Leap of Faith
out now!
Hong Kong's past, present and future,
all in 70 minutes. Impossible? Sure!
GRAHAM EARNSHAW IS a songwriter and journalist who has been around Hong Kong and China most of his life, and being an opinionated guy, there were some things he wanted to get off his chest about Hong Kong, 1997 and all that.
The result is Grahams new album, Leap of Faith, subtitled "A Vision of Hong Kong" which features songs from a musical-to-be on the handover of Hong Kong from the British past to the Chinese future which takes place on the magical midnight between June 30 and July 1, 1997.
Its one guys vision of one of the strangest, most frenetic, most precious places in the world, a place that is, in many ways, about to disappear forever. Call the album a musical memento.
The musical style of Leap of Faith is melodic jazz-tinged pop, with touches of rock, reggae, country and string-soaked balladeering along the way. The album was recorded in Hong Kong using the best musicians the Territory has to offer, including legendary guitarist Eugene Pao, pianist Ted Lo and the strings from the Hong Kong Philharmonic.
Leap of Faith is the latest of a series of albums from Graham. His first CD, I Care, issued about a year ago took environmental issues as its theme. This time out, Graham says he wanted to look at the city which he has lived in and around for most of his life.
"Hong Kong is a weird place, theres nowhere else like it. No one has put together an album which describes the place musically, so I decided to do it," Graham said. "I chose a bunch of themes which for me sum up Hong Kong and wrote some songs around the them."
The songs on Leap of Faith aim to touch on topics which get to the heart of the colony, about to become an administrative zone.
"The song Leaving Home Today is for all the emigrants, the people who leave in search of a better life, only to find they want to go back again. Theres a song about the madness of the financial markets called Panic Early, theres one about corruption, another about gadget-envy - you know, the basic topics. Then theres my love song to Hong Kong - 100,000 Deals. None of it is too serious. I like to raise a smile if I can with just about every lyric."
Graham was born in England and went to Hong Kong at the tender age of 20. He has been writing songs and playing live in venues around East Asia ever since. Among his many musical exploits, he ran and fronted the first rock and roll band in China, which played extensively around Beijing for a number of years and ran a band in Tokyo for two years. He once played guitar and sang on the roof of the Potala in Lhasa and claims to be the only person ever to have played the kazoo on the Great Wall of China.
Click here for full information on Leap of Faith
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Eugene Pao, Asia's top guitarist, and his band will perform in Shanghai on May 12 at the Shanghai Centre Theatre. Tickets are available at the Shanghai Centre Box Office, open seven days a week.
Don't miss it. This should be the best concert in Shanghai in 1996! Also check out the The Eugene Pao home page.
 ANTON GRAHAMThe pundit's oracle speaks!
From his watchtower on the edge of China, Anton Graham surveys the world of modern music and rules on the best, worst and most noteworthy releases.
Recognising the power of the Internet, Anton has consented to allow his pronouncements, once available only annually, to be distributed regularly via the Graham Earnshaw Web Site. For this, we are humbly grateful.
 Jazz Album Pick
Herbie Hancock - The New Standard
Great new music from one of the enduring powerhouses of modern Jazz. Herbie, who is said to still refer to Miles Davis in the present tense, has chosen a group of modern pop songs and jazzified them. The experiment is a stunning success.
Pop Album Pick
Fan Xiaoxuan - Sweet Tears
You can tell from this album that Ms Fan and her manager have been listening to Faye Wong (Wang Jing-wen) with deep concentration, particularly Faye's album Tian Kong (the sky - chosen as Anton Graham's Chinese album of the year for 1995). And why not? If youre going to choose a model to copy, go for a good one.
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I Care still on sale
GRAHAM'S PREVIOUS album, I Care, is still on sale in Body Shop outlets around Hong Kong and Macau.
The album, featuring songs on environmental themes, was produced by GAE Records in association with the Body Shop. The music is jazz-tinged pop, and features Hong Kong best musicians, including guitarist extraordinaire, Eugene Pao. Proceeds go to help endangered species, especially the tiger.
There are more details of the album here.
You can buy "I Care" at any Body Shop store in Hong Kong. Or order a copy by emailing me at 73467.3716@compuserve.com. Only US$15!
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