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Rachel Mok

Singer-songwriter Kevin Tsui Ka-ho's latest single is dedicated to his neighbourhood, a place he refers to as "the capital of Hong Kong" - Tai Po.
The song, Tai Po, off his eight-track release Dear Florence, was inspired by a text from a close friend, saying that he was listening to Tsui's song LKF as he drove home to Tai Po. "I thought, what if he could drive home while listening to a song about Tai Po instead?" says the cheerful 28-year-old, who sings in English. "It was that simple."
Tsui shot the music video in various parts of the New Territories' district before posting it on a Facebook discussion group dedicated to Tai Po. He received tremendous feedback. The video on YouTube has so far had more than 20,000 hits.
He says another track on the album, Subway in Tsim Sha Tsui, is inspired by an old lady who used to perform Cantonese opera in a, well, Tsim Sha Tsui underpass.
"Then one day I didn't see her there anymore. I felt kind of sad, so I wrote the song for her."
But before you dismiss the independent musician as yet another local singer who wails about Hong Kong, it's worth taking a quick look around his Fo Tan studio, which he calls his "holy secret shrine".
In the centre sit three acoustic guitars (autographed by artists Jason Mraz, Russian Red and Jing Wong). A large Union Jack, and posters of his musical heroes Ed Sheeran, Jake Bugg and John Lennon hang on a wall.
A corner is dedicated to framed autographs of players from his favourite soccer team, Manchester United. Hong Kong-born Tsui spent a chunk of his teenage years at a boarding school in Edinburgh and is heavily influenced by British culture.
He went to the University of Manchester to study art history for two reasons: to immerse himself in the music culture of the home of great bands such as Oasis and The Smiths, and to watch The Red Devils play every week.
"I landed a part-time job selling hot dogs and beer at the pitch during home games," he says with a smile. "I collected these autographs at the players' tunnel during my three years working there."
The fertile music scene in the UK was an eye-opening experience for him, too. "People are really keen on live music there. My first live gig was an Arctic Monkeys show. There were only 50 people in the audience as the band had not made their name yet," he says. "It is still my most memorable gig so far."
His musical journey did not take off after coming back to Hong Kong in 2009. He was looking for a job online and found himself drawn to watching musicians who released their material on YouTube. He picked up a guitar, taught himself some tunes by bands such as Kings of Leon, and started making his own music.
Playing gigs around town while working as a gallery assistant, kindergarten teacher (and now a babysitter for an Austrian family during the day), Tsui went on to win the Sony-sponsored O.U.R. Works music competition early last year, and later self-released his first EP Party, Love and Dreams.
He has learned from independent musicians in the UK that hard work pays off, an attitude akin to our own so-called "Lion Rock spirit".
The self-styled one-man band strives hard to produce his music, finds graphic artists to enhance the packaging, and writes all the promotional material. He even hand-packed 100 copies of his album to send to the media.
"I know I am nowhere near as hard-working as my contemporaries in the UK," says Tsui. "Ed Sheeran played more than 300 gigs a year before he made his name. That is what I call hard work."
He is happy if 10 people come to one of his shows, but is starting to think bigger. He hopes film director Fruit Chan Kuo will consider using Tai Po in part two of The Midnight After - the horror comedy based on an online novel called Lost on a Red Mini Bus to Tai Po.
"I hope people will eventually know me as the crazy guy who sings about Hong Kong subjects in English. No one else is doing it right now," says Tsui.


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LIFE

Tai Po’s indie star in the making

Kevin Tsui Ka-ho packs his CD releases himself. Photo: K.Y. Cheng

Lifestyle

Arts

Singer-songwriter Kevin Tsui Ka-ho's latest single is dedicated to his neighbourhood, a place he refers to as "the capital of Hong Kong" - Tai Po.


Tai Po’s indie star in the making

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Singer-songwriter Kevin Tsui Ka-ho's latest single is dedicated to his neighbourhood, a place he refers to as "the capital of Hong Kong" - Tai Po.

Singer-songwriter Kevin Tsui Ka-ho's latest single is dedicated to his neighbourhood, a place he refers to as "the capital of Hong Kong" - Tai Po.