{"id":517,"date":"2018-03-11T14:12:36","date_gmt":"2018-03-11T13:12:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/britishdailynews.co.uk\/?p=517"},"modified":"2018-03-09T14:12:43","modified_gmt":"2018-03-09T13:12:43","slug":"dirty-beats-clean-fun-hong-kongs-unmissable-music-festivals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/britishdailynews.co.uk\/?p=517","title":{"rendered":"Dirty beats, clean fun: Hong Kong\u2019s unmissable music festivals"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"drop-cap\"><span class=\"drop-cap__inner\">M<\/span><\/span>ost of us associate Hong Kong with gleaming skyscrapers, bustling industry and frantic markets. But a succession of homegrown and international music festivals are turning it from staid metropolis into a city of song.<\/p>\n<h2>Clockenflap<\/h2>\n<p>First and foremost of Hong Kong\u2019s music festivals is the whimsically named\u00a0<a class=\"u-underline\" href=\"http:\/\/www.clockenflap.com\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Clockenflap<\/a>. Starting out as a humble techno club night in 2006 and then a one-day festival in 2008, in a few short years it\u2019s exploded into a three-day extravaganza of music, art and culture, pulling in global names while retaining an endearingly indie soul.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"element element-rich-link element--thumbnail element-rich-link--upgraded\" data-component=\"rich-link\" data-link-name=\"rich-link-2 | 1\">\n<div class=\"rich-link tone-feature--item rich-link--pillar-lifestyle\">\n<div class=\"rich-link__container\">\n<div class=\"rich-link__read-more\">\n<div class=\"rich-link__read-more-text\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Clockenflap takes place right on the Hong Kong harbourfront, with the skyscrapers of Central towering above festivalgoers and musicians alike, as the waves dance just metres away. It\u2019s a festival that\u2019s always championed local arts and music just as much as the international drawcards, working hard to deliver a genuinely eclectic lineup to its diverse audience. Big names such as Massive Attack, the Chemical Brothers and New Order have all graced the stage, alongside homegrown favourites such as indie rockers\u00a0<a class=\"u-underline\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/chochukmo\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Chochukmo<\/a>, quirky all-woman \u201cmath-folkers\u201d\u00a0<a class=\"u-underline\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gdjyb\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">GDJYB<\/a>\u00a0and instrumental math rockers\u00a0<a class=\"u-underline\" href=\"https:\/\/tfvsjs.bandcamp.com\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Tfvsjs<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps best of all, Hong Kong\u2019s concentrated size makes it easy for you to go hard all day \u2013 and then catch a taxi home for a full night\u2019s sleep before doing it all over again. It\u2019s a festival for all comers. A miniature Glastonbury \u2013 without the mud.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"img-2\" class=\"element element-image img--landscape fig--narrow-caption fig--has-shares \" data-component=\"image\" data-media-id=\"4943d3a90bde3d74e3359d6d587b1ba306721025\">\n<div class=\"u-responsive-ratio\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/4943d3a90bde3d74e3359d6d587b1ba306721025\/0_0_6100_3662\/master\/6100.jpg?w=620&amp;q=20&amp;auto=format&amp;usm=12&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=9fdd3e2a56bf9352ec7d4a45880182b7 1240w\" media=\"(min-width: 660px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-width: 660px) and (min-resolution: 120dpi)\" sizes=\"620px\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/4943d3a90bde3d74e3359d6d587b1ba306721025\/0_0_6100_3662\/master\/6100.jpg?w=620&amp;q=55&amp;auto=format&amp;usm=12&amp;fit=max&amp;s=b1568a818ee6b27c7e537ef3e93fa69a 620w\" media=\"(min-width: 660px)\" sizes=\"620px\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/4943d3a90bde3d74e3359d6d587b1ba306721025\/0_0_6100_3662\/master\/6100.jpg?w=605&amp;q=20&amp;auto=format&amp;usm=12&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=5a74be3e0c878022b869fc5ff5e8b09c 1210w\" media=\"(min-width: 480px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-width: 480px) and (min-resolution: 120dpi)\" sizes=\"605px\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/4943d3a90bde3d74e3359d6d587b1ba306721025\/0_0_6100_3662\/master\/6100.jpg?w=605&amp;q=55&amp;auto=format&amp;usm=12&amp;fit=max&amp;s=50fd329068f6efac721825fd4cfa3e93 605w\" media=\"(min-width: 480px)\" sizes=\"605px\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/4943d3a90bde3d74e3359d6d587b1ba306721025\/0_0_6100_3662\/master\/6100.jpg?w=445&amp;q=20&amp;auto=format&amp;usm=12&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=36ea26e0c2268f7cc0c1e4c55bfb442b 890w\" media=\"(min-width: 0px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-width: 0px) and (min-resolution: 120dpi)\" sizes=\"445px\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/4943d3a90bde3d74e3359d6d587b1ba306721025\/0_0_6100_3662\/master\/6100.jpg?w=445&amp;q=55&amp;auto=format&amp;usm=12&amp;fit=max&amp;s=cd30e7d6ee0ba56ff25b753158788690 445w\" media=\"(min-width: 0px)\" sizes=\"445px\" \/><\/picture><\/div><figcaption class=\"caption caption--img caption caption--img\"><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cClockenflap has grown from a wonky acorn into a similarly-wonky Big Friendly Giant,\u201d says Justin Sweeting, who co-founded the festival. \u201cIt is one of a very few events here which authentically celebrates culture and creativity, encourages social cohesion and in my humble opinion makes the city more vibrant and liveable as a result.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"element element-rich-link element--thumbnail element-rich-link--upgraded\" data-component=\"rich-link\" data-link-name=\"rich-link-2 | 2\">\n<div class=\"rich-link tone-feature--item rich-link--pillar-lifestyle\">\n<div class=\"rich-link__container\">\n<div class=\"rich-link__read-more\">\n<div class=\"rich-link__read-more-text\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Hongkongers have fond memories of Clockenflaps past \u2013 from the lunar eclipse during Bombay Bicycle Club\u2019s set in 2011, or Fran Healey of Travis opening a yellow umbrella and crooning Why Does It Always Rain On Me in the middle of the 2014 umbrella revolution that divided the city, to 2017 and south London grime artist Stormzy\u2019s delight in the harbour-front setting \u2013 and bafflement that anyone in Hong Kong had any idea who he was.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy favourite moments are always stepping back and watching the crowds,\u201d says Sweeting. \u201cThose times I get to move around the festival, catching different collections of people all enjoying these joyous shared moments across the site. It\u2019s an immensely rewarding feeling having any kind of involvement in something which brings so much happiness and connectivity to people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And while recent years have seen an influx of new music festivals in the city, he sees his festival as occupying its own special place in the ecosystem. \u201cClockenflap has always been about the sum of the parts,\u201d he says. \u201cThe coming together of music, art, people, food, silliness and so much more, all set against the backdrop of Hong Kong\u2019s iconic skyline. You couple all of that with the most positive festival crowd in the world, and it all adds up to something unique and very special.\u201d<br \/>\n<span class=\"bullet\">\u2022<\/span>\u00a0<em>This year\u2019s festival takes place on 9-11\u00a0<\/em><em>November.\u00a0<a class=\"u-underline\" href=\"http:\/\/www.clockenflap.com\/tickets\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Early bird tickets now on sale<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Clockenflap is no longer the only game in town. Spurred by its success, in the last few years a wealth of other music festivals have cropped up in the city. International festival brands have discovered that Hong Kong is willing to embrace the full festival experience \u2013 with the added benefit of being able to get home in half an hour.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>S\u00f3nar<\/strong><\/h2>\n<figure id=\"img-3\" class=\"element element-image img--landscape element--showcase fig--narrow-caption fig--has-shares \" data-component=\"image\" data-media-id=\"6a0397be99c2d0c1c5b9129570aca8c8509d9fe1\"><figcaption class=\"caption caption--img caption caption--img\"><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Barcelona\u2019s\u00a0<a class=\"u-underline\" href=\"https:\/\/sonarhongkong.com\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">S\u00f3nar festival celebrates its second instalment in Hong Kong<\/a>\u00a0this year, brought to the city by the organisers of Clockenflap. S\u00f3nar\u2019s emphasis on electronic music and creative technology makes it Clockenflap\u2019s younger, hipper brother. The initial lineup has been announced, with acts including French deep house legend Laurent Garnier, tech-house act the Black Madonna and Japanese post-rockers Mouse on the Keys.<br \/>\n<span class=\"bullet\">\u2022<\/span>\u00a0<em>This year\u2019s festival takes place on\u00a0<\/em><em>17 March.\u00a0<a class=\"u-underline\" href=\"https:\/\/sonarhongkong.com\/en\/2018\/tickets\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Tickets now on sale<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Road to Ultra<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><a class=\"u-underline\" href=\"https:\/\/hongkong.roadtoultra.com\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Road to Ultra<\/a>\u00a0is the smaller brother of Miami\u2019s massive Ultra EDM festival, which has been spreading its beats across the globe in recent years. Billed as a setup for Ultra China \u2013 which takes place in Shanghai \u2013 last year saw Hardwell, Kygo and Zedd headlining.<br \/>\n<span class=\"bullet\">\u2022<\/span>\u00a0<a class=\"u-underline\" href=\"https:\/\/hongkong.roadtoultra.com\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Stay updated for news of a 2018 event<\/a><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Shi Fu Miz<\/strong><\/h2>\n<figure id=\"img-4\" class=\"element element-image img--landscape fig--narrow-caption fig--has-shares \" data-component=\"image\" data-media-id=\"852fd2a3485c8c8cf73e274ef15fa71b1694fe99\"><figcaption class=\"caption caption--img caption caption--img\"><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Most of the other festivals on this list all take full advantage of the city\u2019s glorious skyline, but Hong Kong has other, more hidden assets. The two-day\u00a0<a class=\"u-underline\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/shifumiz\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Shi Fu Miz<\/a>festival takes place on a beach on Lantau Island, with a distinctly hippier vibe \u2013 think yoga and meditation workshops as well as world and electronic beats.<br \/>\n<span class=\"bullet\">\u2022<\/span>\u00a0<a class=\"u-underline\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/shifumiz\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\"><em>Look out for events in 2018<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Creamfields<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>One of the world\u2019s largest EDM festivals made its Hong Kong debut in 2017, pulling out all the stops with big names including Ti\u00ebsto, Above &amp; Beyond and Marshmello. The lineup drew in the crowds \u2013 and the organisers are promising bigger and better this year. Unlike the other festivals,\u00a0<a class=\"u-underline\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CreamfieldsHongKong\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Creamfields<\/a>\u00a0is an indoor party \u2013 meaning Hong Kong\u2019s temperamental weather doesn\u2019t have to be a concern.<br \/>\n<span class=\"bullet\">\u2022<\/span>\u00a0<em>This year\u2019s festival takes place on\u00a0<\/em><em>15-16\u00a0<\/em><em>December<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Source https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/travel\/2018\/feb\/22\/dirty-beats-clean-fun-hong-kongs-unmissable-music-festivals<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Most of us associate Hong Kong with gleaming skyscrapers, bustling industry and frantic markets. But a succession of homegrown and international music festivals are turning it from staid metropolis into a city of song. Clockenflap First and foremost of Hong Kong\u2019s music festivals is the whimsically named\u00a0Clockenflap. Starting out as a humble techno club night [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":518,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/britishdailynews.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/517"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/britishdailynews.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/britishdailynews.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/britishdailynews.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/britishdailynews.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=517"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/britishdailynews.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/517\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":519,"href":"https:\/\/britishdailynews.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/517\/revisions\/519"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/britishdailynews.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/518"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/britishdailynews.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=517"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/britishdailynews.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=517"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/britishdailynews.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=517"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}