{"id":11716,"date":"2017-12-01T17:25:56","date_gmt":"2017-12-01T09:25:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/?p=11716"},"modified":"2021-10-18T17:23:10","modified_gmt":"2021-10-18T09:23:10","slug":"travelling-soul-vicky-fung","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/2017\/12\/travelling-soul-vicky-fung\/","title":{"rendered":"A Travelling Soul – Vicky Fung"},"content":{"rendered":"

Multi-faceted musician makes a comeback after healing heartache through music<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Angela Ng<\/strong><\/p>\n

I<\/span><\/p>\n

n mid-September this year, singer-songwriter Vicky Fung Wing-ki took the 600 people with her in a concert hall on a musical journey to her inner world. The solo concert, \u201cTravelling Soul \u7e7c\u7e8c\u5f73\u4e8d\u201d, was staged with the HK$207,980 she raised through her crowdfunding platform MusicBee which also covered the cost of an album of the same name. The personal philosophy she wanted to get across over two hours and 20 songs was of \u201cone\u2019s tininess in the universe\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Vicky Fung performs at her concert \u201cTravelling Soul \u7e7c\u7e8c\u5f73\u4e8d\u201d. ( Photo courtesy of Vicky Fung)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The show at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts was Fung\u2019s first concert since 2011. That previous concert Vicky Fung\u2019s Second Day\/Concert was a gift Fung gave to herself for standing back up after discovering and then acknowledging her son\u2019s autism.<\/p>\n

Having worn so many hats in the music industry, the past six years have led Fung to her current philosophy of life. \u201cAt this stage in life, I realised that I\u2019m tiny compared to the vast universe. So as long as I keep a humble heart and proceed, any problem can be solved,\u201d she says. Fung founded the music label and artist management company Frenzi Music in 2012, the fund-raising platform MusicBee<\/a> in 2015, and 1563 at the East<\/a> live house and restaurant in Wan Chai\u2019s Hopewell Centre in 2016. In recent years, she sees herself as a person who \u201copens doors\u201d for newcomers in the music industry \u2013 she has helped nurture indie pop artists such as Jing Wong, Tang Siu-hau, Michael Lai and Nowhere Boys under Frenzi Music.<\/p>\n

But she did not start her career as a songwriter. Succumbing to parental expectations and wishes, Fung studied law and practised it for six years. Her heart though, was always with music and she wrote songs on the side. She composed her debut song \u201cCan\u2019t Let Go \u653e\u4e0d\u4f4e\u201d for Cantopop diva Sammi Cheng Sau-man in 1996 when she was an undergraduate.<\/p>\n

Although the song topped the charts on three radio stations, Fung completed her law degree and became a solicitor \u2013 and she now feels no bitterness about taking that path.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the past, I\u2019d be very stubborn and thought why didn\u2019t my parents allow me to study music? But after two decades, I think the blame is on me because it was me who accepted it,\u201d she says about what was once her biggest struggle in life.<\/p>\n

In Fung\u2019s first few years of \u201cpart-time\u201d songwriting, she produced a lot of \u201ckaraoke songs\u201d; big hits such as her debut Sammi Cheng\u2019s \u201cCan\u2019t Let Go \u653e\u4e0d\u4f4e\u201d, Cass Phang\u2019s \u201cJust because of having you \u53ea\u56e0\u6709\u8457\u4f60\u201d in 1997 and Priscilla Chan Wai-han\u2019s \u201cW\u00e0n W\u00e8i \u73a9\u5473\u201d in 1998.<\/p>\n

Once she saved enough money to sustain the pursuit of a musical career, she finally took the plunge to give up her stable job and income. It was not plain sailing.<\/p>\n

At the beginning, she was pressured to churn out crowd-pleasing pop hits such as Joey Yung\u2019s \u201cBothering You \u9ebb\u7169\u4f60\u201d in 2001 and Kelly Chen\u2019s \u201cThe Best Position \u6700\u4f73\u4f4d\u7f6e\u201d in 2002, rather than music that appealed to her own musical preferences.<\/p>\n

It was not until 2005 when Juno Mak\u2019s \u201cAndrogynous \u96cc\u96c4\u540c\u9ad4\u201d won a flurry of awards from the Composers and Authors Society of Hong Kong (CASH), Roadshow and Metro Broadcast that Fung became determined to persist in her own style of music. The song redefined a non-mainstream style in pop music and proved that non-karaoke songs could win critical and public acclaim.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany people told me you should write more pop songs like \u201cThe Best Position \u6700\u4f73\u4f4d\u7f6e\u201d and \u201cCan\u2019t Let Go \u653e\u4e0d\u4f4e\u201d , but I just can\u2019t. When I persist in doing things I like and the outcome is not that bad, I learned to pick advice,\u201d Fung says.<\/p>\n

At the peak of her career, Fung became a mother. Immersed in great joy, little did she know in what special ways her world would change because of her son\u2019s arrival.<\/p>\n

\u201cI found out my son had autism when he was two years old,\u201d Fung says. \u201cWhen I found out about my son\u2019s autism and realised there was a problem I could never solve, my belief system completely broke down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fung says that for three to five years she lived in a bubble, physically and emotionally stressed from not being able to see her son\u2019s future. As a result, her creative work remained stagnant for years.<\/p>\n

During that trough in her life, music saved her. Jerald Chan of the pop duo Swing, whom she befriended through the co-production of a song, questioned her motive for hiding her son\u2019s condition and her struggles. This prompted her to admit that she was doing so not to protect her son, but rather, her own pride.<\/p>\n

Chan suggested she reveal this \u201csecret\u201d in order to seek help for her son. This was a major change for Fung who was stubborn, tough and independent. Her way of dealing with problems was to keep them to herself. \u201cI used to think revealing my weakness would make it worse, but my son\u2019s condition forced me to surrender,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

To her surprise, once she opened up about her son\u2019s condition, she received a lot of support instead of mockery. The support she experienced at the 2011 concert made her realise that letting others into her world when she was weak was an opportunity, rather than a threat.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Vicky Fung with her 11-year-old son. (Photo courtesy of Vicky Fung)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Now, her 11-year-old son is Fung\u2019s muse. \u201cHe has his own way of living and a different angle to see and feel the world,\u201d she says. Through observing his behaviour, Fung has experienced epiphanies and gained insights that she would not have had he been an ordinary child.<\/p>\n

Fung often takes him out on joyrides to entertain him and it was those rides that led to revelation. She realised her son would look out of the window with the brightest smile all the way, despite having no idea where he was going.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wondered if I could be like him on a joyride, smiling to this world from the bottom of my heart without caring how the world looks at me? This is a philosophy indeed,\u201d Fung says with a bright smile. Her new song this year \u201cCrystal Soul \u6c34\u6676\u9748\u9b42\u201d, was inspired by the new age book, The Children of Now<\/em>, which describes children sent from the universe who have crystal-clear souls but their special characteristics make typical ways of communication impossible. Fung was particularly inspired by the book as she also communicates with her son non-verbally.<\/p>\n

Even if Fung\u2019s son is unwilling to speak for most of the time and he has difficulties with speech, he loves to sing songs with his mother. People are often amazed at how he can sing an entire song no matter what language it is in.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can tell that he\u2019s very curious about the world. It\u2019s only that he\u2019s physically limited so there are things which we cannot comprehend,\u201d she says. Despite his physical difficulties, Fung is not infinitely lenient towards him.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn many ways he\u2019s a normal child,\u201d she says. \u201cOne cannot measure his achievement with a conventional ruler \u2026 in fact he cannot be measured by any set of rulers. The only thing I can do is to understand what he\u2019s capable of doing, then add a bit of a challenge each time.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a working mother, Fung insists on being there for her son and teaching him as many life skills as possible. Meanwhile, she is trying to figure out ways to help more people understand autism. For instance, her son loves being photographed, and inspired by this she has thought about the idea of starting a social enterprise that recruits children with autism as models.<\/p>\n

Fung\u2019s creative ideas to help her son and other children with autism spectrum disorders echoes her creativity in finding ways to support independent and alternative music, such as the crowdfunding platform MusicBee.<\/p>\n

Fung\u2019s music, much like the woman herself, often inhabits the frontiers between the mainstream and the non-mainstream. This is probably best exemplified in the hit song she wrote for Juno Mak, the Buddhism-inspired \u201cVastness of Water \u5f31\u6c34\u4e09\u5343\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you stretch out the timeline, you will notice that some \u2018alternative music\u2019 will turn into a trend or a movement given sufficient time for it to brew,\u201d she says. That is why she is more concerned about a song\u2019s durability than its chart position in the short-term and it is also the principle that motivates her to run MusicBee. Ultimately, she hopes to \u201cgrow MusicBee into a hive\u201d.<\/p>\n

With 20 years in the music industry behind her, she can see deeply entrenched problems in its \u201cecosystem\u201d. She says the local music industry is too commercial. It is unwilling to take risks and explore alternative styles of music that deviate from mainstream pop.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s [based on] a misunderstanding,\u201d she says. \u201cAs industry insiders assume the public likes the mainstream style, they keep producing the same kind of songs to please the audience, thinking this formula works because it sells.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite this, Fung is optimistic about the development of Hong Kong\u2019s music industry as she thinks it is easier for independent musicians to gain exposure through social media in the digital age. As Fung\u2019s own life journey shows, doors can open when we adjust our mindsets and open our hearts.<\/p>\n

Edited by Stanley Lam<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Versatile musician Vicky Fung has bounced back onto the music scene after coming to terms with and finding meaning in her son’s autism. The singer-songwriter has also branched out by opening a live-house, founding a music funding platform and nurturing young artists.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11740,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1812,79],"tags":[533,205,903,37,902,901],"class_list":["post-11716","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-issue-146","category-people","tag-cantopop","tag-hong-kong","tag-juno-mak","tag-music","tag-music-bee","tag-vicky-fung"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11716","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11716"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11716\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11974,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11716\/revisions\/11974"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11716"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11716"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11716"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}