Showcasing Hong Kong Punk to Promote Protests: King Ly Chee, Tokyo Sex Wale and More

There's no better atmosphere for a punk scene than a region plagued by political misbehavior and featuring a populace that's had enough (except for a region where freedom of speech allows so-called punks to perform nearly anywhere without fear of persecution while still feeling rebellious...but whatever). One locale that's had a lot of protesting in recent months, along with a healthy influx of Western music influence, is Hong Kong. We wrangled together a list of four rock bands from the city that must be excited to provide a soundtrack to the current wave of student protests at mainland China's back door.

King Ly Chee

King Ly Chee are somewhat the godfathers of Hong Kong hardcore despite only having gotten off the ground during 1999. Founder and frontman Riz Farooqi despised the cover-band culture of the island at the turn of the century and so he acted like many a true punk fan and started a fanzine, and later a band. His group caters to both the English-speaking and native branches of his hometown, releasing both English and Mandarin versions of the 2012 album Time Will Prove. The band's success led to opening slots for bands ranging from Korn to the Bouncing Souls, plus New York hardcore icons Sick of It All.

Tokyo Sex Wale

Like with any punk scene, there are plenty of punk records lost to time from plenty of bands that lasted only a few short years. Perhaps the best example is Tokyo Sex Wale (named for South African apartheid activist Tokyo Sexwale), who created a number of rough EPs during the three years while its members went to school in the city, each sounding like they were recorded garage yet carrying a pop punk appeal that will hearken itself to fans of pop punk/emo bands such as Modern Baseball. Fortunately Hong Kong label Artefracture compiled all of the bands releases from the '90s into one pay-what-you-will compilation for download.

DIe In Velvet

Stemming directly from King Ly Chee (in that it was made up of former members of that band and Five Disciplines), Die In Velvet (DIV) follows in its hardcore footstomps. Although no bad blood was cited in the splits that made Die in Velvet possible, its seems obvious that the members were interested in creating even heavier, more dissonant forms of hardcore than King Ly Chee. Vocalist Ian Y. growls in patterns totally apart from the instrumental mayhem going on behind him, creating an unsettling effect similar to that of Dillinger Escape Plan and other "mathcore" bands.

Defiant Scum

Tuning things down a tad, Defiant Scum comes from more of the "Oi" punk tradition than that of hardcore, owing perhaps to the Australian background of vocalist Muzz. The band packs the international vibe of Hong Kong into its lineup, featuring a German drummer and previously a bassist born in Hong Kong (we believe). Although tracks such as "Dai Pai Dong" celebrate drinking primarily, punk is punk, and punk hates overbearing government.