ARTS | MUSIC
TURN ON YOUR RADIO
Co-founder of HKCR Gavin Wong Talks About Building Communities By Bryan Grogan
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e’ve been covering online radio more and more recently, as a number of new stations crop up around Greater China. One of the first to get off the ground was Hong Kong Community Radio (HKCR), which has been a vital stronghold for underground music in the Fragrant Harbor since 2016. Founded by Gavin Wong, the mind behind essential Hong Kong label Absurd Trax, and Davy Law, who runs another excellent Hong Kong-based label, Neoncity Records, HKCR has become one of the most important music outlets in the Asia Pacific region. We spoke to Wong about the station. When and why did you start HKCR?
We started out in late 2016. I found radio culture so amazing when I was studying in the UK. Even though pirate radio isn’t something new here, I don’t think there was an online radio that was solely dedicated to music sharing. I wanted to create a platform that is dedicated to people in music, primarily because 32 | GZ | FEBRUARY 2020 | WWW.THATSMAGS.COM
we really need this kind of tool to convene broader ideas and connect with other people locally and globally.
There’s quite a bit of equipment and other stuff to take care of. How are you funded? We don’t receive any funding at the moment. Davy Law and I bought everything. We started out with a webcam and a borrowed CDJ in a corner of a friend’s leather jacket shop (shout out to Oldies Leather Jacket). We kept the setup mobile so we could stream in different spaces (we streamed at a bookshop, a clothing shop, my friend’s cha chaan teng and so on). Eventually we invested in a CDJ (digital music player for DJing) and found all the other pieces by scavenging through secondhand recording gear and leftover furniture. Of course, from time to time we receive help from the community as well. We moved into the Foo Tak Building two years ago. The rent is at a remarkably discounted rate, which is amazing considering
the location. We’re very appreciative to ACO who show us massive support in our project.
When it comes to the music side of things, how do you decide on what international acts or China-based acts you like to have on the show? I try to not dictate who’s going to come in and who’s not. The station is obviously not about a single musical style or idea; most people who came around before were people who got in touch with us to ask if we could host them for an hour on the radio stream. They may or may not know anyone here, so we facilitate as a connecting hub for travelers and locals. We try to accommodate the best we can, but obviously due to the aforementioned limitations we can’t really take everyone. The station gives a platform for creatives in Hong Kong to express themselves through music. What kind of feedback do you get from musicians and producers to
