Music and lyrics

Greta Ng

In February, artisanal hotel K11 Artus welcomed award-winning lyricist and scholar Chow Yiu-fai as its fifth artist-in-residence.

He was the latest in illustrious names to join the program - his predecessors being filmmaker Man Lim-chung, writer and illustrator Sophia Hotung, figurative artist Brendan Fitzpatrick and conductor Wilson Ng.

What emerged from Chow's residency was a Cantonese poetry album titled 11pm, Where Are You?, complete with a soundtrack by electronic musician Khris Nung, better known as Hirsk.

"Sometimes I'd play the album and listen to myself," said Chow as he settled into a chair in the library of K11 Artus, with the backdrop of the iconic Victoria Harbour. "I find this project to be quite a novel experience."

Locally born Chow currently serves as a professor at the Hong Kong Baptist University. Since releasing his first lyrics in 1989, he has penned over 1,000 lyrical works for a diverse range of pop artists. Last year, he made history as the first lyricist to win the Taiwanese Golden Song Award with his work Homo Sapiens for singer Eason Chan.

"You step into a different world as you push through the front doors to K11 Artus, a tranquil space that contrasts with the bustling streets," he said. "As a poet, I felt compelled to write about the temporary home I had in Tsim Sha Tsui."

Playing on the number 11 in K11, he decided to reflect on his experience of coming home to the harbor front hotel for 11 consecutive nights during his residency. The digital album also features 11 complimentary photos taken by Chow at 11pm.

"After spending the day in this vibrant city, we return home every night," he said. "But what does 'going home' really mean? Where do we typically find ourselves at 11pm?"

The situation inspired him to write 11 poems. The titles all follow the same format: (Date) The farthest I've been to was (district name) today. Chow hopes that listeners will play the album straight through, perhaps when they are on their way home, too.

The creative process of making the album involved many aspects. Chow wrote and recorded the poems and sent them to Hirsk, who then produced the music, literally in one go.

"Chow's poetry and my music are a conversation," explained Hirsk, who has collaborated with Chow before.

When Hirsk was producing the soundscapes for the poems, he derived many of the melodies and tunes from Chow's voice reading. These "Easter eggs," as Hirsk called them, are present throughout the album.

He gave an example in track nine, when his music converses with Chow's lyrics: "The human-world can be in charge of the crowds / momentary angels control the moment."

Unlike his previous lyrical works, Chow said that this time, the words came into existence before the music. And this time, he got to experiment with his voice and set aside concerns about semantics.

"Throughout my career, I was accustomed to writing the lyrics after receiving the melody from artists," he said.

"After 30 years, I never imagined giving feedback or asking for adjustments like I did in this album."

The concept of a recorded poetry album with music has opened up new possibilities for Chow and Hirsk to explore. Said Chow: "Live performances of poets usually have a linear, chronological and overall direct style. But Hirsk's music production made the album less rigid."

"Some parts are dramatic, others melodic and relatively calm."

The poems and recordings are in Cantonese, and Chow is considering translating them into English.

An Indian acquaintance of Chow's found the album to be soothing, despite not understanding the language.

"It was fun to prioritize the sound of the poems," said Chow..

He hopes that more institutions in the city would host similar artist residency programs, as they have the transformative power to snap artists out of their everyday routines.

"The idea of devoting all your time into a site-specific project and immersing yourself in a foreign country is something that I'd very much like to experience," he said.

The digital poetry book 11pm, Where Are You? and its soundtracks are available on artus.com.hk and all major streaming platforms.