Tell us about the three music venues within The Trilogy.
Wav is the rooftop bar with a beautiful view of [Victoria Harbour]. We’re going to recreate Ibiza Rocks Hotel’s [an iconic party venue in Spain] Colada [Club] vibes with a little bit of a Tulum [ambience], as well as mid-tempo and organic house music.

[At Keyz,] the house music will have a lot of different genres. I want to showcase different styles. People can enjoy a good funky vibe while having cocktails or a couple of shots. We’re going to have international and regional DJs coming in to perform [at both Keyz and Wav].

[Jazz speakeasy] Ella is named after [American jazz singer] Ella Fitzgerald. Here we’ll have live musical acts such as jazz and soul blues—all very sophisticated and energetic. [For the inaugural line-up in January,] we’ve got three to four local bands. And from time to time, we’ll also invite international acts to come and perform.

From what you said, it seems like The Trilogy will feature a wide genre of music. Which genre do you specialise in?
I’m an open-format DJ. Through the years, I’ve been playing different genres of music. In the ’90s, I started playing house music—which began in the 1980s and got popular a decade later. That’s what I have in my vinyl collection. When I moved to Hong Kong, I played at leading nightclubs which involved a lot of commercial stuff, a lot of drum, bass and dubstep. Then then there was EDM. So I’ve got [all these different genres of clubbing] at the back of my head.

How do you ensure optimal sound quality for each venue, given that they’re within the same space?
We have padded each area so they’re nicely concealed. But obviously the nightclub needs to be a lot louder than Ella. We have separate timings for the three venues. Ella will go on until midnight. That’s when the music picks up at nightclubs. Ella will slowly [wrap things up], taking the client straight to Keyz. The rooftop bar will also wind things down by 11pm. So we won’t be clashing sounds.

How do you compare the live music scene in Hong Kong with the rest of the world?
I started off my career in Bournemouth, down south in the UK. The music scene [there] is quite open and has a wide [range], so I got a lot of exposure to different genres of music. Coming to Hong Kong, I’ve [been to places, which] could [broaden their horizons] quite a bit. That’s what I bring to The Trilogy—I can showcase more [music], and I know the artists [overseas] quite well too.

Tell us about Ella and what kind of New Orleans jazz can guests enjoy there?
Jazz can be a little slow at times. But at Ella, we’ll have two-piece, three-piece bands, which will add some elements of slash energy to the sets and keep things vibrant [which is a feature of New Orleans jazz]. So Ella is more than just for guests to sit down and have a cocktail, they are actually [encouraged] to get involved with music a lot more.

As a musician, what does Ella Fitzgerald mean to you?
I am a jazz lover. Ella has always been on the list; I like her voice. That’s what caught my attention initially.

Give us a sneak peek of what’s coming up for Christmas.
We have international acts, but I’d like to keep that a secret. What I can say for now is, we have a Christmas market on December 2 and 3, where we’ll have a raclette-and-mulled-wine night.

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