F. Fu

Yamaha Asian Beat Band Competition is one of the most talked-about topics in the local indie scene. And recently the winners for year 2005 were born, ten days right before Christmas, at the newly renovated Sheung Wan Civic Centre. Just Like every Asian Beat Finals we had in the previous years, this was a full house event. Judges for the night included Davy Chan, Joannes Lam, Jason Lee and Leo Chan.

For opening act, we had KOLOR, a new-born pop-rock band. Despite the fact that this is KOLOR's first public performance, their energetic presentation was well-loved by the crowd. When all finalists had shown the judges what they've got, while another guest band, Wong Ka-Keung and his band, kept the house's temperature at boiling point with four Cantonese numbers.

Among 15 finalists, power-rock band Nuclear swept two prizes home, namely the Champion, along with the Best Drummer Award. The boys rocked the house with a raw, in-your-face delivery of their original composition called "Hei An Hui Yi", a Mandarin number that portrays a helpless child's hope, to overcome the dark memories that he recalls in his dreams. The first line of the lyrics, sang in full chorus, had concluded the theme of the song, and it did a marvollous job in grabbing everyone's attention. Fast-beating double-bass drums, mingled with J-rock-ish basslines surely pumped up the pulse rate of the house. We also saw a high team spirit within the band; not only did the lads have a united, black dress code; during the instrumental break, the three guitarists even rocked their bodies with the beat!

If you have troubles with double-pedal drumming, perhaps you can drop Nuclear's drummer Ray Koon an email to ask for his secrets of success. Despite of the fast, demanding tempo, the sound of his kick drums were maintained punchy and strong through the song. And he was a hard-working drummer too, because the fills and rolls he contributed made a perfect suppliment to other voices, giving the number a great volume and a sense of three-dimensioness.

First Runner-Up: Rescue Squad

And in any multi-cultural city like Hong Kong, audience always have the openness to embrace more generes of music. Resque Squad, a bunch of musicians who loved jamming came together and covered Herbie Hancock's most-known 'Cantaloupe Island'. Saxophonist Kitty Ng and Trumpeter Shek-Fai Ng took the lead, and the well-known local rapper Brandon Ho spiced up this fusion piece with a bit of style. Did we forget to mention that their groovy bass guitarist, Siu-Ming, took the Best Bass Guitarist award home too?

Second Runner-up: B2B

During the post-event interview, B2B modestly told us that it was a big surprise to receive the second runner up award, and they all thought that, for the band itself, there was room for improvement. So what could one expect on their music? Once you've heard their performance, you'd be wowed by their effort and time spent on arranging the song. B2B's blend of wall-to-wall guitar and keyboards had left an impact, and in terms of the band's musical niche, B2B's 'Fortune Teller' will proably fit in somewhere in between rock and progressive.

This year's Best Guitarist Award goes to Chun-Hei Kui, who took the lead position in the instrumental band Haze. 'End. The End' is a melodic rock title, with plenty of musical development embedded. Such strategic layout has implanted a potential force of explosion in the song itself, and this was further brought about by the two guitarists' skillful presentation. In only five minutes' time, the boys showcased a variety of techniques beautifully for the audience, including tapping, double-lead soloing.

Johnstone's 'Tuning' was filled with lots of chormatic musical phrases, as if the band was trying to explore the infinite world of diatonics. To the audience of the night, Johnstone brought a whole new listening experience.

Little Fat Pig, the six-piece troupe had an unexceptionally high band spirit; and it was clear to the audience that they are against the WTO conventions. Together with their lead vocalist Pui-Shun Lau, who raps as good as the boys do, the band's punkish yet rock image had surely impressed the crowd. Little Fat Pig has a statement for themselves, don't they?

These days, it seems that girls do not only hang out in Karaokes, as the statistics told us that there are more female musicians participating in the contest then before. Lyla Lam, the lead singer from Eccentric, was one of the not-so-typical girls with a not-so-Karaoke-ish voice. Thanks for the careful instrumentation, her voice was upfront in the heavy music, and it was easy for anyone to hear her storytelling. Their original tune, 'Heaven' explained how the living and the dead would eventually meet in heaven.

Places, who appeared as the thirteenth entry of the night, can be best described as Hong Kong's dose of Radiohead (Kid-A period) and Coldplay. Suzy's Little Secret was the sorbet that you'd normally take in between two strongly flavored dishes. The pop-rock gang had a very decent and pleasant guitar arrangement; and that is just the perfect compliment to the lay back tempo of their song.

Soon in Feburary, 2006, our Champion Nuclear will be representing Hong Kong and compete with other regional Champions for the Grand Prix Award. Congratulations to Asian Beat 2005(Hong Kong) winners, and let's wish Nuclear all the best for their trip to Singapore!