Since the first Clockenflap in 2008 at Cyberport, a concrete public space in an empty housing development, the event has expanded to become the city’s premiere music festival, hosted at the West Kowloon Cultural District’s Central Harbourfront Event Space with the glowing Hong Kong skyline as its backdrop.
Drawing on acts from around the globe, Clockenflap reflects the swiftly evolving city’s wide-ranging tastes. Along with artists more familiar to western audiences like St. Vincent, Jack White, and Air, much of the weekend’s highlights came from unexpected sources, including Taiwan’s deca joins, Japan’s yama, and Lebanon’s Ibrahim Maloouf, thrilling visitors to the city and locals alike.
Despite the kinetic energy of the futuristic, neon-filled city, the festival itself was one of the most laid back I’ve ever experienced, with an inflatable mushroom lounge and roaming gigantic DJ head art installation that set off dance parties at stages between sets. Meanwhile, Discover Hong Kong’s kaleidoscope video installation offered the rarest of opportunities: an actually fun and creative Instagram photo spot.
The ample food options included everything from Mexican tacos to Chinese pork bao, while the honey-drizzled truffle grilled cheese from the Barkada x A Spark of Madness booth made sure that you didn’t feel like you were missing out on sampling the city’s many flavors come dinner time.
An initial highlight came in the form of deca joins, the lo-fi indie-grunge band from Taipei. Formed in 2013, they’ve gone through a few name changes (initially FUBAR, then Grey Dwarf Star), and despite the language barrier of their Taiwanese lyrics, I found them to be instantly accessible with hints of Tame Impala, Future Islands, and King Gizzard all at once.
Air
On a more familiar note, the love for French duo Air knows no borders, as they commanded a massive opening-night set. Playing his first Hong Kong show as a solo artist, Jack White took a moment out of his nonstop heater of a set to reflect on the exotic nature of the proceedings, drawing a parallel to his hometown of Detroit. As part of his whirlwind No Name tour, playing last-minute gigs at small venues or popping over to Asia to just play a quick festival set, he also toured the city’s ranging markets before carrying on for a show the next night in Vietnam—but not before promising to return to the city soon.
Of course the central draw of getting to see some of your favorite musicians at a far-flung destination is to also sample the local atmosphere, and there may be no richer palate than Hong Kong’s—from the packed food stalls permeating the city’s streets with spicy smells to the gem of a record store that is Vinyl Hero.
Local-legend Paul Au started saving vinyl when CDs grew in popularity in the ’90s and 2000s, and maintains his meticulous collection in a tiny room packed to every corner. We tested him to find obscure albums within the stacks, and without fail he called on his internal mental filing system and pulled them within seconds every time. His collection highlight? A one-of-50 Hong Kong Madonna pressing he holds onto as his prized possession.
Also discovering the city for their first concert was St. Vincent’s Annie Clark with her All Born Screaming–assembled band. Posting photos from her hotel view, she dubbed the city “heaven” while sharing drinks with Air. Unfortunately, the set itself was plagued by some sound issues, but satisfied the faithful when she took to the crowd to hold up fans’ homemade signs—one reading “HK isn’t HK without you,” one proclaiming they’d flown 7,500 miles to see her, and, in perhaps an unintended jinx, one reading “Annie Born Grammying”—before being unceremoniously stopped by security from taking to the crowd after promising the “most epic crowd surf.”
Far away destination festivals might seem like a tall order for American music fans, but with a little foresight and planning you can flip your annual festival budget into a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Whether it’s festivals like Bilbao BBK Live in Spain’s Basque Country, an Everest of festivals like Glastonbury, or a behemoth fantasy like Clockenflap, I’ve found them all to be a wildly greater return on festival adventures—particularly as the cost of concerts at home continues to rise.
FInd more photo highlights from Clockenflap 2024 below.
St. Vincent
St. Vincent
Banks
Banks
Discover Hong Kong Kaleidoscope
yama
Jack White
Jack White
Jack White
Jack White
Glass Animals
deca joins
deca joins
deca joins
Air
Air
Air
Porter Robinson
Porter Robinson
Porter Robinson
Mother Mother
Mother Mother
