You may have seen him frequenting the live bars of Hong Kong : with a wizard's goatee, usually clutching a pint of beer and doubtless bouncing around with an uplifting kind of energy. Since he first emerged in 1994 with his first band, Pillow, Alok has proved to be a unique and driving force in shaping the alternative sounds of this city.

The songwriter and guitarist first rose to prominence in 1997 after he disbanded (noisenik and shoegazing) Pillow and formed Slow Tech Riddim with Kim Lam , the former drummer from Pillow. Here they formed electronic music with live streaming guitars. They produced two innovative albums under the People Mountain People Sea label. During this time they took part in numerous compilations, and even played as a musican and remixed to famous singers such as Eason Chan, Miriam Yeung, Anthony Wong, Joey Tang, Arumimihifumi, Pop Pop Group...

Since 2001, Alok has emerged as a solo artist, publishing the album "OK Karaoke" with super indie queen The Pancakes in 2001 and then releasing two solo albums"Wahoo!"and then the second album "31 Minutes To Midnight". The latter was "totally different from the first album", said Alok. "I wanted to now say something with my music. I wanted to tell a story, a sad story."

His latest album "29 Minutes from The End" was released in May 2005, and is a continuation of his former work "31 Minutes from the End". The album shows the artist is really coming into his own with an engaging, hypnotic and rocking journey into the consciousness of Hong Kong. Through the work we are introduced to a cast of some of Hong Kong's most inspired musicians. In "29 Minutes from The End", no less than five of Hong Kong's most exciting vocalists collaborate on the work. These include the likes of rapper Ghoststyle (aka Brandon Ho), Lawwaiyip from the doof, Sean from UNiXX and Mable from Joytrendysound.

Alok's "super-group" band "Aloks 31G" (a reference to a Joy Division song) once again samples the very leaders of the HK indie music scene. Joining Alok as he plays the guitar, beats and laptop are Lawwaiyip from the doof on vocals and guitar, Sean From UniXX, Kei from Luxury on bass, Simon from Luxury on drums and the second drummer Paul from The Academy.

by Clare Tyrrell