But then comes the problem. My first two choices were bands that have a very similar sound to Hazden, from my previous post (Illusion X and Dark Secret), and I really want to show just how diverse the music scene is, but I also wanted quality.
There's also a stereotype of what Indie Music is, and it alternates between two nodes. There is the twangy guitar band playing upbeat 4 note pop-rock songs, a la Weezer, the Dandy Warholes and OK Go, and there is the explorers who play with soundscapes and sonic possibilities, playing around with every effect peddle available and abandoning every stereotype of the 3 minute radio song, replete with Radiohead t-shirts and references to bands that you can only find in CD stores that live in obscure back alleyways.
I like variety.
I like being able to go to a show and watch bands from all over the genre landscape, and I am not ashamed to say I still love the 3 minute radio-friendly rock song. They dominate my phone playlist.
Having said that, it's pretty hard to deny that Forget the G are one of the most talented bands in Macau right now. They fall into the second category of Indie-rock; the sonic explorers. Their songs function on tone rather than beat, and they're not the band people get in the pit and dance to; more close their eyes and sway at the back of a darkened corridor.
For the longest time, the singular creative force in the band was Eric Chan, and when we first met the band was just him with a couple of younger musicians as journeymen. The biggest feature was typically the guitar effects that he would use to take the songs an unexpected directions. You can hear it kick in at about 10 minutes in to this video below:
There have been a variety of lineup changes, adding and removing bass players and drummers, but the most consistent addition to the band is the keyboard player Frog. I wish I could give you her proper name, but it's the only name I know her as, and she has been every bit as fundamental to the Macau music scene as Eric has been.
This is where I hope I am connecting the dots properly. I was first introduced to Frog when she would work in the background with local heavy metal band De-Aqua. While she would be at the back behind a bunch of aggressive young men, I was assured that she was one of the leading creative forces in the band.
She has since gone on to hosting a short lived podcast as well as helping produce some of the younger artists in Macau. I can't help but feel that she enables Eric to go further into the darker recesses of his creativity.
And I'm absolutely jealous that they were able to produce a video as visually startling as this.
