Banyan Blues

Written, performed, and produced by Adrian Lo.

Drums performed by Philipp Vollmer.

Cover art by Sophia Wyborny.

Remixes by Sadaharu Fukuoka & Andreas Vorwerk.

Fate willing…

I’m Yearning… I’m Falling…

Hate

Lying... they’re lying...

Pretending

Killing, killing, killing, killing…

My roots wither through the cracks

Of the walls

They're bearing down on me

Who'll give way

A slow decay

In this life

My city wants me dead

Our fears cater to the needs

Of this game

to fake our harmony

Who’s to blame

this brave new world

In this life

My city wants me dead

Go stand behind the yellow line

Watch your step

and never speak your mind

Wear your smiles

Come rain or shine

Don't ask why if

My city wants me dead

They speak in demand and supply

And they say

they'll win our hearts and minds

Neon signs

of faded times

Sing with me

My city wants me dead

Dethroned

A photojournalist’s quest to uncover humanity’s destructive relationship with big cats, from poaching to commodification, in a world on the brink of losing them.

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The score music from Dethroned is just over 60 minutes long, comprising 25 tracks, all written, performed, and produced by Adrian Lo, available on all major streaming platforms.

Le Chameau

Unbridled

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Fall Better

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Descent

Watch here: (password-protected for now, message me for a password)

Anaesthesia

View fullsize

Video by Nick Whitworth, Tian Macleod Ji, & Adrian Lo

Written, performed and produced by Adrian Lo

Cover art by Ann Chih

released on 30 June 2020

Adrian Lo/ SEEAHOLE

Excuse me? When is the next train?

Take me back to my first kiss

If I found it, would I return?

Why have we grown so far apart?

Take me back to my last love

If I found her, would I return?

I’ll go, I’ll go, I’ll go…

Put me under, put me under, put me under…

(That is the promise, and that is the unshakable destiny)

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Remix by Andreas Vorwerk

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Remix by Sadaharu Fukuoka

The Cost of Bronze

written & directed by George Magner

Produced by Alexandria Da Silva

music, sound design & re-recording mixing by Adrian Lo

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When their mother dies suddenly, sisters Ally and Cecily must overcome their estrangement to execute her will. Trying to sort through the fragments of their old, fractured lives forces them instead to sort through their grief, resentment, and guilt— towards their mother, and towards each other. 

As the feuding sisters try to piece together each other's involvement in what happened to their mother, they find themselves following an audacious plan laid out in her final days, to bring her daughters back together.​​​​​​​

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Full version

Watch the full film here:

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Original Score

Cheongsam: Lost & Found

Directed by Adrian Lo

Cinematography by Man Ho; Edited by Adrian Lo; Music & Sound by Adrian Lo

Produced by Hong Kong Arts Centre

Released in August 2017 ; 29 minutes 58 seconds

Full HD; Cantonese with English & Chinese subtitles

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Qipao, literally "Manchu robe", is generally referred to as cheongsam in Hong Kong, meaning long dress. Cheongsam was once everyday fashion for Hong Kong women, whether they were celebrities, housewives or working women. As large numbers of tailors from Shanghai resettled in Hong Kong in the late 1940s, the cheongsam also grew in popularity throughout the 1950s and 1960s. To this day, cheongsam is still a popular choice of formal attire and a source of inspiration for fashion designers, comics artists, cultural researchers and filmmakers alike.

Featuring: Lee Wai-Chun (Hong Kong comics artist), Kan Hon Wing (Owner of Mee Wah Fashion), Helius Yuen (Cheongsam collector), Anita Tsang (Founder of Cheongsam Connect), Donna Wong (Founder of Cheongsam Connect), Cammie Chan (Member of Cheongsam Connect), Janko Lam (Founder of Classics Anew), Elphonso Lam (Hong Kong comics artist), Ranee Kok (Founder of Ranee K)

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Full Version

Watch the full film here:

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Stills

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Original soundtrack

Listen to Cheongsam: Lost & Found (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) on Spotify. Adrian Lo · Album · 2019 · 8 songs.

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Bonus Material

We’d just finished interviewing Theresa Lee at the Hong Kong Arts Centre and she followed us to Sheung Wan to see our next interview with Mr. Kan at his store. In the end, I thought perhaps she also had questions for Mr. Kan, probably more insightful ones even, and what followed was this delightful exchange. I guess she enjoyed the conversation because afterwards, she asked me to send it to her so that she could watch it again! Hence, for Theresa. What a legend. Rest in peace.

Doolittle Raiders: A China Story

directed by Melinda Liu & Tian Macleod Ji

original music by Adrian Lo

documentary film; 9 minutes 56 seconds

completed in April 2017

Official Selection at Imperial War Museum Short Film Festival 2018

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I was given only a day to complete the score for this short documentary, so I had the chance to write with immediate intent and go with what's right - right from the start. My choice of instrumentation was classical, which included a strings ensemble, a brass section, guitar, piano, and the snare. Part 1 sees us journey from the initial scenic Zhejiang province, the emphatic title sequence, and the revisit to the cave; while part 2, takes us from the poignant eye-witness account, to the child of a Doolittle Raider telling us what this legendary story, and this alliance between two nations, still means to him and the local community.

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Prayer for Peace

Produced, directed & edited by Adrian Lo

Cinematography by Man Ho; music by Adrian Lo;

Short documentary; 14 minutes 57 seconds

Complete archive footage; 21 hours 9 minutes

completed April 2017; unreleased

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Once every 10 years,  these villagers from the outskirts of metropolitan Hong Kong gather for five days of traditional Taoist rituals called Prayer for Peace. Operas, martial arts, bonfire offerings - why do they insist on keeping these traditions?

Set in the rocky coastal village Shek O at the edge of densely populated Hong Kong island, this film is centred on its 19th decennial festival of "Prayer for Peace" (Cantonese: Tai Ping Ching Chiu) - a traditional Taoist ritual of peace and thanksgiving held over five days.

Not only is this film a vibrant and energetic celebration of the rich cultural heritage in Hong Kong, it is also a window into hearing the voices of these villagers who have a thing or two to teach the urban dwellers about how common identity and community spirit are fostered.

Heritage, in their own words, is not about preserving from the by-gone, it is about sharing a living legacy.

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Music

Creating the score for this was more about 'filling in the gaps' than about really leading with any melodic theme or motif. This is mainly because there's already so much to see and hear both in terms of all that colour in the picture and all those really diegetic sounds like fire crackers and drumming. So, I started pursuing down the route of expanding from all the original drumming sound we captured in Shek O and tried instead to explore a bit further with creating interesting textures with that drumming more than anything else. I was quite pleased with finding this piano-based tinkering texture in the end because I think it sat high in register and actually balanced quite well with the drumming 'heart-beat' so to speak. There's a certain feeling of flowing movement with these tracks and I think it also ties in quite well with one of the key essences of this film - which is the idea of continuity.

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Archive footage

Totalling over 21 hours, this was a lot of material and an insane amount of editing because this is everything that happened in the five-day festival, from Wednesday 4am to Sunday 6pm. It was incredible to work with such a dedicated DOP who had an equally dedicated team and who were all mad enough to run around all three villages non-stop and just kept shooting. I remember there were times during the editing process when I did wonder if the idea of actually making a complete record of the festival was maybe slightly pointless but I think, at least, I can take refuge in the fact that we did manage to make the best moving image record of a Tai Ping Ching Chiu festival in its entire history. It's a precious part of Hong Kong culture and I'm glad it's there for you to see it.

農曆⼗月初十日 （11月9日）星期三 Wednesday 11 November 2016

#1 發奏上三表 Commencement Ritual (26 mins)

#2 取⽔水淨壇 Water Well (31 mins)

#3 揚 幡 Setting the Masts (15 mins)

#4 醒獅迎神至醮壇 Welcome the Gods (1 hour)

#5 開幕典禮及醒獅開光儀式 Opening Ceremony (35 mins)

#6 迎神登壇 Altar (1 hour 50 mins)

農曆⼗月十一日 （11月10日）星期四 Thursday 12 November 2016

#7 早朝幡、禮懺 Rituals at Masts (1 hour 17 mins)

#8 天后古廟 Tin Hau Temple (8 mins)

#9 打武禁壇、分燈、晉燭 Martial Arts Rituals (1 hour 14 mins)

#10 頒贈紀念品 Awards Ceremony (40 mins)

農曆十⽉⼗二日 （11月11日）星期五 Friday 11 November 2016

#11 跑⽂書 Paper Horse (42 mins)

#12 啟人緣榜 The List of Names (2 hours 13 mins)

#13 迎聖、小市、祭小幽 Small Bonfire (1 hour 26 mins)

#14 太平清醮聖物競投 Auction (2 hours 5 mins)

農曆⼗月⼗三日 （11月12日）星期六 Saturday 12 November 2016

#15 行香、飄⾊、醒獅巡遊 Grand Parade (2 hours 37 mins)

#16 ⼤士出巡 Parade of the ‘Ghost King’ (45 mins)

#17 超幽散醮 Great Bonfire (1 hour 38 mins)

農曆⼗月⼗四日 （11⽉13日）星期⽇ Sunday 13 November 2016

#18 酬神、 化榜、行符 Final Offerings (1 hour 9 mins)

#19 醒獅送壇神回宮 Returning the Gods (38 mins)

總共片長 Duration: 21 hours 9 minutes

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A Portrait of Linva

directed by Tian Macleod Ji & Adrian Lo

cinematography by Tian Macleod Ji; original music by Adrian Lo

short documentary; 6 minutes 21 seconds

released on 3rd June 2016

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Opened in 1965, Linva has been in central Hong Kong for over half a century offering bespoke tailoring. The cheongsam's popularity has since waxed and waned, but Mr. and Mrs. Leung have persisted with their traditional handcraft in spite of cultural changes and urban gentrification. This short film is a continuation of our first offering A Portrait of Sun Wah Kee, in which essentially we consider the question: what of our urban fabric?

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Absentee

Absentee, an album by Adrian Lo on Spotify

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— Debut EP —

ABSENTEE

Who am I and what am I doing here?

I’m nobody and I’m not really here.

You don’t know me and probably never will.

If you could just pay attention for one second, then you’ll notice:

You and I,

We are everywhere.

Absentee is about Hong Kong.

It’s about the distances we build, the faces we wear, and the fears we share.

It’s about the streets, the walls, the threats, the lies, the cronies, the sick, the mirrors, the ghosts, the smog, the waves, the resignation and the faith.

Absentee will be released digitally in August on iTunes, Spotify, and other major platforms.

Physical release of EP will follow in September, in conjunction with a zine of original words and artwork. Stay tuned.

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< Absentee EP-1 > 

01    Nobody Knows My Name    3:59

02    Dragon’s Den            3:59

03    Selfie                4:31

04    Waves                6:22

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All songs and lyrics are written, performed, recorded and produced by Adrian Lo

Original artwork on cover by Ann Chih with original photograph by Nele Sauer

Digitally distributed by Love Da Records

Made in Hong Kong

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Eidos Skopeo

Photography by Ann Chih | Music by Adrian Lo

November 2015

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Photography is never a preoccupation with capturing a ‘concrete’ reality. Instead, I am intrigued by the possibilities that photography can offer in exploring the relationship between what is visible and what is not, the ambiguous qualities of my distorted images allow the viewers to ponder about the power and longevity of photography as a communicative medium and an art form.

The rhythm and emotion of urban everyday-life are emphasised by repetitive imageries. Each piece is captured and reflected through processes of rotation and reflection both in camera and in post manipulation process. The photographs display piercing interpretations of Hong Kong’s undying consumer culture in photographic fragments that seem permanently altered and yet endlessly evolving.

Ann Chih

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Eidos Skopeo captures so succinctly that sense of the urban everyday-life peculiar to Hong Kong.

Spatially the works are set in those playgrounds of our ‘undying consumer culture’, but the distortive effects in these photographs unleashes the potential for different perceptions and imaginations of our familiar surroundings, thereby instilling an energy and dynamism that you wouldn’t expect of still images. This is what I love about urban photography.

I’d like to think that what’s great about cities is that they can be anything you imagine them to be.

Perhaps the artist presents you with the questions, but of course she is not alone in this exercise.

It’s because we’ve all been to the same places and yet we engage with our spaces differently, the city is never merely that which we see with the naked eye, but more importantly it must also be that which we allow ourselves to imagine.

The first publishing of Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities picked Rene Magritte as the cover artist, and I think if they are looking for a book cover in 2015, then Ann Chih's Eidos Skopeo would be perfect.

My composition also titled Eidos Skopeo is in four parts:

i) Time Flies (Arrhythmia); ii) Polyrhythmia; iii) Exit A (Eurhythmia); iv) Isorhythmia.

This is as much of a musical rhythmanalysis of Hong Kong’s everyday-life, as it is about me just messing around on my drum machine and cutting up samples of familiar noises I’ve recorded around Hong Kong. Each piece represents a different mood, different time of day, and different surroundings. 

Adrian Lo

November 2015

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Eidos Skopeo is selected as part of Slideluck Tokyo II in October 2016, and Slideluck Hong Kong in November 2016.

Eidos Skopeo was exhibited at Boom Gallery on Sai Street, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong, in November and December 2015.

Time Flies (Arrhythmia) was selected and broadcasted as part of the ‘Urban Sense’ exhibition at K11. It was released by Love Da Records in the compilation album Urban Sense on iTunes, Spotify and other major digital platforms.

iTunes:        https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/urban-sense/id1096928525

Spotify:    https://open.spotify.com/track/6IfkmvCnehkEvkDf14a4u0

Love Da Records

A Way of Life

directed by Adrian Lo & Tian Macleod Ji

cinematography by Tian Macleod Ji; original music by Adrian Lo

produced by Waka Artisans

november 2015; short documentary; 9 minutes 21 seconds

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A Way of Life is winner 'Best Documentary' at the London Lift-Off Film Festival 2015 and will be shown at major cities across the world as part of the Global Lift-Off Network.

Kasama & Mashiko are two regions in Japan that produce some of the most unique and sought-after handmade pottery in the world. The potters who create these magnificent works spend decades refining their craft - throwing, moulding, glazing and firing - in the rural countryside.

A Way of Life is a short documentary about the skill and passion of eleven such potters, revealing not only their sources of inspiration and determination, but also discovering what exactly pottery means to them.

This project is composed of a collaborative effort between two filmmakers – Adrian Lo and Tian Macleod Ji, together with Waka Artisans – an independent gallery in Hong Kong specialising in Japanese pottery.

Although we were a small production team, we benefited immensely from drawing together a diverse wealth of technical skills, and were joined together by a deep-rooted yearning to understand the essence of this craft.

Throughout the production process, we were lucky enough to witness some true masters working in their element. We were also graced with the rare opportunity to hear from the potters themselves, about their inspiration and philosophy, and also how they manage to strive ahead despite the difficulties that life has thrown at them, such as the earthquake in 2011.

This film is not just about what pottery is and how it is made, but far more pertinently, it is a film that gets into the heart of what gives life to pottery. Indeed, pottery is special in that it can be understood as a craft, as an art of expression, or even as a philosophy, but what really defines it lies with an appreciation of the potter’s unwavering devotion to pottery as a way of life. 

Produced by WAKA ARTISANS

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Original Soundtrack

This was a fun one to do. I knew I wanted it to feature strings and I ended up recording myself playing the violin, also adding Japanese instruments like the koto and the shamisen. Unlike A Portrait of Sun Wah Kee, this time there was a greater emphasis on the natural ambience of the locations, for example the humming of the potter's wheel or the choir of cecadas in the forests. I learnt to play to the strengths of these beautiful natural sounds and tried to blend the music subtly to strengthen the narrative.

Each Line One Breath

art by John Franzen; video by Tian Macleod Ji; music by Adrian Lo

october 2015

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"Primordial Lines" in full

Each Line One Breath is a video about artist John Franzen filmed by Tian Ji and commissioned by Parkview Art Hong Kong. My composition titled 'Primordial Lines' is inspired by Franzen's ability to complement his distinctive drawing method with an appeal to deep philosophical ideas. My intention is for the turn of each chord to portray the inhaling and exhaling of Franzen's lines, whilst allowing the harmonic journey to capture the energy and dynamism with each breath.

Photo courtesy of John Franzen