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Lauren James

In times of hardship, music is a binding and uplifting force.
Songs inspired by politics can help spread a message or simply vent rage. The current Hong Kong demonstrations, which were sparked by the now scrapped extradition bill, have used music in a way that shows the unity of protesters.
While protesters were quick to adopt and repurpose existing anthems – such as the 1970s Hong Kong classic Below the Lion Rock – a number of local bands have been composing original songs and recording music videos that express their feelings about the unrest.
Local rap outfit LMF are the most high-profile group to have done so, recently dropping their song 2019, which employs acerbic lyrics to point the finger at local authorities and the current state of affairs.


However, it has been largely the heavier bands that have thrown their weight and creativity behind the cause. Last week, a group of musicians from punk and hardcore bands released a protest song under the moniker One Voice HK. It contains lyrics such as “One voice for those who stand alone/ One voice to stand up for our home/ The cost for change is never free/ It’s up to you, it’s up to me” over a recording of a crowd shouting “gaa yau” (add oil).


Next month, five metal bands will perform a show to raise funds for Spark Alliance, a support group for jailed activists. The gig, held at Mom Livehouse in North Point, will see newer groups ARKM and Insects Wake play alongside the more established bands Cadaver, CharmCharmChu and Synergy. Give Me Democracy or Give Me Death – the night’s title – was inspired by slogans seen sprayed on walls during the protests.
Championing causes, such as the protest movement, is common to alternative music scenes, says “JR”, ARKM’s guitarist. “Underground music, such as metal [and] hardcore, has always been supportive and fighting for the right thing, helping those in need instead of promoting violence. We are simply here to play music and voice our support,” he explains.
Here are five more bands that have released protests inspired by Hong Kong’s civil unrest.


Rokkasen
The slow stomp of Rokkasen’s Step Back to the Almond Blossom is an exercise in Cantonese wordplay and pure rage. “Step back to the almond blossom sounds like ‘step back to pedestrian walk’,” explains singer Bob Wan. “You can hear it in every live stream: riot police asking reporters to step back but all you hear is ‘step back to the almond blossom’.”
Headbangers in hijabs: inside Indonesia’s heavy metal scene
The song and its accompanying clip features sampled vocals from an older man at a demonstration asking police why they are blocking the road. Rokkasen, named after a group of ninth-century Japanese poets, is a new local supergroup formed of Wan, also lead singer of CharmCharmChu, joined by Arthur Urquiola (The Tracy Lords/Dude Law) on guitar and bass, and drummer Owen Fung (The Tracy Lords, Kestrels and Kites). The song’s artwork features a battered Pepe, the cartoon frog that has been adopted as a protest mascot.


Escharotic
Melodic death metal quintet Escharotic released their protest-themed song 928 inspired by the pro-democracy movement and Occupy Central protests. The title refers to the date the 2014 civil disobedience movement started. However, the band has revisited the song’s sentiment amid this year’s turmoil, reposting the track and highlighting the lyrics, “Death between power … the conscience of humanity and the conscience of humanity/under the umbrella”.
The harrowing, four-minute maelstrom of breakneck rhythms and hoarsely growled vocals channels a fury that still feels fresh. Escharotic’s social activism doesn’t stop there: lead singer Summa Li also lent her voice to fellow Hong Kong band Dagger’s recent single Step Back, which looks at gender representation within the city’s music scene.


Parallel Horizons
With their latest single Optophobia (meaning the fear of opening your eyes), metalcore group Parallel Horizons leans deep into an atmosphere of hopelessness and delivers rhythmic breakdowns and complex guitarwork befitting societal chaos. Frontman Naseem Khan, whose incensed barks perforate the track, explains that every detail of the song and video are carefully selected metaphors – from blue and red lights representing police, to the line “40 nights I’ve prayed from this hell”, which is both a biblical reference as well as “the number of days from when the protests started to the day we released the song.”
The singer adds: “We named it Optophobia because we believed that a lot of people are refusing or afraid to open their eyes and take a good hard look at the truth ... we know what we’re fighting for, yet can’t help wonder when all this will end ... The hope that one day we’ll get what we’re fighting for is what keeps us going.”


Human Betrayer
Using footage from the protest set to dramatic blast beats and a guttural vocal gales, extreme metal group Human Betrayer conjure an atmosphere of darkness and despair with Dark Age, a song and music video released in August. Like several other bands, the song uses audio from the protests before an ear-splitting, doom-laden onslaught invades the mix.
Chinese grindcore band with a pig for a lead singer squeals discontent with government
Dark Age, the band says, is inspired by what they see as the new norms in the city: having to “mask ourselves against lethal chemicals, to learn to fend off pepper spray, to keep a helmet on at all times, and to learn to defend ourselves with road signs and self-made shields. As government officials, police officers, and triad members lose their sanity, we have to defend our city against the resulting acts of injustice and evil. This is a revolution against tyranny,” they write. Proceeds from the song will be donated to the movement.


Vanity Alive
Despite focusing on pure guitar mastery instead of lyricism, Vanity Alive’s instrumental track Asura makes no bones about where it stands on the current unrest. The song’s title is a reference to the Sanskrit word for a being akin to the devil. “I feel like that’s how many people view the people running the government right now,” guitarist Ericson Bernardo explains, adding that the song was written “to emphasise the desperation most Hongkongers feel”. Bernardo acknowledges that releasing music overtly in support of the protests “could very well land me in hot water … this may be the last creative thing I do if ever I disappear”.


Labefaction
For nu-metal newcomers Labefaction, their song Restless Paradox was not originally intended to be a protest song, but the lyrics for the track, released earlier this month, are a call to arms that have resonated amid the demonstrations. Releasing the track at a time of unrest in the city was “half fate, half coincidence”, the band says. “We definitely felt affected and inspired by the protests [and] the atmosphere,” the band says. On songwriting during turbulent times, they add: “We have chosen not to stop chasing our dreams and stay strong. We just do what we do best, and do what we think is right.”


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Music

Songs of freedom: eight new protest songs from Hong Kong bands

As the unrest continues, Hong Kong bands are expressing their feelings in song. Photo: James Wendlinger

As the protests continue, Hong Kong bands are expressing their feelings in song. Photo: James Wendlinger

Hong Kong protest songs: 7 anthems of the anti-extradition movement – do you hear the people sing?

Protesters gather and sing at the New Town Plaza mall in Sha Tin. 11SEP19 SCMP / Sam Tsang

A protester handing out the lyrics to ‘Do You Hear The People Sing?’ ahead of the football match between Manchester City and Kitchee at Hong Kong Stadium on July 24. Photo: Winson Wong

How ‘Godfather of Canto-pop’ Roman Tam lives on in Hong Kong hearts and inspires today’s protesters

Roman Tam. Photo: Handout

Young people in Hong Kong who joined the Solar Project '93 organized by Radio Television Hong Kong visited the Shanghai School of the Blind as part of their ambassador programme. Apart from bringing presents and good cheer to the children of the school, they also attended a concert which launched the Project and featured performances by many Hong Kong pop idols. Pictured here is pop singer Roman Tam giving his performance in the concert.

Media preview of "Applauding to Hong Kong Pop Legend: Roman Tam exhibition at Heritage Museum, Shatin. 20Dec11

Radio host and LGBT advocate Brian Leung in Commercial House, 3-5 Old BaileyStreet, Central Hong Kong on October 14, 2019.  14OCT19[16OCTOBER2019 FEATURES]SCMP/  NORA TAM

From left: Singers Andy Lau Tak-wah, Roman Tam and Anita Mui Yim-fong practising the song "For Freedom" in support of the student-led pro-democracy movement in Beijing. 23MAY89

Relatives and friends pay their respects to singer Roman Tam Pak-sin at the Hong Kong Funeral Home in North Point. Tam died of liver cancer on October 18, 2002. 28 October 2002

Black and white photo of singer Roman Tam Pak-sin. 26 NOVEMBER 1970

The last line-up of Roman and The Four Steps. From left: George Fung, Vinton Fong, Roman Tam, Danny So and Willy Han.

***PLEASE CLEAR THE COPYRIGHTS BEFORE REUSE*** Handout image shows Yuen Chi-chung, musical tastemaker, radio DJ and founder of legendary music magazine Music Colony Bi-weekly . 16JUN18 [16SEPTEMBER2018 Thing of Beauty POST MAGAZINE] CREDIT: Yuen Chi-chung

Singer Roman Tam, one of the most respected entertainers in Hong Kong, says that his work has given him so much success and respect that he has never regretted his career choice.

The original Roman and The Four Steps band, featuring Roman Tam (far left)

Singer Roman Tam.

Hong Kong Canto-pop legend Roman Tam, left, pictured here with Canto-pop king Leon Lai Ming, reached the hearts of millions of fans in Hong Kong and around the world and is even inspiring people during the recent pro-democracy protest movement. Photo: Handout

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During times of protest, music can serve as a uniting and rallying force, and sometimes becomes a focal point
From rap to metal to punk, local groups are expressing their feelings about the unrest



During times of protest, music can serve as a uniting and rallying force, and sometimes becomes a focal point. From rap to metal to punk, local groups are expressing their feelings about the unrest.


Hong Kong protests

Hong Kong extradition bill

Hong Kong gigs

Songs of freedom: eight new protest songs from Hong Kong bands

During times of protest, music can serve as a uniting and rallying force, and sometimes becomes a focal point From rap to metal to punk, local groups are expressing their feelings about the unrest

During times of protest, music can serve as a uniting and rallying force, and sometimes becomes a focal point

From rap to metal to punk, local groups are expressing their feelings about the unrest