Pivotal shoegaze band Slowdive are back after their 20-year hiatus and will be performing at Kowloonbay International Trade & Exhibition Centre (KITEC) this Monday as part of their much publicised reunion tour.
Chances are that you’ll have heard shoegaze music, even if you’ve never heard of the term. Emerging from the Thames Valley region in the UK during the late 80s, it shares traits with scores of other genres associated with the era such as dream pop, lo-fi, ambient, ethereal and noise rock/pop. Shoegaze was so named by a critic at NME for musicians’ tendency to look down as a result of the characteristic use of distortion pedals to create a ‘wall of sound’. A lot of the phrases thrown around in relation to shoegaze make reference to its rich atmospheric sound and the frequent use of indistinguishable vocals, typically more favoured for their melodic, rather than lyrical qualities.
While Slowdive’s music has found a cult following now, the often cruel criticism their records received upon release was significant in their struggles to grab mainstream attention, especially as they were dwarfed by the then-reigning genres of grunge and Britpop. However, ‘nu gaze’ acts such as Blonde Redhead, My Vitriol, The Radio Department and M83, who blend shoegaze with electronic elements, have led to a resurgence of interest in the original pioneers of the genre. This is evident in the reception to their album Souvlaki, which received extremely negative reviews in 1994, but has since garnered critical acclaim upon its re-release in 2005 and is widely regarded as their best album.
Shoegaze has found a particularly large following here in Hong Kong, with more and more local bands experimenting with characteristics of shoegaze and its related genres after the emergence of the modern ‘nu gaze’ movement. We have no doubt that many, if not all of them, would cite Slowdive or their peers as strong influences. In fact, three of the Slowdive members have toured Hong Kong multiple times in their indie folk band, Mojave 3, and their fondness of Hong Kong and indie concert organisers Songs for Children was instrumental in their decision to perform here during their tour of massive events like Primavera Sound, Electric Picnic, FYF, Roskilde and Off Festivals.
Their first reunion gig in the UK saw tickets going for £300 (that’s just shy of HKD $4000!), but you can grab a ticket to their Hong Kong gig for HKD $595. While tickets have been selling out fast in all three outlets, the last batch of tickets has just arrived in time for any last minute shoegazers, so grab ‘em fast!
Tickets: HKD $595 for advance tickets and $640 for walk-ins.
Advance tickets can be found online at Cityline or bought from The Globe (Garley Building, 45-53A Graham Street), White Noise (1/F, 720 Shanghai Street, Kowloon) and Zoo Records (Shop 316, 3/F, 608 Nathan Road, Kowloon).
KITEC: 1 Trademart Drive, Kowloon Bay, Kowloon.
Photo: Songs for Children via Facebook
