When I first moved to Hong Kong there were a whole host of things I expected to miss - my friends and family, Marks & Spencer food, PG Tips, walks in the country in wellies and wooly scarves, Marmite, the Sunday Times (Style) and cosy pubs with roaring fires.
And then there were things I didn't realise I'd taken for granted in London until I got to Hong Kong and realised that they were missing - helpful, cheery taxi drivers, good TV stations, walking without sweating and most of all, live music.
In London, if I liked a band I could pretty much be certain that within the next few months they'd be playing somewhere in London. If I'd wanted to, I could have filled every night of the week with various gigs and concerts. From Justin Timberlake and Katie Perry at mega venues like the O2 to Hot Chip and Newton Faulkner at the Brixton Academy and even a brand new band I'd heard a lot of buzz about on a handful of music blogs at some random pub in Kings Cross. To top it all off, every summer London's spoilt with weekend long festivals in parks around the city featuring stellar line-ups, food from Borough Market's finest and plenty of Pimms.
In Hong Kong though, it's a slightly different story. Every now and then we get a big name act passing through HK for a few days en route to Japan or Australia. Tickets cost upwards of seventy pounds each, we all flock to the soulless exhibition centre out by the airport and once we're inside the venue we're told that we must remain seated during the show for health and safety reasons. Not ideal. And festivals? Pretty much non-existent. Except that is for Clockenflap.
Established in 2008 by three guys who felt that Hong Kongers deserved at least an annual opportunity to listen to great music, Clockenflap is a two day music festival with a line-up that's gone from strength to strength each year. Last year's headliners included Santigold and The Bombay Bicycle Club and this year it's already been announced that Alt-J and Azealia Banks will be playing. I snapped my tickets up quick sharp as soon as they went on sale and I'm already thoroughly overexcited for the first weekend in December when Clockenflap hits HK...
The artist I'm most excited about seeing this year is 3BM fav, Lucy Rose (who we've given lots of blog love to here and here). But coming in a close second is an artist I hadn't even heard of until I saw the Clockenflap line-up. Chet Faker, a solo artist from Melbourne will be joining Azelia, Lucy & co on the Saturday. If you also haven't been introduced, here's a little sampler of the Chet Faker amazingness that I currently have on repeat...
Chet Faker - I'm Into You
Chet Faker - No Diggity
Chet Faker - Terms & Conditions
Clockenflap
1-2 December 2012
West Kowloon Cultural District
Tickets are on sale now:
Adult Weekend (early worm): HKD590 (limited availability)
Adult Weekend (late worm) HKD690 (limited availability)
Adult Saturday: HKD390
Adult Sunday: HKD390