Your thoughts on the Hong Kong music/party scene?

Its my first time here, so I don’t know much about it. I know the guys from Robort Heart in burning man are here and they are cool.

What’s your favourite city in the world to play to a crowd?

Tokyo, Manchester, Milan, anywhere in Brazil

Major destinations you recommend and the must go to clubs? When in Ibiza, which is the one club we have to go to?

Hot Creations night at the best club in the world dc10.

Anyone in particular you’re inspired by?

Craig Richards right now, he has the best records…

What’s your track of the moment? /What are you listening to?

I like a track by LP4 called neckbrace.

If you could have dinner with 5 people (alive or dead) who would they be and why.

Grace Jones
Rick James
Carl Jung
Prince
Charlie Sheen

Photos via HK Clubbing

Interview by Juliana Loh, Social Media Manager, Swire Hotels and editor-in-chief of the blog. Follow her tweets: @bilbaobab or 微博 @julianaloh

Sanlitun Village North is home to the big name fashion houses Balenciaga, Balmain, Christian Louboutain, Alexander McQueen, Lanvin, Armani and the flagship Maison Martin Margiela featuring a wonderful slide.

Nissis

Our favourite shops on the lower ground floor of the the Sanlitun Village North include Hung Huang’s BNC (Brand New China) selling everything from unique furniture, accessories and local fashion design wear, CATALOG, Shanghai trio, Wo Er, Woo, Decoster Concept and Nissis featuring China’s latest up and coming designers.

In need of a break after a day of shopping? Stop by Colibri for cupcakes and a cuppa or The Village Café at The Opposite House for their afternoon tea set.

Blog content & photos by Juliana Loh, Social Media Manager, Swire Hotels and editor-in-chief of the blog. Follow her tweets: @bilbaobab or 微博 @julianaloh

The group show celebrates all the different art forms showcasing their artworks of film, sculpture, painting and photography in Swire Properties’ 20,000sq ft ArtisTree.

The show features a group of international artists as well as local talents. For Daydreaming with… Hong Kong photographer and now film maker Wing Shya spent over ten years working with Wong Kar Wai on photography and graphic design collaborated with Simon Birch to produce a short video featuring Hong Kong heartthrob Daniel Wu and Jennifer Tse.

Beijing-based Australian artist Jayne Dyer put together a neon installation piece “too young to love” from the lyrics and beat of James Lavelle’s pink remix track.

Other big feature pieces include British artist Doug Foster’s “The Heretics” with a soundtrack by James Lavelle. The stunning project took him a few weeks working with ink in a tank in his own house and digitally creating a symmetrical image.

On the other side of the space, Huang Rui’s drum set piece brings with it subtle political and cultural notes, and who most recently exhibited at The Opposite House. Contemporary Chinese artist Li Wei best known for his gravity defying portraits showcase a group of inverted statues covered with mosaic mirror chips towering over the entrance.

Apart from visual and audio sensory artworks to thrill the senses, award-winning perfume designer Azzi Glasser was commissioned to create a scent. “Rain on earth” captures the earthy smells of the soil, grass and the heady monsoon mix of humidity, heat and gravel with soundtrack by James Lavelle to enhance the multi sensory experience.

Other international artists feature in the group show over a broad range of mediums. So, be sure to catch it from 5 May – 7 June, 2012 @ The ArtisTree Hong Kong.

Blog content & photos by Juliana Loh, Social Media Manager, Swire Hotels and editor-in-chief of the blog.Follow her tweets: @bilbaobab or 微博 @julianaloh

The show aims to cast a new light on the metamorphosis of a technical product into an abstract piece of art as the team of artists bridge the East West cultural divide in their own unique way.

The intercultural context reveals that values like quality, sustainability and reliability may be represented by a multitude of symbols, icons and forms of expression – varying e.g. due to differing embedding in local cultural environments –, but nevertheless in their underlying meaning may be understood as universal after all.

We recommend catching this stunning show at the UCCA Beijing that pushes the boundaries of sustainability, aesthetics and redefining the use of industrial materials and creating a new platform for corporate art.

Exhibition 28 April 28- 6 May, 2012
UCCA Beijing
UCCA, 798 Art District,
No. 4 Jiuxianqiao Lu,
Chaoyang District,
Beijing, China 100015
Tel: +86 10 5780 0200

Content curated and written by Juliana Loh, Social Media Manager, Swire Hotels and editor-in-chief of the blog. Follow her tweets: @bilbaobab or 微博 @julianaloh

What is your background and where does your passion for jazz come from?
I used to work as a music venue promoter, and through that I got to work on a whole range of music. My passion for jazz comes from all the different genres which are inspired by jazz. So before I worked on the Jazz Festival, I was already into soul, funk, ska, jazzy hip-hop – all the kind of music that is around jazz, and that was my real passion before I took over. Then, since doing the festival, and working with our Artistic Director Tony Dudley Evans – who is the god-father of promoting British contemporary jazz – I have learnt a lot more about the cutting edge UK scene and the jazz legends.

What have been your highlights over the last two years since being appointed Director of the Cheltenham Jazz Festival?
I remember standing on stage for the first time as Director and introducing blues singer Eric Bibb to a packed audience – that was a pretty good feeling. Also in my first year we commissioned Paloma Faith for her Cheltenham debut. We introduced her to Guy Barker, and they have gone on to work a lot together – and they’re working together again in our Festival Finale this year.

Last year we broadcasted Jamie Cullum’s festival concert live to 75 cinemas to 8 countries worldwide. That was a scary day at the festival – but it worked brilliantly. And personally, our concert with Lamb last year was a highlight – it was an excellent gig, and maybe a bit of a self-indulgence as they’re one of my favourite bands from my university days.

How has the festival evolved over this time? Have the music or the type of audience changed in any way?
When I took over Cheltenham was a successful venue based festival. It was really well recognised, but I felt you could be in Cheltenham and not know the Festival was on. It had fantastic names in great venues, but there was no core hub, and no real festival buzz.

So, when I took over I was keen to recreate more of a traditional outdoor festival vibe with bars, food stalls, and outdoor stage and really build the festival around that. So, we’ve developed that over the last few years to this year where we have the Big Top, Jazz Arena and cinema – and we’ve really tried to add to that year on year. We’ve added things that go beyond the music – as well as having great concerts it’s about having things for people to do and enjoy.

Musically, we’ve explored even more the different genres that are influenced by jazz. Jazz has synergies with so many different types of music, and Cheltenham embraces that like no other festival. Whilst commissioning broader pop artists to perform in the jazz context, we also represent the cutting edge of contemporary jazz – which is at the heart of what we do. This is reflected in our audience who have got younger and more diverse as our programme has developed.

The Cheltenham Jazz Festival features a range of acts from the UK and abroad. How do you feel the jazz scene in the UK and our home-grown talent compares to the rest of the world?

I think it’s a very exciting time for jazz in the UK. We’re very highly regarded in Europe, alongside strong jazz scenes like Norway. This is reflected in the increase in UK artists playing abroad. The UK jazz scene has had some really strong periods in the past – such as the Loose Tubes era in the 80s – and the current crop of British artists like Kit Downes, Seb Rochford, Tom Cawley and Dave Stapleton are doing a lot for the UK right now. Cheltenham really celebrates this, and supports the new generation.

Can you name some of the highlights of this year’s festival? Any upcoming stars we should be sure to look out for in particular?

There’s so many exciting artists this year – Melody Gardot will be performing songs from her brand new album, Marcus Miller is a real legend who’s played with the like of Miles Davies and Aretha Franklin, and one of Jamie Cullum’s picks, CW Stoneking is really brilliant.

The “Friday Night is Music Night” show is always a real highlight of the Festival. It’s the chance to be part of a live Radio 2 broadcast, and this year we’re celebrating the life of Ray Charles.

One to really watch is Gregory Porter, who’s performing with Jamie and in “Friday Night is Music Night” – he’s making big waves in the music scene right now, and stole the show at Jools Holland’s Hootenanny this year.

The festival line-up is very varied with everything from classic jazz to gypsy folk and flamenco. Does the festival tend to attract real jazz aficionados alone or visitors new to the jazz scene who are looking to enjoy a weekend break in Cheltenham?

It’s absolutely both of those. Our audience includes core-jazzers who have been coming to the Festival for years who want to see the very best in what the jazz scene has to offer – whether that be established American legends, or the up-and-coming UK talent. People often say that if you want to know what’s going on in jazz, you can find it in Cheltenham.

But equally you don’t need to be jazz aficionado to enjoy Cheltenham – just someone who enjoys good quality live music. So I would encourage everyone just to come down and enjoy the atmosphere.

Cheltenham is a great supporter of the arts with the jazz, music and literature festivals as well as other cultural events through the year. What do you think the impact of these cultural events has been on the town?

A real positive one – the Festivals contribute millions of pounds to the local economy every year. They also add vibrancy to what is already a beautiful regency town. For us it’s a real pleasure to put on a jazz festival with the back-drop of such beautiful architecture and gardens. And hopefully the festivals really put Cheltenham on the cultural destination map. We get a lot of people who come for the weekend to enjoy the jazz, but also make the most of the surroundings – with great shopping and walks, and the Cotswolds just a stones throw away. So, it’s a fantastic place to hold festivals and offer culture

What are your ‘desert island’ favourites and aside from music what are your other interests?

Ok..hard question to answer for someone that runs a music festival.

Certainly Herbie Hancock’s Headhunter album, anything by Etta James and Chet Baker. For more modern non jazz stuff then I love the Black Keys and New Zealand dub with Fat Freddies Drop. In terms of the jazz of today I can’t stop listening to Gregory Porters album Water.

For more information and getting your tickets, have a look at the Cheltenham Festivals site.

Andre Fu, the interior architect of The Upper House, is also one of the cultural icons of Liberatum and will participate in the programme on 29 April.

Some of the other participants include legendary singer Marianne Faithfull, Grammy Award winning producer, musician and designer Pharrell Williams, renowned American screenwriter and filmmaker Paul Schrader, Nobel prize winning author Sir VS Naipaul, photographer Wing Shya, singer Khalil Fong, fashion icon and hat designer Philip Treacy, composer and pianist Rosey Chan, Chinese-Canadian artist Terence Koh, actor Daniel Wu, Academy Award nominated director Mike Figgis, film producer Nansun Shi and Russian artist Svetlana K-Lie among many others.

Dean Winter, Area General Manager – Hong Kong of Swire Hotels said, “We are excited to work with Liberatum in their first cultural festival in Asia. The concept of The Upper House mirrors the mission of Liberatum to highlight the importance of continuing to explore different international cultures from the perspectives of art, design and architecture”.

Images courtesy of Liberatum

Listen to the playlist on Spotify.

Watch the “making of”:

via laughingsquid

Content curated and written by Juliana Loh, Social Media Manager, Swire Hotels and editor-in-chief of the blog. Follow her tweets: @bilbaobab or 微博 @julianaloh

The showcase will celebrate the fusion of nature and technology; two elements that are often thought to be disconnected and sometimes at odds with each other. The meaning derived from their work – the benevolent gentleness of the natural world and the pulse and hum of modernity – is likened to individuals identifying the divine in earthly matters. Philosophically, Liu Dao sees technology as the composite of natural elements with electrons, protons, quarks, leptons and so on that occupies the tiny corners of physics.

Through animated LEDs and interactive video, Liu Dao’s work has been described by Red Gate’s Brian Wallace as “that of chasing the breeze that blows along electric cables, gazing upon the face of humanity in programmed diodes, and breathing the pollen-filled fragrance of spring in the electrified air.”

The show will include interactive works where guests can use their mobile phones to call a telephone number displayed on a monitor, which will in turn activate the digital work. At the end of the animation, the piece will send the guest a text message.

“We are delighted to have Island 6 show again at The Opposite House under the guidance of Red Gate Gallery. The opposing and contradictory themes will definitely bring another stimulating experience to our visitors,” says General Manager, Anthony Ross.

The Liu Dao exhibition is on through 30 June 2012 in the Atrium of The Opposite House, Beijing.

The Village Building 1,
No 11. Sanlitun Road
Chaoyang District 100027
Beijing, China
Tel: +8610 6417 6688

What were the challenges to design the uniform for our Guest Experience team? As you work primarily with tea silk, you had to tailor the design and form to uniforms, how did you adapt your style and designs?

Actually, we did all the details in tea silk. The band ties are made of tea silk, and they can be washed and are not that delicate that they have to be dry cleaned. The colour of tea silk will change over time, the browns get darker and the blacks can get shinier or washed out. It changes alot over time, a little like leather, the age changes it.

Where did you get your inspiration from?
The style is primarily my style. I was briefed that it had to be practical and a one piece dress, it had to have big pockets and the rest of it was up to my creativity.

Where do you get your inspiration from?
It’s through the forms and fabric, the textures and how they fall. It’s like making my own wardrobe with each collection and commission, and I’m inspired by creating outfits that I like to wear. My ideas spring internally, but of course I’m always influenced by what I see. My style doesn’t change much with the forms, but of course I also move with the fashion.

My father was a sculptor, so for me it was always interesting to transfer the two dimensional to the three dimensional and it’s always interesting to see how the line changes. Simple lines and how it drapes over the body. A straight line seen from different angles, completely changes the shape and visual.

So, what made you decide to come to China?
It was the tea silk. When I was still in Paris, I worked several times in Taiwan and there was a fashion designer who worked alot with tea silk and that’s when I first discovered tea silk. I went to Hong Kong several times before and bought my first pieces of tea silk and then I went to Beijing. I felt a kind of joy to do something here in Beijing, the creative vibe and the possibilities. You design a few things and you have a tailor to have it done. It’s much more difficult and complicated to start your own business in Paris for example. I’ve been here for 11 years and it seemed to me much easier to start up in Beijing.

What do you think about the Chinese fashion scene?
Everything goes very fast fashion in China and at the moment this period about the international brand craze is also soon going to past. Even my clients (both local and expats) go more for exclusivity, bespoke designs. We are doing commissioned pieces, and yes we also do wedding dresses as well as special designs for clients.

Would you say there’s alot of competition doing fashion design in Beijing?
Most designers here doing alot of evening dresses and not many of them do day wear too like I do. Of course there’s always competition. For my designs, you can wear the outfits in many different ways. For evening dresses, there’s alot more fancy details involved, and it has to look good from far with the glitter and elaborate details.

About Kathrin von Rechenberg:
Kathrin von Rechenberg came to China after finishing her training at the famous fashion design school Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne in Paris and has worked in various Haute Couture houses in Paris. In search of an original fabric for her creations, she discovered tea silk, which fascinated her because of its quality and how comfortable it is to wear. In her designs, she also uses fine natural fabrics sourced in China and Europe.

Rechenberg pret a porter designs and collections are available in Beijing and selected stores in Germany and the USA.

Rechenberg Atelier
Xinyuanxili Dongjie, yard behind building Nr.12
100027 Beijing, V.R China
Tel: +86 10 6463 1788
www.rechenberg.cn

Interview and content by Juliana Loh, Social Media Manager, Swire Hotels and editor-in-chief of the blog who was recently in Beijing. Follow her tweets: @bilbaobab or 微博 @julianaloh

Some examples:
- Chevre, a goat’s cheese goes well with a Sancerre (which we tasted and did a pairing)
- Epoisses and white/red Burgundy
-Fontina and Barolo
- Caource and Champagne
- Camembert and a white Burgundy
- Amontillado Sherry and Manchego

Another helpful tip and general rule is light, mild cheese goes with light easy wine and powerful aged cheese goes well with powerful wines.

Coming from the same terrior or region, the animals (cow, goat, sheep) and the cheeses produced from their milk tend to go well together with wines grown in the same area.

If you’re planning for a dinner party in Hong Kong, Pacific Gourmet, Monsieur Chatté, il Bel Paese and Castello del vino have some great choices of cold cuts and cheeses.

And if you’re in Beijing, don’t lose heart. Great cheeses are still available in the Chinese capital. Liu Yang of Le Fromager de Pékin does good locally produced cheese and Cheese & Wine Beijing by Chaoyang Park West Gate.

Content by Juliana Loh, Social Media Manager, Swire Hotels and editor-in-chief of the blog. Cheese and wine is one of her massive weakness and she’s a regular at the stores recommended above. Follow her tweets: @bilbaobab or 微博 @julianaloh