Soft Film fave Hong Kong In The 60s are generously serving their new EP Places — an intoxicating cocktail to whet the appetite for their upcoming debut album — on the house. That's right. You heard me. It's totally free. Download it here for a limited time only.
Inspired by such diversities as vintage sci-fi surrealist LP and paperback covers and old cassettes of 70s Taiwan pop, Hong Kong In The 60s create amazing sonic landscapes that unfold from the same well of wonder as animated films like Forbidden Planet (1973) and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984). Check out "Garma", which in less than 3 minutes takes you from funky forest terrain to abysmal inner space and back again. The band also concocts some damn fine pop, as demonstrated by the catchy yet ephemeral "Disintegration".
What are you waiting for?! All aboard for Places...
I can't help but feel some synchronicity in the arrival of these four new songs by Hong Kong In The 60s in the midst of the fallen stars, lost movies, old vinyl, and deteriorating photographs that have haunted Soft Film in the past few weeks.
The band's melancholy pop and meticulously crafted sonic landscapes are the perfect soundtrack for my mood of late. I'm really looking forward to the release of their nearly finished debut album, My Fantoms. In the meantime, give a listen to the fab tracks below, and go to Amazon or iTunes to download their first EP, Willow Pattern Songs.
Last spring I told you about Hong Kong in the 60s, a cool new band that I felicitously discovered online, and their then-soon-to-be-released debut CD. Well, I should have followed up sooner, but better late than never, right?
The band's Willow Pattern Songs EP, six delectable pieces of dreamy and quirky pop, is currently available for download at Amazon (a steal at five bucks and some cents) and at iTunes (for even cheaper). More timely is their upcoming guest appearance this Thursday on Lucky Cat Zoë's weekly radio show on ResonanceFM. The show is broadcast from London, but thanks to the wonders of the Web, you can listen to it no matter where you happen to be.
Just go to the ResonanceFM website at the appropriate time and click on "LISTEN ON-LINE":
Thursday 11am (San Francisco) Thursday 2pm (New York) Thursday 7pm (London) Friday 3am (Hong Kong) Friday 6am (Sydney)
Hong Kong in the 60s will be playing some of the Chinese pop that has inspired them, as well as some of their own music. And, since host Zoë always does a little on-air cooking during her Dim Sum Lunchbox feature and since band member Mei Yau likes to blog about cooking, expect something tasty too.
In the meantime, here are a few songs to whet your appetite!
I love the felicitous discoveries that often happen whenever I google. Earlier today I googled "Hong Kong" + "sixties"... and what do you know... there just happens to be this really cool Brit band called Hong Kong In The 60s. How could I not write about them here at Soft Film?!
While the group's music harkens back to vintage influences such as "early electronic pop, 1960s Chinese music and Italian film soundtracks", their evocative synth pop sound is totally now.
I'm going to single out their haunting, bittersweet cover of Teresa Teng's classic "Tian Mi Mi", but do check out their website and MySpace page for more of the band's wonderful songs. Their debut EP, Willow Pattern Songs is due out this June. I can't wait!
