While in L.A., I dropped by Bedrock in Silverlake to chat with Twin Shadow about life in the west coast and his forthcoming sophomore album, Confess (release date: July 10). Here's part 1 of our interview:
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Sharlene Chiu
Caught up with Twin Shadow at Bedrock Studios and got the Silverlake tour including a stop at Local.
Super fun interview with Sophia Rossi from HelloGiggles over pedi's at the Beverly Wilshire. It's a tough job, folks.
Sophia and Tatti from HelloGiggles introduced us to their talented friend, singer-songwriter, Rozzi Crane.
Later, Daddy Kev showed us around the legendary Low End Theory night at the Airliner.
Nasty Gal held an insanely packed Pre-Coachella party at the Roosevelt. S/O to this super crisp blackberry pic.
...And look who showed up. Classic.
Watch out for these pieces on MTV News! Monday to Wednesday at 6:30pmET on MTV.
HONG KONG NIGHTLIFE GUIDE WITH JOSIE & THE UNI BOYS
Of course, by our 6th and last night in Hong Kong, my vicious jetlag had almost dissipated and it was time to go home. To close out the show, I meet Josie & the Uni Boys at Man Sing Restaurant in Tai Han, an up and coming neighborhood at its very start of gentrification, similar to the early days of buzzy East London in the UK and Williamsburg in Brooklyn. Fronted by Josie Ho, who’s also a film actor and producer, Josie & the Uni Boys knocks out angsty rock for the dancefloor. Their single Watch You Going Down is an English track off their latest EP and was also featured in the satirical Hong Kong horror film that Josie also produced and acted in called Dream House. In the film, Josie kills her victims with a variety of "creative" tools such as a bong and a vacuum-packed bag. If you want to catch Josie in a North American release, she’s in the Hong Kong storyline in Contagion as well as in the upcoming film The Courier with Mickey Rourke.
Although many people in Hong Kong know Josie as the rebel daughter of Macau casino tycoon Stanley Ho (last checked, he had an estimated worth of $7 billion US), she’s also a huge force in the indie film scene when she’s not yelping and jumping all over the stage. 852 Films is a production company that she formed with her manager Andrew Ooi and husband Conroy Chan (who also co-created Alive Not Dead with some of the Rotten Tomatoes guys), and is completely dedicated to pushing the boundaries in HK with younger, edgier films.
PHOTO OP WITH THE MAN SING FAMILY
After chatting about the band’s DIY approach and opting for an indie vs major label deal, we full-on indulged in Man Sing’s signature home comfort food, like the meat tower, sweet 'n sticky pork chops, and spicy tofu & crab.
THE MAN SING MEAT TOWER
For dessert, we hit Josie’s fellow actor-friend’s shop, Siu Tan Ku. Here, classic desserts are given a delicious modern twist like my favorite of the night, the lychee panna cotta. Listen, I’m lactose intolerant and didn’t have my Lactaid on me but I finished the whole damn thing. Worth it.
THE LYCHEE PANNA COTTA AT SIU TAN KU
To cap off our night, we headed to the epicenter of HK nightlife, the Lan Kwai Fong district, and dodged past all the bright lights and pumping fists through to an abandoned square where we walked up and over to get to this really rad bar, a Josie & the Uni Boys’ fave, called Yumla (which has since been shut down, and nothing to do with us, I swear).
DODGING THE TRAFFIF IN LKF
Much love to Josie & the Uni Boys for closing out the Hong Kong episode of VS. with me and showing off the HK night guide you would no doubt NOT find in any other travel show.
MORE HONG KONG POSTS:
MILKTEETH IN KWUN TONG
SIMON YIN AT VICTORIA HARBOUR
EATING AND SHOPPING WITH PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART
TIGERBOMBERS IN LAMMA ISLAND
NOW TV'S ATM GAME SHOW!
So not only did I get to live out the unreal of appearing on a crazy Asian game show but I also got to guest co-host one while in Hong Kong. The show's called ATM and no, I did not miraculously learn how to speak Cantonese in 5 days but I did memorize one line in the dialect (“I’m very happy to be here today”) which, surprise, doesn’t actually get you too far, so I was allowed to speak English for the rest of the show with the other hosts translating while enthusiastically waving around different colored plastic hands. Confused yet?
ATM is like Who Wants to be a Millionaire except viewers at home who subscribe to the show actually play along with special remote controls in real time and get the chance to win the huge money prize that can vary from $25,000 to $100,000 depending on the amount of correct answers. The show airs live Monday to Thursday at 10:30pm with a rotating cast of hilarious hosts who present the questions and answers. The choice of answers corresponds to a color- red, yellow, green, or blue. Hence, the colored plastic hands we waved around like mad. Silly? Yes. Fun? Hell yeah.
SCRIPT MEETING WITH THE PRODUCERS AND HOSTS
GETTING BIG HAIR FOR THE SHOW
READY TO WALK-ON
THE LIVE SHOW BEGINS!
Thanks so much to Now TV and the awesome staff at ATM!
FOR MORE ON HONG KONG:
I dropped by the Toronto studio of Chloe Comme Parris and chatted with the lovely sister designing duo as they are diligently preparing for their Fall/Winter 2012 collection for the forthcoming Fashion Week in March.
Here's our interview with images of their previous sketches and gorgeous designs:
JOEY BASHA, MILKTEETH
From the second of meeting Milkteeth, a self-professed freak-folk group, I was absolutely captivated by frontman Joey Basha, a charming 25 year old former sex writer from St. John’s, Newfoundland, who originally moved to Hong Kong for a boy. The romance didn’t last but Joey’s love affair with Hong Kong was serious and he decided to stay to finish university and start Milkteeth with friends Jeroen Brulez, Theo Chan, Dixon Chan, and Paul Yip. 8 days after shooting with us, Joey was found dead in a public toilet near his home in HK. It’s not the type of news you expect to find out over the holidays and needless to say, it was beyond shocking and saddening to hear about the tragic end to such a bright young talent. I’m incredibly thankful that I got the chance to know Joey during his last few days and happy that he got to meet his goal of being on MTV one day.
I met Milkteeth in the Kwun Tong district on top of the Jumbo Industrial building where they had set-up for a special rooftop performance. There are tons of abandoned factories that are made into rehearsal spaces by artists in this area. Milkteeth usually find themselves grabbing some beer at the nearby 7-11 and lugging whatever instruments they can carry up the twenty-odd story buildings and just chill and play music as loud as they want, for as long as they want. Joey tells me this is the essence of “dirty-pretty” in Hong Kong.
After playing a few songs for me, I chatted with the guys about their racy band name (Milkteeth is Asian porn slang meaning ‘barely legal’) and how their honest and at times downright dirty subject matter fits into popular music in Hong Kong, which is dominated by the usually squeaky clean Cantopop. Joey explained that just choosing to play music as a living opposed to more money-making careers like banking or engineering, let alone being openly gay, is seen as rebellious here; but at the same time, he said that Hong Kong can be an encouraging environment for artists like Milkteeth to continue to push the boundaries. It’s a world of contrasts and contradictions… it’s dirty-pretty.
To cap off our day, the boys took me to Senses 99 in Soho for a few celebratory drinks. Senses 99 is a two-story bar that is supposedly someone’s house in an old run-down building with a kitchen-bar/serving area and a stage on the second floor that looks like a rehearsal space. Once you buzz in and walk up the stairs, you'll see pieces of art on the walls that have been donated by its artist-patrons, a TV fish tank, and the young (like kid-young) bartender will do a Jedi mind-trick to ask what you want to drink. Weird but cool, right? Senses 99 is such a rad space and the perfect spot to wrap our shoot and time together.
My love and thoughts go out to Milkteeth and Joey’s friends and family, Joey was indeed an incredibly special soul.
MORE HONG KONG POSTS:
FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF HONG KONG
EATING AND SHOPPING WITH PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART
SIMON YIN AT VICTORIA HARBOUR
NIGHLIFE WITH JOSIE HO
Simon Yin is a writer/director/producer/actor from Atlanta, Georgia, who has called New York, L.A., and now Hong Kong home. We met at the old Clock Tower near the Star Ferry concourse that overlooks the iconic Victoria Harbour. One of Simon’s films, Supercapitalist, a financial thriller that was picked up at Cannes last year, was shot in this same spot.
Since moving to Hong Kong, Simon’s also created CB FRESH, a sketch comedy show that blurs the line between reality and fantasy, directed music videos for huge Cantopop star Edison Chen and rapper MC Jin, started a production company called Bamboo Star Productions (meaning overseas Chinese, just like him) and directed Zombasians, a horror film in "3DD" starring, you guessed it, sexy Asian zombies.
I was curious as to why Simon (and a slew of other young talent like him) would leave the country that his parents worked so hard to emigrate to "for a better life with more opportunities," to only go back to the very country they had left to do so, decades ago. Simon joked that his mom cried for 10 days when he told her he was going to move to Hong Kong to jump into the lucrative world of filmmaking. His internal pull-back to Hong Kong pays a great deal to the fact that because the city is so small, everyone’s like 2 degrees separated, which makes for a super tight-knit community that harbours creativity. For example, Simon’s friend in New York from his MTV Chi VJ days, knew someone from the online artist community Alive Not Dead (founded in part by the same people behind Rotten Tomatoes) and from there, he got to meet other likeminded talent and just started creating… and hasn’t stopped since.
MORE HONG KONG POSTS:
MILKTEETH IN KWUN TONG
EATING AND SHOPPING WITH PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART
TIGERBOMBERS IN LAMMA ISLAND
NIGHTLIFE WITH JOSIE HO
After parting ways with Simon Yin, I made my way to Wan Chai to meet MC Jin (who coincidentally is buddies with Simon and have worked together on a music video- there’s that 2 degrees of separation Simon was talking about earlier). Jin was waiting for me at a basketball court that he regularly frequents and I got to show off some of my (non) b-ball skills while getting to know the Miami-born rapper. Surprisingly, I actually made the one-shot for camera. Like a champ.
Jin’s been living in Hong Kong as a rapper and actor for the past four years and like fellow expats, Jin’s determined to shake up the culture in HK. You may recognize Jin as the first Chinese rapper signed to a major label after winning seven battles in a row on BET’s Freestyle Friday on 106 & Park, inducting him in the Freestyle Friday Hall of Fame. His first single, Learn Chinese, featured Wyclef, and from there, Jin’s collaborated with Kanye West, featured in Far East Movement's "Millionaire," introduced President Obama during his Presidential campaign in New York City, and is pictured on ads across the city. Many fans questioned Jin’s choice to move to Hong Kong and the rapper explained that in the few years he’s lived in the city, he’s experienced more opportunities for acting and music than he has ever had prior in the States. For a dude with as much as hustle in him as Jin, that makes being in Hong Kong a no-brainer.
FOR MORE ON HONG KONG:
Hong Kong’s Tigerbombers is a trio commonly described as 'Surfer-billy' with a vicious kick of riot grrrl and comprised of Arthur Urquiola on guitar, Natalie Belbin on bass, and Jasmine Robertson on drums, with all three sharing vocal duties. The band is heavily involved in the burgeoning indie scene in Hong Kong, especially the lone lucky male, Art, who previously used to be in at least 6 bands, including Six Pack of Wolves. I had only watched, and loved, the band’s two youtube videos (below), before I reached out to them to see if they would be interested in helping me get to know their city and was stoked to find out more about their sound, the music community they are helping to build, and what a typical day in Hong Kong is like for them.
Natalie and Art met me at Central pier no.4 after their Clockenflap set and we made our 25-minute journey via a very bumpy but scenic ferry ride (make sure to pack whatever anti-motion sickness methods work for you or you will definitely not notice even a hint of the beauty) to Yung Shue Wan, Lamma Island, where Natalie lives. Lamma Island (population 5000) is home to numerous bands like David Bowie Knives, Transnoodle, and Dark Himaya, and DJ's Songs For Children (a couple who's promoted international acts in Hong Kong such as Asobi Seksu, The Drums, and Deerhoof).
Natalie tells me that Lamma is known in HK as the 'island with all the hippies.' There’s a chill vibe that instantly washes over you here as soon as you touch ground at Yung Shue Wan, which is such a drastic contrast to the hard hustle of Hong Kong. On Lamma Island, you’ll find loads of little organic 'green' cafes, leash-free dogs running about, graffiti, lush jungle, and a beach with a massive power station.
We take a walk through the jungle with Natalie’s dog to Hung Sing Yeh beach to check-out the power station that was built in 1972 and supplies energy to Hong Kong Island. Here, they have BBQs and jam with their instruments into the morning light. Natalie’s friend Makha, an incredible Senegalese djembe drummer, can be found here playing on the beach on any given day.
As we walked to Natalie’s house, I noticed that there weren’t any cars on the island… because there are no cars or even streets for cars. Bicycling is the mode of transportation here, which I can only imagine results in a very interesting scenario when moving house.
By the time I finished my Lamma Island experience, the sun was gone and I full-on entered delirium. I had no idea what I ended up saying at Natalie’s house (was I even speaking in sentences… in comprehendible English?). Jet-lag was proving to be a mega-bitch for me here in Hong Kong but it was only day 2 and I hadn’t vomited yet on any of the choppy boat-rides (it’s the small victories that count), so I was determined to kick the time difference’s ass… tomorrow.
Thank you so much to Natalie and Art for being my Lamma Island guides for the day! xx
MORE HONG KONG POSTS:
NIGHTLIFE WITH JOSIE HO
EATING AND SHOPPING WITH PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART
MILKTEETH IN KWUN TONG
Our first day in Hong Kong was also the first of the two-day Clockenflap music festival. This year, the free festival, now going on its 4th year, set-up at the West Kowloon Waterfront Promenade and included a line-up dedicated mainly to local bands mixed in with international artists like Santigold, Bombay Bicycle Club, and Pains of Being Pure at Heart.
After the band’s soundcheck, I met up with Pains of Being Pure at Heart’s Kip Berman and Peggy Wang at the Clockenflap grounds. Since it was both our first time in Hong Kong, we had to experience what the city does best… FOOD. So we headed for lunch at the legendary 24-hour Tsui Wah Restaurant. Tsui Wah is a popular late-night joint for those post-boozing and partying with its signature dishes being the crispy bun with sweet condensed milk, spicy seafood and lemongrass noodle soup (my fave), and sizzling fried noodles with king prawns. We had all that plus about five more dishes with drinks like “Creamy Corn,” which Kip ordered and actually really loved.
I DON'T KNOW WHY KIP HAS CHOPSTICKS, WHILE PEGGY AND I WERE GIVEN FORKS. IRONY?
THE LINE-UP AT TSUI WAH
While stuffing our faces, we talked about life since the release of their second album, Belong, which came out earlier in the year, and our first jet-lagged impressions of Hong Kong. Since I grew up in an area where Asians were the minority and with a family that’s not typical Chinese (my parents are neither Cantonese or Mandarin but rather Hakka from India), I never really connected deeply to popular Chinese culture and was hoping this trip would help me to better understand that side of my identity. It was interesting to also hear Peggy’s perspective on growing up in a predominantly white neighbourhood and what it was like growing up Asian(watch the video at the bottom to see our interview).
After our feast at Tsui Wah, we walked over to Tung Choi Street, better known as Ladies’ Market, in Mong Kok (an area notorious for being a sneaker haven) to shop for some really rad cheap deals. The entire market is about 1km long with hundreds of stalls selling everything from watches, purses, clothes, and trinkets on each side. It's like Canal Street on acid. We found a small stall selling funny custom tees and I got to use my smooth bargaining skills.
Pains of Being Pure at Heart was leaving the next day so it was awesome that we got to hang before their Clockenflap set and get introduced to the best of the city together - eating and shopping, two things that Hong Kong kicks most cities' asses at.
"I PEEPED YOU ON THE PHONE AND EVERYBODY WANNA COME BACK TO THAT BODY"
MORE HONG KONG POSTS:
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
TIGERBOMBERS IN LAMMA ISLAND
SIMON YIN AT VICTORIA HARBOUR
NIGHTLIFE WITH JOSIE HO
Happy new year, friends! I'm starting to get my shit together (caught the nastiest cold that spanned the entire holiday week... woe is me, it's fiiine) and will be rolling out my tales from Hong Kong soon, promise. To say the least, this trip was beyond any of my expectations and preconceptions that I had about the city and was the perfect jet-lagged way to end a whirlwind year that also included incredible trips to Iceland, Denmark, Portugal, UK, and Thailand.
In the meantime, here are some of my favourite photos of 2011 that I was able to capture in between eating my face off and being blown away by the talent in all pockets around the world.
GOLDEN CIRCLE, ICELAND
GRINDAVIK, ICELAND
SUNSET IN LANTAU, HONG KONG
TEENAGERS IN COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
DANISH STYLE IN COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS IN LISBON, PORTUGAL
GENERATIONS COLLIDE IN SHAM SHUI PO, HONG KONG
A DAI PAI DONG IN HONG KONG
TIM HO WAN DIM SUM IN HONG KONG
SWEET SITIO DA PEDRALVA, PORTUGAL
FISHING NETS IN THE ALGARVE, PORTUGAL
LAUNDRY DAY IN LISBON, PORTUGAL
GINJINHA (PORTUGUESE CHERRY LIQUOR) SHOTS WITH RAFAEL AND NUNO FROM GLOCKENWISE.
Glockenwise are four just barely 20 year-old students from Porto. Along with being self-professed scumbags, Glockenwise have a sound that distinctively oozes, their idols, the Black Lips. So who better than a couple of scumbags to help us close out another Sharlene VS. episode. Here's how our last night unfolded in pictures:
ZDB BAR IN BAIRRO ALTO.
PLOTTING.
SANGRIA AND SHOTS FOR 1EURO. DANGEROUS.
WALKING THROUGH BAIRRO ALTO.
CANARIOS BAR
THE SCENE OUTSIDE CANARIOS.
PUREX BAR
BEFORE HEADING TO CAIS DO SODRE.
BEIJINHOS FROM TEAM SHARLENE VS.
FOR MORE ON PORTUGAL:
João
and Rui from x-wife at Vertigo
On my last day in Portugal, Porto's
trained over to meet us at one of their favorite caf
é
's in Lisbon, Vertigo, which is located in the vibrant shopping area of Chiado (my favorite store in Lisbon,
is located here).
Formed in 2002, x-wife are a staple in the Portuguese indie rock scene and were praised by James Murphy and Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand for thier infectious dance beats. In 2009, they were nominated for Best Portuguese Act at the MTV European Music Awards which helped them to expand their fan-base outside of Portugal. Influenced by Suicide and Gang of Four, x-wife's latest album, Infectious Affectional, is currently available on itunes.
Roasted Vegetable Tostada
FOR MORE ON PORTUGAL:
While in Lisbon, I paid Buraka Som Sistema a visit during the second night of the Optimus Alive festival. Lil’ John, Riot, Conductor, and MC Kalaf were curating the Enchufada night (their label's namesake as well as Portuguese for "plugged in") on the clubbing stage, which included a supremely hot and fun performance by the group themselves, in addition to sets by Diplo and CarteBlanche. Before their thumping show (also the day of Riot's birthday), we chatted in their dressing room about the follow-up to their critically acclaimed album, Black Diamond.
PERFORMANCE AT OPTIMUS ALIVE
Formed in 2006, Buraka Som Sistema broke through with a fresh sound called "progressive Angolan Kuduro," that made club kids in their hometown of Lisbon scream and dance like hell. They are just putting the finishing touches on their forthcoming third album (slated for an autumn release) and unsurprisingly, they say the new album takes what you have known them for years up a hundred notches. Bring on the water guns.
PERFORMANCE AT OPTIMUS ALIVE. WATER GUNS INCLUDED.
The next day, I met up with the guys again at LX Factory for an on-set of the first video off their new as of yet titled album. The night before we had joked that the new single/video would be called "Up All Night" since a name still hadn't been decided yet. The concept revolves around Ustream stars and a sweaty club scene in a warehouse.
Here are some photos of our time with BSS:
VIDEO ON-SET AT LX FACTORY
CELEBRATING RIOT'S BIRTHDAY WITH CAKE NUMBER 3
THE CROWD FOR BURAKA SOM SISTEMA AT OPTIMUS
DIPLO HEADLINING THE ENCHUFADA NIGHT
FOR MORE ON PORTUGAL:
Lisbon day 1 started with João and Sam from the incredible instrumental hip-hop group Orelha Negra in Bairro Alto:
SCOUTING FOR A SWEET SPOT FOR OUR INTERVIEW
IN CAMOES SQUARE
ON THE GORGEOUS STEPS OFF RUE DU NORT BY TAPAS BAR 28
LISBON CHARM
Check out Orelha Negra's video for A Cura:
FOR MORE ON PORTUGAL:
The first band I met up with at Aldrei fór ég suður was super adorable electronic duo, Yoda Remote. Emil and Bragi are still in their teens but they were recently signed to local label, TomTom records and have a defined sound that take others years to find. It was refreshing to see them amongst the mostly indie rock line-up.
FOR MORE ON ICELAND:
Aldrei fór ég suður (I Never Went South) Music Festival in Ísafjörður, Iceland is a loving ‘fuck you’ to Reykjavik in that these West Fjords (population 4000) has all the talent, activities, and shenanigans that any big city contains but with huge heart and sense of community. Here’s a great write-up about the festival by Inspired by Iceland:
Aldrei fór ég suður brings together local bands with the biggest names on the Icelandic music scene. Since its inception in 2004 the event has been run on a volunteer basis by Ísafjörður residents. Entrance to all events is free, and this year we are adding a LIVE ONLINE STREAM on www.inspiredbyiceland.com to give music fans the world over a chance to take part. Lonely Planet named Aldrei fór ég suður as one of the three most interesting happenings around the world in April in its Best of Travel 2011 round up.
If you ever plan to make your way to Iceland, I totally recommend a trip to Ísafjörður’s Aldrei fór ég suður Music Festival. You will no doubt be awestruck by the beauty of the fjords that surround your every move and the incredible warmth of its residents.
WELCOME DINNER DONE UP OLD SCHOOL
WELCOME DINNER WITH THE MAYOR
SMOKED MUSSELS
ME AND MY MTV CAMERA-BABES (WITH 66°NORTH HATS GIVEN TO US BY THE MAYOR)
WHEN IN THE WEST FJORDS, STRIKE A POSE
INSIDE THE VENUE
OUTSIDE THE VENUE
Big thanks to Michael from Icelandair and Kamilla from Iceland Music Export for making this trip happen. Looking forward to coming back to Iceland in October for Airwaves! x
FOR MORE ON ICELAND:
Prinspolo, the alter ego of Svavar Pétur Eysteinsson, may sound familiar. Yes, the name is inspired by the Polish chocolate bar, Prince Polo (which I love) and when I heard that Svavar's Prins is equally as food-obsessed as me, I knew I had to meet up with him. After watching the band perform at Aldrei, we made a mad dash to a friend's house for a surprise birthday performance... and of course, talked food and music afterwards.
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The one band that I was familiar with, prior to leaving for Iceland, on the Aldrei line-up was FM Belfast, whom I've loved for years. I dare you to listen to "Underwear" and not have it stuck in your head (in a good way) all day. Like most Icelandic acts, members of FM Belfast are also in many other bands (you may remember seeing Loa in the Prins Polo pictures). I had a blast chatting with FM Belfast, as you can see in the photos below:
Their high-energy performance at Aldrei was a definite highlight... and not just because everyone stripped down to their underwear.
FOR MORE ON ICELAND: