The secret of record success

On a balmy autumn night in a sleepy island village somewhere in the South China Sea, all is not what it seems. The familiar bucolic rustling of foliage and the chirps of crickets have been replaced by the boom of industrial loudspeakers reverberating in the distance. From the middle of the jungle a throbbing bass line echoes through the palm trees interspersed by the intermittent flash of neon lights and the whoops of clubbers having the time of their lives. It’s Saturday night and this is Hong Kong’s Secret Island Party.
Whisked away from the real world by private boats to a secluded jungle beachside getaway, a horde of adventurous partygoers delight in this two-day music and arts festival replete with multiple music stages, international and local DJs, bands, interactive art installations and performances. But what’s unusual about this year’s lineup is that among the talent on offer, four Macau acts are beginning to make a name for themselves.
It’s getting close to midnight and DJ Devlar is set to spin the decks. Chatting to him armed with a gin and tonic in hand, this may not be the most professional of interview tactics. But then again, the backdrop of neon revelers decked out in a mufti of fancy dress goes to show that the setting is more on the Hunter S. Thompson gonzo journalism side of things than I’m generally used to. And with a horde of costumed gypsies, pirates and thieves running around, Secret Island Party is anything but conventional.
DJ Devlar, better known as Devin Wilhelm, is a Macau local by way of Indiana who specializes in dance music, fusing deep, techno and house. A frequent undercurrent of jazz and piano elements thread through his mixes, which can be emotional and slower or upbeat, moody and decidedly more techno. He’s been active in both the Macau and Hong Kong music scenes, with a residency at Club Berlin in Macau as well as Electronic events in Hong Kong.
Having played at Secret Island Party last year, he’s returned again this year to support the event as one of the offerings on the Hong Kong electronic music scene as it grows larger. “I played here last year also and I think that just being involved in the circuit with the other DJs and kind of collaborating with the Hong Kong artists is important”, he says. “We’re so close together that it’s just trying to grow the scene together with the two places and bring each other over so it just sort of develops”.
For Devin, electronic music in Macau is by nowhere as far advanced as Hong Kong, and aiming to cultivate things and grow events is one of his main goals. Macau faces certain difficulties particular to its size that restrict the out-
put of events on offer. “I think there’s a lot of enthusiasm, there’s a lot of artists that are there and we don’t necessarily have the platforms yet to be able to put out a lot of music and create events”, he explains. “We’re restricted in a sense, one geographically, and the size and the population compared to Hong Kong. This [festival] would be very difficult to have in Macau. So I think that’s one thing that’s holding us back, but it’s coming along”, he remarks.
Yet as Macau’s entertainment offerings gradually become more sophisticated, with them comes a new generation of artists excited about bringing their musical vision to a larger audience. “Just the fact that we’ve got several artists playing from Macau tonight” is evidence of this, Devin says. Nevertheless one of the difficulties is that many of them have to leave Macau to hone their talents. “I think one of the sad things about this is a lot of the artists have had to go out of Macau to even get recognized”, he reveals. “And when you get recognition outside of Macau, for one is like people in Macau kind of believe in you a bit more; and also it’s a good ego boost really to go outside and be like ok you can do it on an international level”, he says. “You’ve got a lot of people, a lot of talent, but not necessarily the output necessary for everything that’s being created”.
Comparing both SARs, the DJ feels that being based in Macau has made things more difficult, motivating his decision to come to Hong Kong. “I’d say it’s been a necessity to come into Hong Kong. It’s a lot of factors that really restrict you: you don’t have any support system, you don’t have competition…” he explains. “[In] Hong Kong, you’ve got that many venues that you have competition. And it’s a different market, hands down. We’re talking about a K-TV market six years ago that is now supposed to be world-class entertainment. There’s been a massive transition just in there few short years and it’s getting a bit more sophisticated”.
As evidence of the profusion of new Macau talent, aside from Devlar, three other Macau artists were also showcasing their musical offerings on the Secret Island Party stages. DJ Benson, who played earlier that afternoon, and DJ Youth Samoan, who was playing the next day, are two of the newer acts to come out of Macau. “I’ve known both of them and they’ve grown in a bit of a different path”, says Devin. “They have the heavy crew, which is more bass music. They started with dub step like dub and reggae, as well drum and bass, now a bit more garage. They’ve been really one of the other groups that’s been pushing it, especially from Macau”, he clarifies. “They came over immediately to Hong Kong and have been working really strongly with people here. That’s been a great thing on the bass music scene, they’ve definitely been the real pioneers and people making it happen. So that’s been awesome”.
Speaking about the potential for collaboration, Devin describes how as well as playing together at parties, the Macau artists also try to promote each other’s events. “We’ve played at each others’ parties, and other than that, just cross promoting”, he says. “Just using each of our marketing bases to help each other out and just show people that there are artists from Macau and that there are people doing stuff! Like I said, it’s kind of ironic you have to make a name outside of Macau for yourself to get recognized within, but it seems that’s the way it is”.
Like Devin, DJ Benson, aka Benson Chow, similarly feels that most Macau artists need to cross over to Hong Kong to make a name for themselves by reason of its more developed music industry. His feeling is that “the Hong Kong scene is usually better than Macau, because Macau doesn’t have so many people to make this [dance music] culture. Usually Macau people have to go Hong Kong to learn more about the party scene. I know Devin from partying, because he’s also a DJ, so I have to talk to him! And I know Meatball [Youth Samoan] because we knew each other from being in a band where he was the drummer”. Describing his fellow Macau compatriots, according to Devin, “Benson is one of the newer guys from what I’ve seen in the last few years, and Meatball has moved over to Hong Kong. He’s been doing a lot of gigs over here – again in a bit of a different music style to what I do – but I fully support them, so it’s been great”.
Demonstrating this close-knit Macau music community, playing the next afternoon in their Hong Kong debut were electronic acoustic duo Concrete/Lotus, comprised of vocalist Abbi Mitchell-Morley and producer Kelsey Wilhelm, also Devlar’s brother. Blending acoustic and electronic elements, the pair’s melodies combine vocals, drums, guitar and synths. At the invitation of the organizers, Kelsey and Abbi decided on coming to the festival to build up their reputation as they had also heard positive things about it from the other Macau musicians. “My brother played here last year and we’d heard great things about it so we instantly accepted”, revealed producer and guitarist Kelsey.

DJ Benson (L), Concrete/Lotus (C) and DJ Devlar (R)

After witnessing their energetic performance, this time swapping my gin and tonic for a beer, we got to discussing the musical climate in Macau. One of the advantages of Macau’s limited size has been the ability to network and collaborate with other local artists, the duo reveal. “There’s a little bit of familiarity from the Macau music industry. It’s relatively small so we all know each other”, says singer Abbi. “Kelsey and I do a great job of trying to collaborate with everybody to get a sense of belonging”. “They do a lot to bring us into the whole side, it’s really supportive, that’s one of the good things I’ve found about Macau musicians, because there’s such a small scene they try to help each other grow. It’s the best thing we could ask for”, Kelsey similarly adds.
Describing the other Macau artists as “super supportive”, Abbi says they encourage each other by inviting them to their gigs and events. Besides this, they also book each other and play at each other’s parties. “We do our best to try and show them support in a way because they deserve it, there are great musicians out there and hopefully we can create a following and boost it a bit”, enthuses Kelsey.
Getting back to the disparities, both musicians find that Hong Kong is much more developed, hence the motivation for their decision to branch out of Macau. “I think that just given the size difference between HK and Macau, there’s obviously going to be a completely different music scene here”, remarks Kelsey. “Hong Kong’s really developed, there’s some great people doing some really innovative stuff, and hopefully we can just jump on and ride the wave”, he remarks. Yet both are hopeful that the Macau scene has potential for development. “It’s a very slow, slow process hitching towards it but it’s really taking its time”, says Abbi. According to Kelsey, “there’s all the ingredients for it to work, so hopefully over the next couple of years we’re going to continue supporting each other, and if that happens, Macau has great potential to really develop the music scene”. Vanessa Moore, Hong Kong