are more open minded and willing to support artists. I don’t know if that is the case because ticket prices are cheaper?

    In Hong Kong, I didn’t know that my show could be sold at $250HKD, which is expensive. The shows I went to in London were just around seven pounds to walk in. Early bird tickets were just five pounds. I would love to do an experiment on this, for example, what if I do a completely awful show and sell tickets for $10 in Hong Kong.

    In London, people are trying to bounce off ideas more openly. I’ve been in Hong Kong for two months, including my 21-day quarantine. I have a sense of the Hong Kong music industry, which is in groups. It’s very hard from the outside to break in.

    I think the observation for me, between Hong Kong and London, is that everything in Hong Kong is very, very pretty and well presented.

    For example, the big font of Tai Kwun is so pretty. All the wordings and even some English I don’t even understand like “microwave”. Emails used in Hong Kong are different from how we do in the UK. Whereas in the UK or in mainland Europe, such as Germany, Belgium, they have more of the rawness of art. I can see some really, unprepared, ugly, and raw shows in London, but then I don’t think I will get to see them in Hong Kong. But maybe ugly and beautiful really depend on how you see them.

    PH: Are there any kinds of trends that you’ve been noticing in experimental art or in the music scene?

    AH: People all have a lot of energy, but then they don’t have the support to do it. I’m seeing this crossing of disciplines, which might be a by-product of the pandemic.

    I’m a percussionist, I’m a musician and now I’m trying to do some sound and music design, which I would never have thought of before. So my by-product of the pandemic is five short movies I made for this show. People as artists are trying to see how far we could go in different directions, which is really good.

    Sometimes I don’t have the normal knowledge of how to make a sound and then something interesting can come out from that. I don’t know the normal steps of making a soundtrack. That could be the element of why the soundtrack could be so bad, or so good. So that’s why a painter tries to do music, and play percussion or piano. Simply because they don’t have normal lessons on how to do it, something interesting that I wouldn’t think of would come out of this.

    A person sitting in a chair with their head tilted back, illuminated by a lamp in a dimly lit room.

    PH: Do you think these thematic topics of the pandemic and cross-disciplinary avenues changed how artists approach their practise?

    AH: The pandemic didn’t really change what I wanted to talk about in the show. It was more about what happened in Hong Kong during these two years that changed a little bit on this show.

    For me, it all started by asking myself who I am. The identity crisis, you know? Where is home? Do I have one term or do I need to go back to my home? Am I humble or maybe I have no home and I will never have a home. And then the whole movement happened in Hong Kong.

    It makes me think no matter where I go, I really have a very strong bond with Hong Kong and that would never change. I think I found the answer or maybe I don’t think I would ever find it. Do I have one home or do I have no home? I could have two homes. Now I’m married to an Italian Frenchman, so here’s my home as well? But it doesn’t really matter, I think I’m just going to continue this journey.

    So I think that is a little change of direction because of what happened or what is still happening now in Hong Kong, such as people leaving the country and moving away. So I’m really excited about the London one as well. I really don’t know how the audience or Hong Kongers in London would take it. What would it remind them of? Can I give them the sweetness, a bit of comfort or would I remind them of something bad? So for Let Me Tell You Something, I didn’t really tell them forcefully and spoon-fed them. I created a space for them to tell themselves something. People would get different things from the show.


    Follow Angela Hui on Instagram here: @huiwainokk

    For more of Angela Wai Nok Hui’s work Let Me Tell You Something and her debut album.


    Let Me Tell You Something collaborators on Instagram:

    Lucy Landmore

    Timothy Cape

    Gregory Emfietzis

    Angus Lee

    Jasmin Kent Rodgman

    All images courtesy of the artist.