After a long four-year wait, Clockenflap is back with a hot streak. Following its return earlier this March, Hong Kong finally held its iconic festival again in the familiar month of December in a bold and brilliant edition. Swae Lee and De La Soul brought the bars alongside bar-setting headliners (Pulp! IDLES!), while the festival played host to East Asia’s buzziest, from starlets like Lexie Liu and Leah Dou, to iconic bands like Omnipotent Youth Society and No Party for Cao Dong.
J-pop got its moment: breakout megastars YOASOBI drew massive queues from the festival’s opening hours, while ATARASHII GAKKO! and Wednesday Campanella repped the sounds of Japan’s vibrant alternative pop scene. And of course came the rockers: Otoboke Beaver conjured barrier-breaking circle pits, while Hong Kong’s own N.Y.P.D. delivered a riotous set fit for the history books – joining an outstanding local showing this year from indie-poppers Bad Math and Science Noodles.
NME got down to Hong Kong’s Central Harbourfront to have a taste of this year’s performances – here’s to throwing it back to a beautiful weekend.
Friday: Wang Wen open a moody main stage
Opening up the main stage on Friday night, Chinese post-rock veterans Wang Wen delivered a moody, cinematic set to start the evening. Their mix of blearing synths, poetic flutes, hypnotic electronics and big crescendos, showcased in cuts like ‘Wu Wu Road’, proved as beautiful as the Victoria Harbour skyline.
Friday: Alex G’s songs speak for him
“We’re excited to play,” Alex G said… four times, ever more deadpan each time. The man might be nonchalant, but Alex Giannascoli prefers to let his songs do the talking. From beautiful renditions of ‘Runner’ and buttery Auto-Tune on many others (‘No Bitterness’!), to kids going wild for favourite ‘Mary’, the indie rocker was the man.
Friday: Gonggonggong open up the phantom pit
Ever imagined moshing without any beats? With just a guitar and bass – no drummer – the Beijing post-punk duo’s ‘phantom snare’ sound conjured one of the weekend’s most surreal sights: a furious pit to their hypnotic, drumless grooves. Almost cult-like (in the best way).
Friday with IDLES: Joe Talbot’s rear… and Christmas cheer?
From ‘Mother’ to ‘Mr. Motivator’, IDLES were ready for Hong Kong: sassily stomping and strutting through a high-energy set. Joe Talbot’s dynamic hips might have been the highlight of it all, but not before Mark Bowen started a surprise singalong: “All I want for Christmaaaaaaas iiiiis yooooou!” Merry times.
Friday: Emotions run high at Envy
Away from the hype at the cozy Tommy Stage, Japanese screamo legends Envy treated fans to a masterclass in post-rock catharsis. As a crowd of loyal believers relished their emotional sound, frontman Tetsuya Fukagawa stood shepherd over it all, majestic over a sea of tranced-out, teared-up headbangers.
Friday: YOASOBI make good on the hype
YOASOBI fans camping out at the main stage all day for prime spots weren’t disappointed. Bringing an impeccably produced performance (pyro! Lasers!), Ayase and Ikura delivered on the hype, starting strong with hits like ‘Into The Night’, and debuting their Pokémon tune, ‘Biri Biri’. Fans went delirious for the J-pop megastars as they kicked off their Asia tour in style.
Saturday: Science Noodles keep it cool
With their gentle, dreamy grooves, the Taiwanese-Hong Kong indie poppers charmed with an effortless set filled with laid-back favourites like ‘Slowtime’ and ‘Welcome to My Home’ plus some new songs along the way. Science Noodles’ sauntering jams proved perfect for an overcast afternoon.
Saturday: ADG7, saranghaeyo!
Things didn’t get more colourful than with ADG7! Clad in bright hanboks, the shamanic pop nine-piece won over the afternoon crowd at the Harbourflap stage with their ecstatic blend of traditional Korean instrumentation and playful choreography. They even gave us a quick Korean lesson, and the Clockenflap crowd quickly responded: “saranghaeyo!”
Saturday: ATARASHII GAKKO!, leaders of cool Japan
Turning in one of the weekend’s most electric performances with their powerful dance and vocal routines, Suzuka and the gang were peculiar, provocative and everything in between – the antithesis of playing J-pop safe. From commanding trap bounce to bursting through punk rock windmills, the seifuku-clad group made good on their moniker as Japan’s youth leaders. Their set was cultural diplomacy done right.
Saturday: Caroline Polachek hurts everyone’s feelings
Fans with barmy signs turned out in force for Caroline Polachek (one particularly unhinged one read: ‘Mommy sit on my face!’). Clad in red, the singer turned in a powerhouse performance that pulled heavily from her acclaimed album ‘Desire, I Want To Turn Into You’ – with some ‘Pang’ cuts in between, of course.
Saturday: Cinthie throws it down at Electriq
In between the bands and beats, crowds were running wild all night at Clockenflap’s dedicated electronic tent. On Saturday, Cinthie’s vintage grooves greeted the evening ravers.
Saturday: Aim high, they said… after a pint
It’s not exactly Clockenflap without their quirky public art installations – between the Orbit and Harbourflap stages, there was plenty of room for a quick pint and recharge before heading for more action.
Saturday: Squid mesmerise with experimental grooves
From zany arp to ambient textures and krautrock grooves, the London quintet dished out thrilling interpretations of cuts from ‘O Monolith’ and ‘Bright Green Field’. Vocalist/drummer Ollie Judge stayed firmly in the driver’s seat, powering through highlights like ‘Narrator’ and ‘Pamphlets’.
Saturday: De La Soul bring the bounce
As night fell, De La Soul were ready to bring good vibes to the table. Armed with a career-spanning set full of chilled-out hits and deep cuts, Posdnuos and Maseo stirred up a sea of bouncing hands at the Harbourflap stage.
Saturday: Broken ribs can’t stop Jarvis Cocker
Jarvis Cocker broke two ribs just before headlining Clockenflap, but it wouldn’t be Pulp without dramatics, right? We couldn’t tell, either: from literally entering through a flight of stairs and dancing through ‘Disco 2000’ to lounging against a backdrop of velvet curtains for ‘This is Hardcore’ and walking out into the sunset (on a screen) – Cocker still knows how to put on a show.
Sunday: time to tune in to 9m88 radio!
Drawing a big evening turnout on the Orbit Stage, the Taiwanese jazz-pop chanteuse cruised through a poised set full of charm and elegance. Opening with a Tom Chang cover before jumping into ‘Aim High’ and cuts from ‘9m88 Radio’ like ‘Friendzone’, Baba grooved her way into the Sunday sunset.
Sunday: Leah Dou, Clockenflap’s number one girlcrush
Leah Dou’s grown a lot since her debut Clockenflap performance in 2016. Returning cool and confident, the Chinese singer showcased her maturation as a now-established artist, moving from experimental grooves and whispers to revisiting old cuts like ‘May Rain’. The nonstop squeals of fangirls throughout the set, too, proved her star power has developed in more ways than one.
Sunday: Wednesday Campanella’s second-gen vocalist Utaha strikes a pose – and a chord
Returning to Clockenflap, alt-J-pop unit Wednesday Campanella were back with a new, cuter look. Second-generation vocalist Utaha proved magnetic: from dancing with mattress-holding wolves and maneki nekos, to powering through hip-house cuts like ‘Buckingham’ and hits like ‘Edison’, to even paying tribute to the group’s history traversing the crowd in an inflatable bubble, the Gen-Z icon was as every bit charismatic as her predecessor KOM_I – of course, as the crowd’s chants let her know, with her signature dash of kawaii.
Sunday: with great responsibility comes the great Swae Lee!
Swae Lee was more than ready to fill in for Joji, who’d cancelled at the last minute due to health issues. Hopping over from his appearance for Louis Vuitton just days prior, the Rae Sremmurd icon smashed his headlining spot with a couple of assists from local Spider-Men, coming to the rescue with a barrage of hits from ‘Sunflower’ to ‘Calling’. He even ripped his pants along the way!
Sunday: No Party for Cao Dong return from darkness
The antiheroes are back: now powered by blast beats (!) courtesy of new drummer Huang Shih-wei, the Taiwanese indie rock heroes delivered a bombastic mix packed with ‘The Servile’ favourites and cuts off new album ‘The Clod’. But power and pain come in pairs: as the band closed with a dramatic take on ‘Wayfarer’, frontman Wood Lin, who’d been quiet and mumbling throughout the whole set, ended with an anguished scream that seemed to summarise everything: “Thank you!”