Girl power

Updated: 2018-11-09 06:34

(HK Edition)

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One of the bands to look out for at this year's Clockenflap festival is GDJYB. With a name like that, it's easy to tell that this all-girl Hong Kong band is no run-of-the-mill indie act. The band's name is an acronym for the Cantonese phrase "gai dan jing yuk beng" which translates as "steamed minced meat with egg", a popular dish in Hong Kong. Formed in 2012, the four-piece group, made up of lead singer Soft Liu, guitarist Soni Cheng, bassist Wing Chan and drummer Heihei Ng, has risen up the ranks to become one of the most popular bands on the indie circuit today thanks to their distinctive music and lyrics.

The band pairs their combination of math rock and folk sounds with storytelling through lyrics sung in "Kongish" - a hybrid of English and Cantonese. Their lyrics have a distinct charm to them. Even if one doesn't speak Cantonese, it may not be all that difficult to get the sense which, in a way, is a true representation of colloquial speech exchanged between some English-speaking people in Hong Kong. With lyrics such as "Maybe I am way too impulsive, you are so much subjective", GDJYB's music might not appeal to sticklers for grammar, but the results are dreamy, harmonious tracks that warrant multiple listens to truly grasp their meaning.

In January last year, GDJYB released their first full album, 23:59 Before Tomorrow, in Hong Kong and Taiwan and it went on to win the Foreign Composition Award at the 2017 Golden Indie Music Award Presentation Ceremony in Taiwan. The group has played in music festivals around the world including the Iceland Airwaves Music Festival, Singapore's Laneway Festival and Tokyo's Synchronicity Festival as well as local music festivals such as Wow and Flutter: The Weekend and Clockenflap.

This year will be the band's third time playing Clockenflap. The show sees the launch of their new five-track EP titled Squarecle. GDJYB used a different production method for each of the five songs to relay the EP's theme of truths and perceptions. For the first time GDJYB's show comes with video projections in the backdrop, heralding a visual and audio feast as both old and new fans groove to their music while watching the beautiful Hong Kong skyline.

Girl power

(HK Edition 11/09/2018 page11)