Interview with Soul-Punk Act An Id Signal 意色樓
Veteran local soul-punk band An Id Signal (意色樓), comprised of core members of the indie Hong Kong collective Un.Tomorrow, have forged a distinct identity in the city's underground music scene.
Since they took to the stage and released their album “Known Strangers” in 2006 via Chisel My Records, the band can be found lurking in industrial buildings and jamming in factory warehouses and underground parties.
Jump to 2024, and the four-piece band has electrified the vivid Clockenflap stage in early December, with their uproarious live performance that had eager concertgoers surfing the crowds.
Combining a visceral mix of raw, post-hardcore sound with unbridled lyricism and tortured emotionality, their music transcends genre boundaries and is imbued with a distinct local sensibility. Their inspirations span Cantonese music of the '90s and '00s, Japanese legends like Envy, Downy, and Boris, and iconic acts such as The Cure and Deftones.
The Beat Asia caught up with vocalist Ah Lai to dive into the band’s creative process, their loyal fanbase, and their excitement about performing at Clockenflap 2024.
What's the meaning behind your name An Id Signal?
When we first started jamming, there was a conscious will to not be limited by genre trappings. One day our original bassist, Wai Ting, came up with the idea to describe our aspirations with the word “Id,” meaning the personality that we were born with.
The Id is the most primal part of the human, driven by innate desires – hunger, anger, libido – and we extended this to the name “An Id Signal” – signifying human’s most primal signal.
For our Chinese name, the Chinese words “意識” (which directly translates to consciousness) and “色” (color) came to mind, but we felt they were too abstract, and we wanted our music to be contained in a substantial thing. Therefore, we added the word “樓” (directly translating to building). We leave it to the audience to find clues in our music.
What is your approach to songwriting and creative process?
We start with a jam, try to remember what we played, then jam again and record it. This is our loop, and it takes time – even 10 minutes is precious in this fast-paced city. We really don't have a particular process in making music, we just pay close attention to our own emotions and the changes in society, and try to turn the issues we observe, our stances and imagination into our music.
What has had the biggest influences on your music so far?
Our biggest musical stimulant is the spontaneous sounds coming from each band member, and the passion for performing live. Outside of music, we also draw a lot of inspiration from 90s Hong Kong cinema.
How did you feel about your experience performing at Clockenflap as a local band?
After COVID-19, many huge gatherings have disappeared, and it’s obvious Clockenflap has become a well-attended music festival. We wanted to deliver our message to a fresh audience that wished to hear alternative music, and we hope our fans will be drawn to attend smaller, independent shows of ours in the future.
What’s your connection like with the local music community?
We think that audiences have matured and have higher expectations, which is a good thing. In terms of creating music, I think local musicians have already achieved a certain level of skill, but we have too few spaces to play our music live. Bands who put in a lot of time tend to move out [of Hong Kong]. I hope more Hong Kong bands can be a part of the international scene – whether these are mainstream or indie bands. The most important thing is that our audience in Hong Kong supports An Id Signal and keeps the scene vibrant.
What do you make of your audience in Hong Kong, especially those drawn to your style of music?
We feel a deep gratitude toward our audience, and we want to give each of them a warm embrace. During our live shows, I feel like they are part of us, as if we are building a unique scene together. Memories with our audience, like sweating and dancing with them in a small room – is an important source of inspiration for us.
What can fans look forward to with your upcoming music?
We hope to keep building our band within the budding Asian music scene and continue to collaborate with cutting-edge artists to grow space for diverse expression, so we can nurture new sounds and styles.
Also, we are set to release our third album in 2025, titled “The Path Where Grief and Joy Intersect” via UN.TOMORROW, our label. We are still looking for a suitable venue for this show, so if our readers have any ideas, please let us know.
For more information, visit An Id Signal on their linktree, and follow them on Instagram and Facebook.
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