Music
Adrian Lo had an early musical education playing the violin, piano, and singing. A scholarship boy at Abingdon School who performed regularly as soloist, as well as in choirs and chamber groups, he was expected to continue with further musical education after he’d gained his DipABRSM in violin performance at the age of 16. Instead, he decided to read political theory at Durham University, where he continued playing classical music, as Leader of the Durham University Symphony Orchestra (2011-12), as well as performing as a singer-songwriter on the guitar.
Lo returned to Hong Kong upon graduation and after a brief stint in political activism, he began searching for a creative outlet. Music composition was the obvious path, and in 2016, he made his opening musical statement with the debut solo release ABSENTEE. An entirely self-produced record, it was made available physically as a CD and zine with artwork by Ann Chih, and digitally with Hong Kong label Love Da Records. The mask-clad cover art symbolising both his childhood experience of the SARS outbreak in 2003, and subsequent experiences of mass protests for democratic reforms in 2014, tied together themes of urban anonymity, alienation and identity politics, through a mixture of trip-hop, folk, and rock music. He has since performed this at various venues and festivals including Clockenflap Festival, and MacPherson Stadium in Hong Kong, and Feierwerk as part of Sound of Munich. The zine was on display at Hong Kong Heritage Museum as part of their latest special exhibition on Hong Kong printing art.
On 30 June 2020, Adrian Lo released the single ANAESTHESIA via Hong Kong label SEEAHOLE. It is an audio-visual piece that seeks to express that acute sense of sehnsucht just before “losing consciousness”, exploring a kind of 'no man’s land wherein one is simultaneously nostalgic for the past and uncertain of the future. The Radiohead (Hail to the Thief) and Wong Kar Wai (2046) influences are abound. Currently, Lo is working on the recording and production of songs that will develop this idea further into a new record, with a view to a Berlin release in 2022.
Scroll through to discover more of Adrian’s music, which includes an eclectic mix of score music in different styles for documentaries and shorts, as well as program music set to photography and paintings.
Selected Works
Director | Editor | Composer
2016; Hong Kong; Documentary; 7 mins; Cantonese
My second 'Portrait of Hong Kong' is about Linva Tailors in Central in which essentially we consider the question: what of our urban fabric?
Directed by Tian Macleod Ji & Adrian Lo.
Winner of 'Outstanding Micro Film' at the Golden Flower Awards (Hong Kong, 2016)