As it should be – because this is where the trendsetting zeitgeist-grabbers of 2023 are found. All the festival’s big Western headliners are established legends who have been active for decades (Arctic Monkeys, The Cardigans and Wu-Tang Clan clocking more than eight decades on stage between them). By contrast, all the wave-making acts we’ve cherry-picked below made their debut within the past decade, or far less. These young, fresh and genuinely inventive musicians are defining the sound (and look) of the future.

Oh, and these selections do nothing to undermine the huge array of home-grown Hong Kong talent playing Clockenflap 2023, which we’ve already rounded up here:

1. Chai

Est: Nagoya, Japan, 2012

Seen one Japanese girl group, seen ‘em all? Chai is on a mission, a mission to smash any preconceived notions about kawaii (cute) culture. “We are a new exciting onna (female) band,” declares the quartet’s loud, proud “neo-kawaii” manifesto, which is realised in a turbocharged, Technicolor haze of disco groove, feminist punk, sisterhood, self-love and bubblegum.

Formed by four high school friends – Yuuki, Mana, Kana and Yuna – within months of moving to Tokyo to pursue their musical dreams in 2016, the quartet were signed by Sony, touring the US and playing the legendary SXSW festival. Breakout albums Pink (2017) and Punk (2019) are joyously playful, poptastic, outsize celebrations of individuality, matched only by the primary-coloured choreography; 2021’s Wink expanded the sonic scope while celebrating the simple pleasures of (and crafting metaphors about) doughnuts, salmon balls and kiwi fruit.

Notably, unlike their peers, Chai’s members have always had half an eye on the international market, signing deals with the UK’s Heavenly Recordings and the iconic US Sub Pop imprint. They were repaid with collaborations with British pop groups of two golden eras – Gorillaz and Duran Duran. But at its core, Chai is best sipped without any sweetener.

When: Saturday, 5.45pm on the Park Stage

2. HYBS

Est: Bangkok, Thailand, 2021

For old friends Alyn Wee and Karn Kasidej, pandemic lockdowns had a silver lining: reconnecting … and accidentally forming an indie pop duo that must be the toast of Thailand’s scenesters. Dreamy, playful and bathed in an 80s afterglow, the pair’s synth-centred, low key tunes have an instant immediacy – and a dose of irreverent cheek, on display in “Killer”, “Rockstar” and “Dancing with My Phone”, stand-out tracks from last year’s gorgeous debut album Making Steak.

While the project began as a pandemic studio concept, the duo played Hong Kong’s Kitec just a few months ago in December, and clearly impressed Team Clockenflap enough to be invited back over for a main stage appearance. Oh, and the name stands for “have you been shrimp” – if you don’t get it, it’s better you don’t ask.

When: Saturday, 4.30pm on the FWD Stage

3. Ginger Root

Est: Southern California, US, 2017

Here’s a head-twisting bio: Chinese-American multi-instrumental prodigy makes twee Japanese city pop for an imagined 80s universe that never existed. But wait – it’s super fun.

Back in 2017, Cameron Lew began speed-recording covers in the back of his car between university lectures, which he released under the name Ginger Root in honour of funk favourites Vulfpeck, beginning a series of home-made Toaster_music cover albums. Somewhere along the way, it must’ve gotten serious – probably after he graduated from Orange County’s Chapman University, and began pursuing a career in what he once dubbed “aggressive elevator soul”.

Proudly wearing his roots on his sleeve, Ginger Root’s second album proper Mahjong Room is a tribute to his great-grandmother’s hang-out spot – but things got weirder quick. For his two most recent EPs, Lew shifted his focus to the sounds of 80s Japan, with City Slicker the self-described soundtrack to an American adaptation of an imaginary Japanese film, while last year’s excellent Nisemono casts Ginger Root as a songwriter/producer hired to write music for an (also fictitious) Japanese pop idol, who flees the spotlight and leaves our man to take the mic. It’s meta, man … but don’t worry, you don’t need to know any of that to enjoy any of this quirky, funky, fun awesomeness. He tours as a trio.

When: Saturday, 8pm on the FWD Stage

4. Leenalchi

Est: Seoul, South Korea, 2019

Ever wondered what you get when you mix four traditional pansori folk singers with two electric bassists and a psychedelic rock drummer? Us neither, but then who could have imagined the majesty of Leenalchi, surely one of the greatest finds of the festival?

The group’s quartet of vocalists are all graduates of Seoul National University’s traditional music department, otherwise destined for careers solemnly intoning the tragic tales of the folk storytelling tradition. Somehow, they ended up working with rhythmic section alumni of indie acts Kiha and The Faces, and SsingSsing, to form a genre-melding experiment nicknamed domestically as the “hipsters of Joseon”.

Fusion rightfully gets a bad rap, but this merry clash of cultures, approaches and eras is an arresting audio blast – check out debut album Sugungga, based on and named for one of the five remaining pansori tales in existence. The septet was named musician of the year at the 2021 Korean Music Awards and were even tapped for promo campaigns welcoming travellers back by the Korea Tourism Organization – but if that sounds stuffy, know it also released breakout single “Tiger is Coming” as an NFT. Now roar.

When: Sunday, 2.45pm on the Harbourflap Stage

5. Yellow 黃宣

Est: Taipei, Taiwan, 2018

Actor, model, guitarist, rapper, producer and assured music stylist … the performer born Huang Xuan is a multi-hyphenate mystery we’re hoping will unravel soon. The enigmatic 30-year-old soared to hometown fame after hosting Taiwan’s Golden Melody Awards last year (where he was also nominated for best album, best male singer and best composer). Largely unknown before that moment, he’s enjoyed a sudden surge of domestic buzz – think elliptical interviews and luxury brand photoshoots – around the bald troubadour in the months since. Naturally, we sense the mainland market will be next to fall.

Whatever, it’s legit – we’ve totally fallen for his slick, forward-thinking, multilingual R&B. Tracks from sultry, soulful early EPs Urban Disease (2018) and Circus Fever (2019) were collected on debut long player Yellow Fiction (2020) – but it was Beanstalk (2021) that fully realised his artistic vision. Melding smart beats, jazz inflections, electro excursions and sonic sidescapes comparable to Moses Sumney, the result is an eight-track, 20-minute audio voyage reflecting Huang’s inner Jack, and his ambitious adventures into the clouds. One to watch for 2023 – and beyond.

When: Friday, 9.30pm on the FWD Stage