Young Post, November 28, 2003

By Lee Wing-sze

LOCAL HARDCORE BAND King Ly Chee are revolutionaries. Through their music they try to change the local music scene, as well as the younger generation's attitude to life.

They write songs about social issues, such as the problems faced by the elderly, ethnic discrimination and materialism. They organise charity shows and donate some of the proceeds of their record sales to charity.

"This is the attitude of hardcore - if you think something is wrong, you don't waste time, you do something instantly to tackle the problem, like write a song that will increase people's awareness," says vocalist and guitarist Riz Farooqi.

"We believe everyone can make a difference if they really want to."

Their active attitude attracted not just a dedicated group of young followers, it also impressed local veteran rocker Paul Wong Kwoon-chung, who gave them a contract with his independent label, Polar Bear.

Their second album, Stand Strong, produced by Wong, will hit the CD stores on Sunday.

The band was formed in 1999 by Farooqi, vocalist and bassist Alex (Chung Chi-kin) and former members Stephane Wong and Ian Cruz, in an effort to bring a change to the local music scene. A year later the band produced their self-financed debut album, We Are Who We Are.

After several changes in line-up, the band now consist of Farooqi, Alex, guitarist Andy (Chung Chun-kin) and former LMF drummer Kevin (Li Kin-wang).

Declared as "a very socially aware band", the foursome decided to donate a portion of the record sales of their new album to the Senior Citizen Home Safety Association. "This is our style. We've organised loads of charity shows before because we want to help people who are in need. We want to let people know that we are not bull****, we'll do this forever."

Having been around for about five years, the band have had an impact on the local band scene.

"There was no actual hardcore culture in Hong Kong before we stepped in, just stuff on websites," says Alex, who has red spiked hair and pierced ears.

"These days quite a few bands explain what their song is about before playing it, or they distribute the lyrics to the audience. No one did that before us."

Farooqi, who also publishes Start From Scratching magazine, which promotes hardcore, adds: "When people are attracted by our strong music and emotions on stage, they will want to know more about us and the culture."

But they know they still have a long way to go, emphasising that hardcore "is not a trend, but a way of life".

"When we first started out, people were sceptical. They said Hong Kong people would never like hardcore. But we kept doing shows and publishing magazines and now lots of people listen to hardcore," Farooqi says.

"If you don't support us, fine, but we won't give up."

The band will do a CD release show in Central on December 25. Free tickets can be found inside their new CD. Find out more about the band at www.kinglychee.com
Look out for Monday's Young Post for part two of the story.