“Success isn’t about how many people talk about our music, but the fact that we did it together.”
“A local band making original Cantonese music? That’s different.” Those were my thoughts when I found out about Ciu Jyut. I didn’t know what to expect when I said yes to meeting with them. But as we chatted over glasses of whisky in their private studio, I realised there’s more than meets the eye. The group is unassuming, but playful and charismatic. And like their music, they’re bold and loud in the best ways.
As part of our Honey Unplugged series, we get intimate with local musicians and discover more about their journey. This time, Ciu Jyut gives us an insight into its year-long journey as a band and what the path looks like after the public launch of the first single.
So a designer, logistician, and two engineers walk into a bar…
What do you get when you put together a marine engineer, a logistician, an interior designer, and a civil engineer? You get Ciu Jyut. The four members include William Choi (the bassist), Ryan Yan (the drummer), Wei Hong (aka Hong, the guitarist), and Frank Chen (the lead singer). All in their 30s and 40s, each member has a unique relationship with music.
For Hong and William, the love started when they were young. Hong learned how to play music thanks to inspiration from the Hong Kong rock band, Beyond. As for William, he decided to pick up the drums, bass, and piano in secondary school and hasn’t stopped since, claiming that music was a very pivotal part of his growing-up years.
However, for Frank and Ryan, their journeys began a little later in life. Frank started in his 20s teaching himself how to play the guitar before taking a hiatus of almost 20 years, picking it back up again during Covid-19. Meanwhile, Ryan tells me he vividly remembers learning how to play the drums in June 2021. His love of drumming started when he was 10, thanks to the influence of his father. However, he didn’t have a chance to learn until the pandemic hit.
But the one thing they had in common? A love for Cantonese music.
A hesitant beginning that sparked the big idea
You might be surprised to learn that the person who hesitated to join the most was their leader, Frank. When Ryan proposed starting a band, Frank’s first reaction was one of disbelief.
“I’m almost 50, why now?” he questioned, wondering if this fever dream was worth pursuing. However, after mulling over the proposition, Frank came back to the rest with a condition: that they focus on Cantonese music.
There’s a common understanding amongst the band members that dialects and second languages aren’t well received. As someone who comes from a family that speaks three dialects and is barely fluent in one, I completely get it. In a world that values English over most other languages, mother tongues tend to get lost in the mix and easily go forgotten.
But it also begs the question – why create music that only appeals to a niche audience?
The band admits that its collective admiration for other Canto bands like Beyond motivated the decision. They were never hindered by the thought of having only a small pool of listeners, because it was simply about making a tribute to the language.
“Cantonese is more than a dialect to us,” William explains. He describes it as a bridge that brought the band together. The ultimate goal is to preserve Cantonese and become an outlet for others to rediscover the language.
Passion-filled creations and endeavours
Putting the band together was the easy bit; then came the process of getting their name out there in the music world. As each member has a day job, you can imagine how difficult it is to sync schedules and make time for practice and performances. Instead of regular gigs, Ciu Jyut organises dedicated performances and ticketed events. From location sourcing to sound system management and marketing, everything is done by the band with little to no help from anyone else.
The same goes for songwriting and arrangements. Their single Inner Cry involved a ton of trial and error. After spending time in the recording studio, William tells me how he began tinkering with the tracks at home on his own. This included experimenting with synth and electronic elements. “We have no idea how to do it, but we’re learning and doing it anyway,” William says, with the agreement of his bandmates.
The conviction in their craft has resulted in huge crowd turnouts for their performances and a banger of a single. I was treated to a little private show as the band played an acoustic version of Inner Cry and I was blown away. I won’t lie – I didn’t understand a lick of what they were singing. But the performance and music alone was a mesmerising experience. I didn’t need to understand the language to feel the turmoil and catharsis that the lyrics were meant to convey.
Dare I say, the private performance I got to witness might be even better than the Spotify version. (But you didn’t hear that from me.)
Thriving in the moments
When I ask if the plan is to go full-time with music, I’m greeted with sombre laughter in response from the band. The sobering reality is that the more important commitments on their plates take priority. “We still need our day jobs to sustain our dream,” Frank laughs.
While being a full-time band might not be in the cards for Ciu Jyut right now, it doesn’t stop them from falling in love with the process. “I’m just enjoying every moment that we’re together,” Ryan says, excitedly telling me about his first experience in a recording studio discovering the intricacies of creating music. I even see it in Hong, who remains quiet throughout the interview, though his demeanour changes when there’s a guitar in his hand.
The bond was clear to me from the moment I stepped into the studio, watching the band’s animated conversations in Cantonese. Whether they’re in a stadium or playing at a cosy bar, the passion can be felt from their stage presence, which was an utter delight to witness firsthand. And I can proudly say that they’ll be the only Cantonese band on my personal playlist.
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