I lived in Hong Kong for almost three years after moving there all because I loved Hong Kong cinema so much that being a tourist wasn't enough. I worked in Kwun Tong that whole time, near where the old Kai Tak Airport used to be. So that's a way of saying that the new record from Kai Tak really resonated with me. It also helps that Designed in Heaven Made in Hong Kong is full of the sort of pseudo-shoegaze that is also right up my alley.
Kai Tak is producer Chris King (Cold Showers) and a host of players and musicians. The selections here snap with promise, and churn with a real sense of possibility. "Jalen Rose", with cooing vocals from Jessica Huang, is heir to the tunes made by Medicine, while "Blush", with vocals from Claire Roddy, takes up the mantle from Shirley Manson and Garbage. There's a playful appropriation of styles going on here, with King pulling together disparate elements to craft something that has heft and propulsive chord changes, even as the electronic textures and sleek riffs push this into the category of modern shoegaze. Fans of Curve, and early Chapterhouse, for example, will find lots here to love.
The titles on Designed in Heaven Made in Hong Kong reference the city's history too. "No Better Tomorrow", a nod to the A Better Tomorrow trilogy perhaps, finds Chelsey Holland's warm vocals inhabiting a sonic space of keyboard lines, found sounds from Kai Tak airport (or replications of same), and punchy percussion. "Flood the Harbour" uses Olivia Lee's dream-pop vocals to great effect, letting the song open up around that performance and finding the beauty in what remains. Chris King was born in Hong Kong and adopted by American parents who were working there with Vietnamese refugees years ago. He is, presumably, one of many of us who have love for the city that's filtered through both nostalgia and a complexity of feelings that are hard to express. I mean, who really is a pure Hongkonger anymore? The Mainland wants the city to be just another Chinese city, and the locals fiercely and understandably want to hold on to whatever remains of their unique identity as a people. There's no place with such a conflicting set of demands of history pulling upon it at all times, and still Hong Kong stands. I think this record is not only a neat updating of shoegaze tropes, but also a sonic souvenir of an idea of a Hong Kong that may not exist anymore. The city does, but this magical, cinematic SAR, just might not anymore. At least not anywhere outside of our dreams and memories.
Designed In Heaven Made In Hong Kong by Kai Tak is out on Friday. Details below.
[Photo: Chelsey Holland]