[Sponsored] If you’re heading to West Kowloon Cultural District’s regular free outdoor event – Freespace Happening – this November, make sure to check out its welcoming act, HK Solar Sound System, which brings the latest electronic music with an environmentally friendly twist.
The popular arts event is set to take place on November 11 at West Kowloon Art Park.
Solar Sound System will be showcasing their interactive solar-powered DJ booth, featuring Hong Kong co-founders Aymeric Vollant and Chuk Wu (aka DJ’s Aymeric and WuHoo) on deck near the event’s entrance.
The project is not only a great way for guests to enjoy the latest electronic music, but also see how events can be powered with renewable energy.
“What we are trying to do is raise awareness about renewable energy,” says Vollant. “We try to be one part of the puzzle, one contribution to help [organisers] make events greener, to have the message of eco-responsibility but also to contribute in reducing emissions.”
Hong Kong marks the seventh incarnation of the Solar Sound System network, a project that began in Switzerland almost twenty years ago and uses music to inspire renewable energy use and awareness.
The Hong Kong DJ booth was completed earlier this year with the help of the Solar Sound System Paris team as well as with assistance from the Schneider Electric Foundation and sound partner Frog-is.
Solar Sound System will be partnering with Freespace for the entire season and they are already planning to expand beyond music.
Vollant says the team will run kid-friendly workshops from December onwards and hope to build a pedal-powered Christmas tree. For now though, guests can participate by jumping on one of Solar Sound System’s special bicycles rigged to power the DJ booth.
This is part of the draw, Vollant says, as “people are part of the process of creative energy, they are not just passive and looking at it.”
Musical performances
This month, the duo will also be joined by fellow DJ Sophistakid for some deep house sessions as well as saxophonist Joshua Jones, who will be playing accompanied by electronic music.
Vollant and Wu say they hope their musical acts will also encourage Hongkongers to access electronic music from across Asia in a daytime and natural setting beyond the stereotypical nightclub.
More musical wonders await at Freespace this November as well, including Taiwanese post-rock, folk, emo mashup Shallow Levée, local indie rock band Cow Head, and jazz from Hong Kong’s Patrick Lui Jazz Orchestra. WE Dance will also showcase the traditional Malaysian dance Zapin and performers will also be teaching the steps.
The Hong Kong Bird Watching Society is back with a workshop on the black-faced spoonbill, now in the midst of its southern migration, while the House of Hong Kong Literature will also return with its popular fortune-telling booth.
Animal lovers can drop in on the dog “speed-dating” class run by the Society for Abandoned Animals on how to approach unfamiliar dogs while those in need of a little retail therapy can head to the handicraft market or make their own at a workshop. Those looking for some rest and relaxation, though, should not miss the “Reading on the grass” book crossing.
Freespace Happening is an outdoor music and arts event organised by the West Kowloon Cultural District every second weekend of each month, from September 2018 to March 2019. This season’s theme is “Stories of our space,” featuring a range of activities designed to inspire a new appreciation and fresh perspective on the vibrant mix of communities and the natural environment of Hong Kong.
Between August 2015 and March 2018, Freespace Happening attracted over 170,000 visitors to West Kowloon. After three years at the West Kowloon Nursery Park, the event is settling down in its new permanent home – the Art Park. This season of Freespace Happening also serves as a prelude to the opening of a permanent Freespace building next year.
