Cover 9m88 sat down with Tatler at Eaton Hong Kong to talk about her latest album (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong / Zed Lee)
9m88 sat down with Tatler at Eaton Hong Kong to talk about her latest album (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong / Zed Lee)
1 / 1
Ahead of her concert at Macpherson Stadium with Clockenflap and her performance at M+, 9m88 sat down with Tatler to share how she’s blending two different genres of music in perfect musical harmony
Six months have passed since 9m88, born Joanne Tang Yu-chi, sat down with Tatler at Clockenflap’s backstage where she had just presented her new album Sent (2023) to the crowd.
In Eaton Hong Kong this May, she jumped back in the interview like the conversation had never stopped. “Clockenflap was so much fun,” she says. “And life has been so much fun as well since that performance. I’ve been touring in different cities in Asia. I met a lot of new fans in Beijing, Tokyo and more.”
It’s safe to say that Sent has been a roaring success. The album, which taps into Mando-pop’s melodies and jazz’s natural flow, “reached a much wider audience than I thought” in 9m88’s own words. “It’s a very emotional project, fully in Chinese… It’s meant to be sung out loud. I think the audience connected a lot [with] this one,” she says.
You might also like: Taiwanese musician 9m88 on letting go of her ego in her latest album ‘Sent’ and her love for Hong Kong label Yat Pit
Above 9m88 wants to bring the freedom and depth of jazz to Mando-pop (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong / Zed Lee)
9m88 wants to bring the freedom and depth of jazz to Mando-pop (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong / Zed Lee)
1 / 1
9m88 adds how impressed she was by the audience’s engagement during her live performances in Beijing and Chengdu. The audience sang their heart out to the tunes of 決定不想你 (which means sent in English), which was clearly a crowd favourite.
Though 9m88’s song’s lyrics are in Chinese, her music has resonated beyond China too. For example, in Tokyo, where she spent a few days before coming to Hong Kong, her music was received—or rather embraced—with a keenness comparable to the audience’s enthusiasm in China.
“I did a few jazz sets with Takuya Kuroda in Japan,” she says. “It was really intimidating, because I knew the audience wouldn’t connect to my music the way the Chinese audience did, and I haven’t done jazz in its pure form in a long time. But it was so great: the jazz crowd is different, very supportive and connected.”
Above 9m88 thinks that dancing and exercising can help get over heartbreaks (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong / Zed Lee)
9m88 thinks that dancing and exercising can help get over heartbreaks (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong / Zed Lee)
1 / 1
As 9m88 points out, music is a language in itself. When listening to a good beat or a catchy groove: one can only start moving and dancing—something that she’s been doing much more often this year, she shares as a side note. “Moving my body by dancing, moving and boxing, helps me get over my heartbreaks. Even small moves have big positive consequences.”
If 9m88’s Sent teaches us one thing it’s that music can eminently transcend linguistic borders without losing its core and become a symbol of true pluralism. For example, she taps into the lyricism of Mando-pop without leaning on its idol culture. On the other hand, she also draws from jazz’s natural depth and free flow but discards its association with “high art”—in other words, the best of both worlds.
“When I see artists bringing depth to Mando-pop, it makes me feel like I have a place there. The genre is slowly reaching a mature point where artists are willing to innovate. Some bring hip-hop, afrobeat… For me, I bring jazz. I’ve heard that it’s a risk, especially from traditional Mando-pop listeners, but this is where I want to [take] it.”
Credits
Photography: Zed Leets
Photography Assistant: Carlos Hui
Hair: Odye Weng
Make-Up: Yenting Yang
Outfit: Loewe
Salomé Grouard was Digital Editor and Front & Female Content Lead at Tatler Hong Kong. Primarily focused on managing Tatler Hong Kong’s digital platform and content, she also covers gender equality, the music scene and sports through interviews with industry leaders, experts and trendsetters.
Interview highlights include renowned conservationist Dr Jane Goodall, Korean actor Park Seo Jun, singer Jorja Smith, Chinese TV host Yue-Sai Kan, YouTuber Kimono Mom, Japanese rapper Awich, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighter Mikey Musumeci.
She has also produced stories on revolutionising sexual wellness in Asia, activism within the surfing community, Asian trans musicians reclaiming their narratives through music and looked at the toxicity of gym culture through the lens of the plus-size community. She also covers music festivals, such as Hong Kong’s Clockenflap and Bali’s Suara.
