24-26.2.2006 Studio Theatre, Hong Kong Cultural Centre 1 30 Running time: approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes with no interval To make this performance a pleasant experience for the artists and other members of the audience, PLEASE switch off your alarm watches, MOBILE PHONES and PAGERS. Eating and drinking, unauthorised photography and audio or video recording are forbidden in the auditorium. Thank you for your co-operation. Pong Nan in Concert: The Individualism Experience Credits 7 Feature 8 Pop Music and Art 16 27 Pong Nan 29 Musician and Production Biographies
Credits Performers Production Team / / / * / Dialogue... Lawrence C @ Salon idé Il Colpo Group Vinci & Winki Tsang @ vincitsang.com Pong Nan Creative Director Anthony Lee Music Director Billy Chan Technical Director and Lighting Designer Pong Nan Vocals / Keyboard / Piano Anthony Lee Guitar Alex Katsumata Bass Stephane Wong* Drums Jone Chui Guitar / Backing Vocals John Wong, Pong Lam Digital Image and Lawrence Choi Dialogue... Costumes Hair Stylist for Pong Nan Lawrence C @ Salon idé Il Colpo Group Make-up for Pong Nan Vinci & Winki Tsang @vincitsang.com Acknowledgements Song BMG Music Entertainment (Hong Kong) Ltd Miso Tech Co Ltd Tom Lee Music Co Ltd Yuri Ng Koya Jonathan Hisakazu Jennifer Chiang Edward Lam Ketchup Casey Chung Cedric Chan Mark-1 Music Centre Pius Tong Chow Yiu-fai Gilbert Ho All parties who contributed photographs for digital image production All members of the media who assisted in promoting this event Special thanks to Tom Lee Music Co Ltd for providing the piano for Pong Nan s performance * Stephane Wong is endorsed by cymbals All photographs Sony BMG 7
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Pop Music and Art I am definitely not an artist, nor am I too fond of this term. I think I'm just someone who has always liked to dig into the art of writing pop songs. 10 by Pong Nan From the moment I announced that I would be performing in the Hong Kong Arts Festival this year, I kept being confronted by people who asked me what would be special about the concert: would it be multi-media? Would there be drama? Would dance or choreographed movement be involved? Would I be discussing anything controversial? Would I make a sacrifice for art and shed all my clothes? In short, everyone wanted to know if the concert would include what people consider as artistic elements. Colleagues also were very worried that the performance would be too deep and difficult to understand. I wondered why they would have such expectations or uncertainties. It was probably because of who I am at this moment. That s right. I am a mainstream pop singer and what I do is pop music. The audience knows very well that I am a pop singer, and I know very well my legal responsibilities; I have a contract with a mainstream recording company and I am one of many singers who have contracts with a television company. So I know very well that I cannot put myself on high and say that I am not mainstream or that I am alternative. The days of internet singer, or those when I played and sang at the Fringe Club or at Harbour City left beautiful memories, but they are in the past, so I cannot avoid the responsibilities and prejudices that come along with the status of a mainstream pop singer. This may be precisely why people are curious or even suspicious over just how I, as a pop singer, happened to get involved with an arts festival. Conversely, I wanted to ask: isn t pop music itself one type of art? Admittedly, many people say that Hong Kong s pop music can t be called an art form. I ve read many extreme assessments that say that local Hong Kong mainstream music is rubbish. Can it be that only classical music, jazz or music presented in foreign languages are to be considered art? As someone involved in the mainstream music world, I feel truly distressed. Such overblown criticism erases all the effort put in by those working in the world of music. Leaving myself aside, I believe that Hong Kong has a group of people working intently on pop music, and they are people who would not willingly create rubbish. Art comes from inspiration, and inspiration comes from life. Art therefore actually
comes from living, and it has its roots in many trivial bits and pieces. Since both ordinary people and artists have their own lives, art is not something remote and inaccessible. This is why I feel that even the most ordinary events in life constitute a kind of art. It may be a job you re doing, a piece of homework, or some kind of artistic work, it all depends on whether you are doing it with enthusiasm. A few years ago, I was with an advertising company and working as an unimportant account executive. I was going to the office in the morning and waiting for each working day to end. I couldn t wait for each job to be finished. One day, my boss said to me: Make your job an art the art of serving clients. I didn't know what he meant and I left the job soon after. I probably just didn t have any enthusiasm for serving clients! The same thing is true with pop music. Turn on the radio or television set, or even your cell phone, and you ll hear a pop tune. But familiarity does not mean what you are hearing is not a work of art. Of course there are those who look on pop music as a conveyor belt product, but there are others who work enthusiastically within the confines of pop music to write a piece of music that will be popular and yet appeal to both refined and popular tastes. This satisfies oneself as well as the demands of the recording company and disc jockeys it s neither too slow nor too upbeat; it reveals itself within the first minute; and it s over in three and a half minutes. writing pop songs. I don t dare to say that every song I write or sing is a good song, but I do say that I have never sung or written something of which I am ashamed. Being a member of the audience for pop music also can be an art. Some only demand a momentary pleasure and once heard, the music disappears from the mind. Some people like the singer rather than the song and only like songs sung by their personal idol. Some will listen carefully and recognise what the song says, so as to create an interchange between the singer and the listener. To return to the questions posed in the first paragraph: No, there will be no multimedia effects, drama, dance or other choreographed movements, controversial topics or nudity in my concert. Pop music in itself is a form of art; there is no need to add anything special for it to become art. It is a concert of popular songs; there s no need for embellishment. What you get is me, the on-stage band and the off-stage support team working their hearts out. That s all. Our deepest gratitude goes to the Hong Kong Arts Festival for giving everyone on the stage and behind the scenes this opportunity to release their enthusiasm for popular music. I hope you all like this concert and that you will turn your experience as members of the audience into your own art. I am definitely not an artist, nor am I too fond of this term. I think I m just someone who has always liked to dig into the art of 11
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Biography P N o n g a n / / / Vocals / Keyboard / Piano / Creative Director 2000 2004 2005 2005 2006 Born in Hong Kong, Pong Nan has lived and studied in Canada, the US and Japan. In 2000, Nan graduated from Georgetown University with a degree in International Culture and Politics, and returned to Hong Kong to work in the advertising industry. At the same time he began his professional music career as a composer, writing songs and lyrics for many popular artists such as Jacky Cheung, Sandy Lam and Andy Lau. Nan also took up the role of an actor and music composer in stage plays such as The Happy Prince, 18 Springs and The Great Entertainer. In 2004, he began his career as a singer-songwriter and released his debut album The Unadorable Pong Nan, which earned him critical acclaim and accolades such as the IFPI Best Selling New Male Artist Award. His composition for Andy Lau, Chang Yan Dao, became one of the 27th Annual Top Ten Hits. His 2005 follow up album Almost Happy was another bestseller and was received even more enthusiastically by critics, earning him the Silver Award for Outstanding Achievement from Television Broadcasts Limited. This year, aside from releasing his third album, Nan will also begin producing other popular artists. 27
Musician and Production Biographies Anthony Lee Music Director / Guitar 1990Rose Garden 1994 1996100 Twins Shine2004 Anthony Lee entered the Hong Kong music industry as the lead guitarist in Rose Garden and became involved in working behindthe-scenes. He has worked with renowned film directors such as Ko Chi-sum, Wong Jin and Lau Wai-keung, and produced film music for over 30 local films. His work on the film I Have A Date With Spring earned him a nomination for Best Film Music at the 14th Hong Kong Film Awards. Between 1994 and 1996, he was the music director for the stage production of I Have A Date With Spring and performed over 100 shows with his live band. On production work, Lee has arranged songs and performed session work for various Hong Kong pop artists including Eason Chan, Twins, Joey Yung, Fiona Sit and Shine. He is now the producer for Pong Nan. Alex Katsumata Bass Palmer Chris Squire 1992 Alex Katsumata is one of the top bassists in Hong Kong with many years experience of live performance. Influenced by the Beatles, he began playing the organ and took up classical piano when he was a child and broadening his interest to folk and guitar music in high school. Later Palmer and Chris Squire inspired him to take up the bass and during his college years he played in several different fusion bands. In 1992 Katsumata moved to Hong Kong and has made a name for himself, playing with many top-notch professional musicians in town and continues to do so. 29
Stephane Wong Drums : Charisma King Ly Chee Oliver Tommy Chung & Friends Whence he came1998 2000 At 17 Stephane Wong graduated from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, majoring in Scenic Art. He started learning drums at the age of nine and during high school he learned the guitar, harmonica and bass, joining various bands. He has played with Tai Tau Fut, Charisma, King Ly Chee, Oliver, Tommy Chung & Friends and Whence he came. He won the Best Drummer Award at the 1998 Warehouse Youth Band Competition and the 2000 Gold Coast Montmartre Band Sound Festival. Wong is currently active in the mainstream music industry, performing in live shows and recording sessions. Artists and musicians he has worked with include Eason Chan, Denise Ho, Grasshoppers, Tat Ming Pair, At17 and Mavis Fan. Wong has been invited to perform in Japan, China, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and the Netherlands. Jone Chui Guitar / Backing Vocals 1999 2002 CASH 2006 Jone Chui began his professional music career in Taiwan, where he debuted in the folk-pop group Boxx in 1999. Having released two albums with the group, he then moved into the roles of composer, lyricist and record producer. In 2002, Chui won the First Prize at the 14th CASH Pop Song Writers Quest. He has written hits for many local pop singers including Andy Lau, Joey Yung and Fiona Sit. He has also produced records for Juno Mak and Yan Ng. This year Chui plans to release an album in which he will perform songs he has written for other singers. 31
Billy Chan Technical Director and Lighting Designer 1996 Billy Chan graduated from the School of Technical Arts of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts in Theatre Lighting Design. He is now a freelance theatre worker. His major productions include WWW.COM (Hong Kong Repertory Theatre), The Eccentricity of a Nightingale (Hong Kong Ballet), and A Lover s Discourse (Edward Lam s Dance Theatre and Zuni Icosahedron). John Wong Digital Image vol. 3 John Wong graduated from the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts in Film and Television. Wong s recent theatre productions include East Wing West Wing series and 18 Springs for Zuni Icosahedron; A Lover s Discourse and The Great Entertainer for Edward Lam s Dance Theatre and Zuni Icosahedron jointly. His debut feature, The Tourist, was screened at the 27th Hong Kong International Film Festival. Pong Lam Digital Image 1997 IdN designedge ConferenceOliver Ching Vol.3 After his graduation from the University of Hong Kong in 1997, Pong Lam has worked in the fields of digital graphics, multimedia, underground music and commercial multimedia. His recent work includes websites for the IdN designedge Conference and independent artist Oliver Ching. Productions for multimedia theatre performances include Edward Lam s Dance Theatre and Zuni Icosahedron s A Lover s Discourse. 33