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 Hong Kong’s globe trotting techno maestro Amil Khan who put South East Asia on the techno map talks to hkclubbing about technology and music breaking frontiers and Technasia’s latest and much anticipated release Popsoda.
NC: Tell us a little about yourself.
AK: Well I studied in Paris for a couple of years back in the mid-nineties and met my partner, Charles, who is a Frenchman from Paris. It was just two young guys wanting to work with techno music, rather Asian techno music and put it on the global techno map. At that time the Japanese scene was quite booming already with the like of Ken Ishi paving the way. But there was nothing really from South East Asia, so it was like a natural tendency for me to want to try and put this region on to the map. It was something that came from within. I can’t really explain it…it was an urge. Music is something that bridges people together in a very interesting kind of a way it doesn’t speak any specific language, well electronic music, anyway. It’s all about getting together on the dance floor to exchange this kind of electricity between one another with music as the epicenter. So it was something that I had within me. I really felt something for this type of music and I wanted to use it as a tool to unite people in Asia. So that was the origin back in 1996 1997 kind of time, and it’s been close to ten years now and it’s been a wonderful journey. NC: So did you move to Paris for music specifically?
AK: No, I was studying Economics at university and without any connection to the music itself, I don’t know how you can apply demand and supply curves to music, but it was about meeting the right people at the right time kind of a thing. It was destiny, something I believe…things fall into place when you want to go and get it. During 1997 things were falling into place quite fluidly. We met the guys from ‘F Communications’ likes of Laurent Garnier. So we just made an EP or two and gave it to Laurent to see if he would be interested to play our tracks. And surprisingly he was playing our tracks a lot and he kept telling us how our tracks were getting people really moving on the dance floors, so we guessed we must have been doing something right. Then he invited us to see him perform at the Rex Club in Paris, must have been summer 1997. There was the whole dance floor going crazy to our first single “Descent” the EP title was “Things from Beyond the City” and from that point onwards we never looked back. NC: Were you involved in music out here in Hong Kong before you moved to Paris?
AK: Electronic dance music in those days in Hong Kong was only in gay clubs. The heterosexual scene did not really get much exposure to this kind of sound either. I suppose it was happening everywhere, Laurent Garnier was trying to push this sound quite a lot in Paris. In Hong Kong there was a club called “Ying and Yang” that was just off Lan Kwai Fong that was playing this kind of underground electronic music but attracting mainly people from the gay community. In those days the sound was much more different from what it is now. Much more raw…much more high energy even. But that’s where I was getting the music and slowly but surely I was learning about it. Internet wasn’t really rampant at that time, so it was about going to the places, picking up a record here and there and trying to feel the music. It was much more difficult to get information those days, but then again, it’s the energy that drives this kind of music. Natural kind of energy. Nowadays there is talk about how electronic dance music is closely associated with drug culture. But for me, I’ve never taken any drugs, for me, music is the drug. Maybe this puritan perspective that I had for dance music got me riding this wave that give the music pure form and gave me a pure vision of this music.
NC: Laurent Garnier was playing your tunes out in France. How was that picked up in Asia, specifically in Hong Kong?
AK: In 1997 we were invited to play at the global music conference that happens every year in France. I was just there a few weeks ago…I guess certain people saw that we got recognition by major artists in the scene. We were then asked to showcase some of our work and this kind of thing really gave us the confidence. It was close to our heart and so with the encouragement we felt more confident about going forward. Of course at the same time there was a fair bit of media coverage. But, it’s still very different in Asia. It’s not like in Europe. For instance in Germany techno music is like pop music. So it has been a fight. It’s not been an easy ride. It’s very different from doing it in Europe. It’s about education; it’s about getting people to understand the sound. It’s not just about a bunch of beats. We try to educate people about the structure and that it can take you somewhere. NC: How has evolution had an effect on your music?
AK: In the late nineties, here I was Amil Khan in Hong Kong and my partner in Paris, somehow making this kind of music through the Internet. We had out own little home studios and we were making samples and structures that we were sending across the web and we still do that. Maybe not as much, but over time through recognition the financial means comes in and so now we travel quite a lot. I go to Europe, he comes to Asia, and so we work closely in each other’s environments. Electronic dance music is technological music. It’s about using technology, without a doubt we have to be aware of new innovations. But it makes the music more accessible and easier to touch. But even tough it is easier to make music; quality still remains the rare commodity. So being within Technasia we try and embrace different types of music and genres, from house to techno to trance. NC: Starting off in techno and now evolving into something that is all genre embracing, does that explain the gap between your first release and the much anticipated release “Popsoda”?
AK: At Technasaia, Charles and I really want people to go through the music like they are on a journey. It’s going to be a roller coaster ride going through various emotions. But, quite often with techno music I think people misunderstand the genre, people often think it’s only for the dance floor and they just want to hear it on a Saturday night and don’t want to listen to it at home. Charles and myself always thought it was a pity because it shouldn’t be like that. So it’s trying to make music that can be understood by a bigger mass of people. Like trance music for instance it’s got a bigger understanding by people as it has core progression, melodic structure, that techno quite often lacks it’s a very driving kind of sound. But there is this subliminal way for Charles and I to do it taking some melodies, making it subtle, but still with the energy of course. So this is the experience we have been trying to work on. Something you can listen to even when you are at home, not just at a club. There are tracks that would blow your mind on a Saturday night for instance, but there are some intimate, emotional sounds that you can have on while your cooking or something. NC: You seem to want make music that people can almost touch in the virtual sense…
AK: Well, I’m not really trying to be something I’m not. I’m not a jazz musician or a classical musician. I’m about pure electronic music and this is what I am doing but also trying not to be pigeon holed into Friday or Saturday night music only. That’s what we tried to do with “Popsoda”, to try and encapsulate a wide emotion of sounds and energy that shows what electronic dance music is about.
NC: I understand that you have a full pipeline of tour dates. What are the plans?
AK: Technasia has been strictly independent from the start. We have been approached by many major labels to work with them and release albums with them, but the way we see it, is that it’s not Mariah Carey music. For this reason, the best place to do it is within your own group of people. And that’s what we want to do. The major labels want you to go on radio and with radio comes vocals, catchy vocals. This music to me is best pushed within your close circle and in that way you get the message across to people who really appreciate the sound. We have dates for France and we are booked for Brazil in September or October, which would be great. Each time it’s a surprise. We’ll be playing in Serbia as well, never done that before, Poland is showing interest. You never think that people out there listen to your music and then you get e-mails saying they would like us to go on tour. It’s a real honor. It’s great. NC: What have you guys been doing in between the 2001 release and now “Popsoda”?
AK: Well Charles has been doing the artist thing and going out DJ-ing. I’ve been more on and off, focusing more on the work side of things. Working on the independent label that we have. Releasing work by other artists in different parts of the world and expanding the family. NC: We don’t really here you much in Hong Kong tell us a bit about the general progression of your sets, typically.
AK: I don’t really DJ so much in Hong Kong these days so when I do, it’s with people I know. Like tonight, it’s quite a casual affair and I know all the DJ’s well that have been pushing this event. I respect them a lot. My typical sets here are more of a housey affair, techno affair getting a bit harder as we go along. Although some people may be like “Wow! It’s too loud!” I think people should let their shoulders down a little bit. NC: What are your thoughts on the scene in Hong Kong?
AK: In Europe you have the whole media and record shop, specialist record shop cultures that you don’t have in Hong Kong. Here radio also, is nothing really . But nights have started picking up where people listening to specific genres of music get together for the music and share it. There is a better direction and purpose in this NC: You’ll be off on tour now and then you’ll be back in Hong Kong again specifically for the French May festival in Hong Kong. What are your views on events like French May?
AK: For me anything that is an exchange of culture between countries and groups of people is something very important. I believe in it, support it and want to be a part of it. Popsoda will be released in March 2006 Interview by: Nilly Chaudhuri
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