I’m an American expat in Hong Kong. They have a huge scene out here. DJs get more publicity in the local press than bands. Its like New York City – no closing time and some nights go all night and into the next morning! Clubs regularly bring in big name DJs.
I haven’t had much time to go out dancing, but the one time I did, they were playing really cool house that wasn’t exactly underground, but certainly not commercial crap either. It was in a big club in the main district called Lan Kwai Fong that’s filled with bars, crowds and booming music everywhere. People are literally dancing in the streets.
I also went into mainland China (Shenzhen & Guangzhou) and I saw a club scene there too! Girls going to clubs in mini-skirts shorter and tighter than when I lived in Los Angeles! And the older people didn’t wait for a club to happen – couples were doing the cha-cha right on the streets in an open plaza!!
Another interesting thing is the lack of hip-hop and soul out here. It just doesn’t seem to have any roots in Chinese culture – traditional or modern. Its viewed more as a curiosity from what I can tell. Given all the complaints about commercial hip-hop on this forum, that might seem like a blessing, but I miss it. After three months out here, I heard an Angie Stone song and realized I hadn’t heard anything with that type of “swang” for months.
Interesting that most of the people in this thread are from the “West”: USA/Canada/Europe. There’s a small group from the Phillipines, and a few singular people from other countries. But nobody from China? Seriously? These guys are ready to boogie. 1.3 billion hips ready to groove!
