People

Endy Chau

Adapting to solo performance

By Stephanie Tong

Endy Chau Kwok-yin, 26 years old, has become one of the most popular upcoming stars in the local music industry. Holding his designer-dream, he never tried too hard to step into showbiz. He confesses his passion for music and the anticipation for the reunion day of “Zarahn”, the band he formed at the age of 13.

Question: How did you enter show business in Hong Kong ?
Answer: I feel like it was destined. When I finished studying a multimedia course in Japan , I returned to Hong Kong in 2002. Originally, I planned to find jobs related to toy design, advertising or web page design. Unfortunately, after nearly two years of job-hunting, I still could not get the job that I like.

So, one day, Producer Lam Kin Wah, whom I sent some of my demos to when I was around 16 years old, contacted me. He told me I should sing the songs in the demo tapes myself. At that time, my record company, Warner Music had an audition. So I tried it out and succeeded. What a coincidence!

Q: When was your very first public performance?
A: It was the concert of Stefanie Sun. There were about 2000 in the audience and I was very nervous. Although Zarahn recorded the background music, yet, they were not there in reality. I felt so uncomfortable.

In the end, I just played my guitar and imagined that my band was with me. Now, wherever or whenever I perform, I have to bring my electric guitar with me.

Q: How did you feel when you first entered Hong Kong showbiz?
A: In the first year, I tried so hard to adapt myself to the life of an artiste. Compared with other newcomers, I did not have working experience in showbiz before. Some of them might have tried modeling, so they already knew how it runs.

It is very intense and competitive and requires you to be very sociable, which I am not. But I have improved a lot.

A funny but true thing is that I have the weird temper of an artist. I hate people forcing me to do things that I dislike. And I get hotheaded.

However, an artiste has to cooperate with countless people and listen to advice and suggestions. So, at first it was quite hard for me to cope with.

I also find it quite stressful knowing I may have a lot to do, because I really want to focus more on the music I make. But I understand the rules and absolutely will live up to them. So far I think I've done things quite well, and I start to like myself changing into a more sociable and all-rounded person.

Q: Do you like to be a singer and how do you feel about it so far?
A: I love singing and I definitely enjoy being a singer. I am so delighted that my music is being liked by the mass.

Though, I am more used to having my band mates playing instruments behind me when I sing. This is simply because I was in a band called “Zarahn” when I first started to play guitar and had the performing experience.I would definitely feel more secure. I miss my band so bad.

And I think local singers need to be very all-rounded and they usually have heavy workloads and this is out of my expectation.

Compared to the United States or the United Kingdom , Hong Kong has a very small market. Yet we have quite a lot of singers here. That is why every singer has to gear up and do as much as they can. They must get involved in many jobs and keep a high popularity. This is the rule of the game.

Q: Then, what is the happiest thing about being a singer?
A: I think that would be gaining recognition for my music. I have never dreamt that others can appreciate my hobbies of composing songs, singing and playing guitar. Actually, composing songs is something ordinary.

In the 80's, Beyond was doing that and their songs have been so popular till now. For sure I am more or less inspired by Beyond, as their songs are meaningful and the band sound was just fabulous.

Q: You've mentioned the band “Zarahn”, can you tell us more about it?
A: While I was 13, I went to New Zealand to study and I formed Zarahn with 3 of my friends. It was formed based on our interests in rock band music. It plays a bit of punk, automatic and it is rather loud.

We mix punk, rock with funny lyrics, which is kind of similar to the humor of “I Love You Boyz” plus some band musical instruments such as drums and guitar.

Q: So, where are other members of Zarahn now?
A: They are still in New Zealand . They study and work there. But we all hope for the day of reunion, playing music with them is amazing. We are true buddies. Seriously I miss being a part of a band because I enjoy the feeling of singing in a team.

Q: So you mean you do not like being a solo singer?
A: No I don't mean that. Just for the fact that it took me a while to adapt performing without them. I love what I am doing right now. The showbiz brings me to another world and I am learning a lot from it everyday.

Q: “Zarahn” sounds very special, where did it come from?
A: It pronounces as “Za-raan”. It is actually the name of my guitar teacher. Before using this name, we have come up with names like “zero” and “behind” but we thought that some bands may have used these names and so we ended up choosing “Zarahn”. It also represents much of our gratitude and respect to him.

Q: Any lovely memories of the band?
A: Yeah definitely. We used to practise in the garage of my house. Without the constraint of money and time, we were able to develop our skills and invested much time hammering our music.

Once, we produced around 50 cassettes of our songs and we sold them at five dollars each. And you know what? We sold out all the tapes and we used the money for a delicious meal.

Q: How was the production of your second album?
A: The process was tough. While I was producing my second album, unhappy things associated with surroundings happened. I was really frustrated. Luckily, I turned desperation into power and motivated myself to keep working hard.

Q: Do you set any goals for yourself?
A: No. I just want to provide the audience with another choice of music and keep expressing myself by playing my favorite kind of music.

Q: What does ideal life mean to you?
A: If possible, I would like to have a stable job like a designer because I like showing my creativity. And in my spare time, I would have band practices with my band and other musicians that I admire. Being a singer is exciting in many ways, yet, you have to give up part of your freedom, time and privacy for it.

Q: Do you think that characters of an artiste will shape his music?
A: Yes, I agree with this. I am not expressive so I compelled my feelings into my rather loud and rocky music.

Q: Please select a song to represent yourself.
A: How about “Letter from Keanu Reeves”? Haha, just joking. Well, I would like to use “Love Your Life” of Silver Chair to represent myself because this song clearly sings out the feelings of Endy Chow. Go check it out.

Q: Among all the songs of your second album, which song can best represent “Endy's style”?
A: “Greenhouse Balloon” is one of the songs that best represent my style. The intro of the song lasts quite long. I like to give the audience the feeling of sound track.

Q: So we're curious to know if your parents have musical background?
A: Not really. My parents do not play any musical instruments. In fact, I wanted to learn to play piano when I was small. I begged my father to buy a piano for several years. However, he rejected me as he thought that having a piano at home would be very noisy. When I was 11 years old, my father finally bought me an electronic piano.

Q: How about your 25 month old daughter? Has she become a music-lover already?
A: Yeah, kind of. I have been playing music to her ever since she was in my wife's tummy. And music helps her stop crying. She likes me playing music for her and she even grabs my guitar when she sees me playing it.