8 Hong Kong artists worth the Clockenflap 2023 ticket price alone: from bedroom R&B star Cehryl to rapper Luna Is A Bep and post-punk upstarts N.Y.P.D. – the local scene has officially come of age
- Hong Kong’s annual Clockenflap festival offers an annual health check on the local scene – and the 2023 line-up reveals our home-grown talent to be stronger and more diverse than ever
- Look beyond the international headliners and trip out on Merry Lamb Lamb’s kooky songwriting, Charming Way’s Britpop-tinged guitar and R.I. D. D. E. M’s enviable neo soul chops
Few events in our city are able to scream “all is right with the world” quite as loudly and proudly as Clockenflap, which is not only returning after four and a half weary years, but has done a spectacular job of calling up a roster that aptly reflects Hong Kong’s ever-evolving sonic palate.
As always, there is a staggering mix of local, regional and global acts spanning generations on offer. While the festival is headlined by the likes of French house son FKJ, hip-hop legends Wu-Tang Clan, Nordic folk duo Kings of Convenience and local rap darling Tyson Yoshi, the Clockenflap 2023 promises a robust line-up of local acts that serve as a post-pandemic heat check.
When Clockenflap was last staged, indie venue This Town Needs had just risen from the ashes of its earlier outpost Hidden Agenda, The Wanch was still in its OG Jaffe Road spot and Peel Fresco was alive and kicking. All of these venues – just three of many where Hong Kong’s local talent have cut their teeth for years – have now sadly closed (though The Wanch eventually made a glorious comeback down the road, two years later). However, there’s hope to be found in a new raft of lesser-known underground venues, often makeshift borrowed spaces that would likely be better known today if not for the Covid-19 restrictions that kept them under the radar for so long.
We’ve sorely missed the opportunity to collectively experience the annual changes – sonically, aesthetically and visually – to our music scene, but in 2023, Clockenflap promises us many new diamonds in the rough.
So, from the dozens of home-grown acts on the bill, here’s our pick of the lucky eight you absolutely cannot miss because of what they currently mean to the scene and, of course, because their music is phenomenal.
1. Arches
