I agree with what English author Terry Pratcheff said, “Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And, the people see you differently too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.”
I encourage a young man to travel. If possible, he should also work for a while in a foreign country. He can understand, take a special interest in and learn from the cultures other than his own. New situations also make him understand himself better. His wisdom and capability will go up exponentially.
For a person working as an artist, the experience of the outside, not simply of the tiny city of Hong Kong, is even more important. Sometimes, you have to leave a place in order to know your new ideas which you want to hold on tight when you come back.
We often get used to the things around us. The ways that we spent mowing in our familiar lawn made us forget what a new thing should be. The strange memories of a foreign place always reside in the soul of an artist. Loafing in the lonely shadows of a tranquil sunset, pausing to gaze at some ruined old houses and pondering at an empty home to decide if we want kebabs or tortillas for dinner will make us remember fondly the life that we have gone through in a foreign place. The memories can become the treasure of our inspirations.
Jason Wu (胡奕男), born in 1993, known professionally as ‘Rabitt’, is the son of my friend Cynthia. This guy is pleasant as much as pleasurable, willing to share and listen. I guess he is a workaholic too and has no time for things other than music. He was raised in Hong Kong. He loves music and was the nominee for the internationally renowned Emmy Awards and Grammy Awards. After obtaining a degree from Berklee College of Music, Boston, his mentor Kara DioGuardi helped him go to Los Angeles to work there.
Jason leaned back in a Vietnamese coffee shop in Pacific Place, “Wow! Time flies! I have had my overseas music production career for more than 10 years! I still feel I am a part of Hong Kong.” I asked, “Why did you decide to stay in America?” Jason said, “Ideally, young people should gain the experience of working in another country. It is useful to have a different cultural exposure. For example, in America, I learnt a great deal about hip hop. If I am not mistaken, the creation of hip hop comes from African Americans. It is marvellously one of the purest forms of self-expression. People resonate with this music because when they hear great hip hop, their heart can really feel the message that the artist wants to portray; whether it is about attitudes, struggles or social commentary. It is hard to hear great hip hop and not bop your head to the beat! If I come back to Hong Kong one day, the music will let me inspire other music people here.”
I asked, “Given that you have learnt music in USA, if you were asked to improve the style of Cantopop in Hong Kong, how would you do it? Some here claimed that Cantopop is being outdated.” Jason smiled, “I may be very wrong as I have been away for a long while. Cantopop would be better if it could get rid of the old ways and move towards what the young people are now really excited about. Pop music should be dictated by the young. We have to tap into the minds of the young guys here and then provide the good resources and incubating environment for their ideas to thrive. It is the way to push pop music forward in America. The most music-forward-thinking places, like America, the UK, Korea and Japan, have been focusing on cultivating creative ideas, cultures and people for decades. Success does not just come from a few rounds of wabbling. I think when answering your question, it is important not just to ask what music that Hong Kong can make at this point, but also to pay attention to the inception process of creative cultures in Hong Kong. Great pop music scene must be the result of a long series of incubations.”
I said, “You worked with great international music stars like Andy Grammar, Kiiara, Eric Nam, Charlotte Lawrence, Alvaro Soler, Ingrid Andress, King & Prince…How would you feel?” Jason gave me a quick answer, “I am honoured. It is always part of a great singer’s quality to be charming and these good stars always have something, musically or interactionally, that just makes you love them. It is just that little bit more! I do believe that some people are born for music business.”
I was curious, “How would you see music and culture?” Jason thought about it, “Culture is a broad thing that encompasses contrasting human beliefs, values, norms and behaviours. This is why young people will need to go out of the comfort zone of Hong Kong and try to come into contact with people from different backgrounds especially interesting walks of life. We, in the industry, honour cultural diversity with music. This is why music style matters.” I raised my hand in salute. He continued, “Having had the privilege to travel the world to make music with American, European, Japanese and Korean artists, I must say ‘enlightenment’ is my gain. It is absolutely true that different people and countries have different cultures of creating music. Even in the US alone, sessions in Los Angeles, Nashville, Atlanta or New York all have their own music cultures. Let me give you an example: Los Angeles sessions are often pop oriented. Ha, we start at 1 p.m., come up with a lyrical concept, produce a track and finish the day with one song. In Nashville, people start at 10 a.m., and discuss heavily the lyrics and melody, usually ‘writing’ only on a guitar. In Atlanta, sessions are often hip-hop based. Producer likes to run through a folder of tracks and the top liners in the room will then assess which they are fond of before jumping on the microphone and creating the free style melodies and lyrics. All these are to say that in all popular music hubs around the US, they all have their own distinct way of doing things reflecting their unique culture. I was shaped by the culture that I encountered. The more cultures that we can absorb, the greater music we can produce.”
Lovely gathering is quicker than the wink of an eye. Jason had to leave Hong Kong for America soon. I asked him finally, “When will you come back again?” Jason stared at me helplessly, “I have too much work in the USA. I love Hong Kong. My parents are here. The last time that I came back was several years ago. I sincerely wish to help the young people in Hong Kong who would like to find a career in music. Do let me know! But, I would advise them to put up their original and creative music online first to attract attention. It is the easy and inexpensive to let people all over the world know how good you are. Don’t do it once in a blue moon. Do it regularly so that you can build up enough music credentials for the experts in the music industry to pick you up!”
Aggressiveness is the presentiment of our inner abilities. Hong Kong is clearly too small. Our future leaders will be those young men and women like Jason Wu who are ready to learn the outside world. When we can have a group of these talents coming back to Hong Kong one day to serve, these forerunners will be our city’s ultimate re-engineering machines!
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