Hong Kong’s ’80s synth-pop group Minimal reunite for Wow and Flutter Weekend music festival
Three decades after the group started out covering songs from Depeche Mode, Kraftwerk and Soft Cell, they are taking to the stage again to introduce a new generation to their influential sound
When Arion Au Yeung started covering synth-pop hits for fun with a few friends in the late 1980s, he never imagined his band Minimal would still be performing live three decades later. A bedroom project that gained a cult following in the ’80s and ’90s, Minimal will reunite at next weekend’s Wow and Flutter Weekend festival to celebrate their 30th anniversary.
Hong Kong’s Wow and Flutter Weekend music festival 2017 to feature Supper Moment, Tat Ming Pair, Chochukmo and more
The three-day local music festival, held at the West Kowloon Cultural District, will see at least 70 local indie bands perform across four stages.
I couldn’t afford a synth, which were very expensive at the time, so I’d spend my weekends and time after school playing on the test instruments in shops.
Minimal’s return will feature original founders Au Yeung and guitarist Alan Yip, plus Veronica Lee, who joined the group in the early ’90s, and recent addition Fei Jai Ming, better known as the drummer for Huh!?, on percussion.
Festival organiser Hong Ka-chun was aware that Minimal’s anniversary was approaching and asked if they wanted to celebrate with a comeback. “There aren’t many electronic bands in Hong Kong, especially with so much history,” Hong says. But local music fans, particularly younger ones, are unlikely to have heard of the group, who have virtually no online presence.
Au Yeung was a fan of the British new romantic and new wave bands in the ’80s, particularly Depeche Mode. He learned from imported magazines, such as Smash Hits, that many of his favourite songs were made with synthesisers, and wanted to have a go, despite having no musical experience. “I couldn’t afford a synth, which were very expensive at the time, so I’d spend my weekends and time after school playing on the test instruments in shops,” Au Yeung says.
There weren’t many electronic bands in Hong Kong at the time, especially those singing in Chinese – it was all gothic, heavy and alternative rock bands.
He met Alan Yip, Timmy Lok and Johnnie Lok, the original Minimal line-up, through adverts for second-hand vinyl records in magazines. They grew close due to a shared passion for music, and decided to start making their own. Luckily, somebody already had a synthesiser, which Au Yeung learned to play by copying Depeche Mode.
“We’d carry our keyboards round to whichever member’s home was free and spend all day playing music. I was living in Chai Wan with my parents and siblings,” he recalls. “We made music after work, at midnight, wearing headphones because everyone else was sleeping.”