Hong Kong In The 60s are Mei Yau Kan (vocals, keyboards, guitar); Christopher Greenberg (keyboards, vocals, guitar); and Tim Scullion (guitar, keyboards, vocals), a multilingual three-piece from London, who formed in 2007. They are heavily influenced by early electronic pop, 1960s Chinese music and Italian film soundtracks. Using their collection of old Casio keyboards, the group combine bittersweet pop melodies and atmospheric electronics to create what Sean O’Hagan of The High Llamas describes as a “lovely, understated and quite beautiful sound.” In their hands, the cheap noises of old toy synths and outdated drum machines reveal hidden warmth and emotion.
‘Willow Pattern Songs’ is the band’s debut EP, available as a digital download and as a limited edition CD. The EP is a capsule of melancholy synths, krautrock lullabies and soft-focus splendour.
The band’s music has seen FM radio play in the USA, Australia, Canada, France, Belgium and the UK, and has appeared on compilations released in the UK, Japan and Brazil. 2008′s ‘Botpop Vol. 1′ (on Happy Robots) was given four stars by the Guardian, who called it a “lovely compilation which speaks much of the innocence and melancholy that props up perfect pop.” Cult music blog Pop ‘n Cherries described the Hong Kong In The 60s track as sounding “like Kraftwerk soundtracking a 60s spy thriller … utterly gorgeous.”
Between them, the three band members have lived in Hong Kong, Japan, Africa, Brazil, Spain and the UK. Tim and Mei Yau met at school in Berkshire and the band came together, years later, after Christopher and Mei Yau chanced upon each other while working as librarians at Oxford University.
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