Hong Kong’s premier music festival, Clockenflap, is to return next month to Central Harbourfront after a three-year hiatus, with the full line-up now revealed. Tickets are available now.
US Hip-hop legends Wu-Tang Clan (Sun) will be jetting in to play Hong Kong for the first time, while the band behind global smashes such as Lovefool, Erase/Rewind and My Favourite Game, The Cardigans (Sat) will finally make their long-awaited Hong Kong debut. And London-based indie-rock innovators Bombay Bicycle Club (Sun) make their triumphant return to Clockenflap 12 years after headlining the festival in 2011 and ahead of their new album. All three acts are coming to Asia to play Clockenflap exclusively. They join British rock icons Arctic Monkeys (Fri), French synthrockers Phoenix (Fri), Norwegian folk-pop duo Kings of Convenience (Sat) and the German electronic supergroup Moderat (Sun).
Local Leading Lights
Flying the flag for Hong Kong, Clockenflap welcomes a dazzling array of local acts that blur the boundaries between the underground and the mainstream, from Canto-rock giants KOLOR (Sat) and poetic pop duo per se (Sat) to indie-pop five-piece The Hertz (Sun). They join local rap trailblazer Tyson Yoshi (Sat) and COLLAR x RubberBand (Sat), who will perform together in a one-of-a-kind collaboration.
Hong Kong Indie Heroes
Showcasing the depth and breadth of the local indie scene, the festival welcomes veteran post-hardcore survivors The Lovesong (Sun), Britpop-channelling Canto-rockers Charming Way (Sun), as well as previously announced Hong Kong hip-hop don YoungQueenz (Fri), alt-rockers Arches (Sun) and breakout rock act 南洋派對 N.Y.P.D. (Sat).
Young Guns
Getting in early on the hottest up-and-coming acts that capture the youth zeitgeist, Clockenflap has added red-hot American songstress Sasha Alex Sloan (Sat) to a lineup that includes French multi-instrumentalist FKJ (Sat), Canadian indie darlings Men I Trust (Fri), Thai indie-pop duo HYBS (Sat) and Cameron Lew’s soul project Ginger Root (Sat).
Musical Mavericks
Fans looking to broaden their musical horizons or discover something truly unique will be spoiled for choice at this year’s festival. Impossible to pigeonhole but never less than mesmerising, UK act Black Country, New Road (Sun) are sure to win legions of new followers with their eclectic sound, as will Japanese experimental rock masters MONO (Sun), innovative British jazz quintet Ezra Collective (Sun), South Korean hip-hop collective Balming Tiger (Sun) and South Korean alt-pop band Leenalchi (Sun).
Regional Top Picks
The best acts from around Asia are once again lighting up the Clockenflap lineup, with Japanese dance-pop favourites CHAI (Sat) the latest names to be added, joining Japanese chanteuse milet (Sun), Thai favourites Three Man Down (Sun), Japanese indie-rockers Hitsujibungaku (Sat) and South Korean indie boy band Silica Gel (Sat).
Taiwanese Trailblazers
Tapping into Taiwan’s buzzing music scene, Clockenflap welcomes the multi-talented singer-songwriter YELLOW 黃宣 (Fri) and hotly-tipped R&B chanteuse Julia Wu 吳卓源 (Sun) to the bill, alongside five-piece folk rock band 老王樂隊 (Your Woman Sleep with Others) (Sun) and acclaimed singer-songwriter LÜCY (Sat).
Arts
Clockenflap is about much more than music, and the festival’s arts programme serves up a spectacular selection of Instagrammable attractions and audiovisual adventures. Open call winner Pause.Record.Play gives everyone a chance to jam together using a collection of special sound effects; Videotage curates a visually astonishing journey into artists’ mental imagery of local cityscapes; Relentless Melt presents a special selection of abstract and psychedelic films; Memorabilia Mobile invites audience members to become a model, with Clockenflap as the backdrop; while street art by Caratoes and Parents Parents plus the ever-popular, otherworldly Birdmen will provide photo ops galore.
Family Area
As in previous years, families and children of all ages are well catered for at the festival, from puppet-based performances at Treasure Chest Theatre, to showing off their passion for percussion at the Drum Jam, to soothing sonic explorations with I is One.
Clockenflap 2023 Tickets:
The 12th edition of Clockenflap comes after it was was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, and was axed in 2019 due to the pro-democracy protests and unrest.
Dates: Fri, Mar 3, 2023 – Sun, Mar 5, 2023
Venue: Central Harbourfront.
Tickets: Priced at HK$1,620 for a three-day pass, or HK$1,080 for single days, are available now from www.clockenflap.com/tickets.
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