Franz Ferdinand, Jacob Collier among Clockenflap 2025 early line-up acts
Chinese-Indonesian rapper Rich Brian, English jazz singer and multi-instrumentalist Jacob Collier, Scottish indie band Franz Ferdinand, and Beth Gibbons, the vocalist of English alternative electronic band Portishead, are among the early line-up for this year's Clockenflap.
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Early-bird tickets for the annual three-day international music and art event in Hong Kong, scheduled to take place at Central Harbourfront from December 5 to 7, went on sale at 3pm today.
Born in Jakarta,
25-year-old Rich Brian – real name Brian Imanuel Soewarno – went viral on YouTube in 2016 with his debut single 'Dat $tick'. He went on to sign with US-based record label 88rising, which promotes Asian and Asian-American artists.
Rich Brian first went viral on YouTube in 2016. Photo: Clockenflap
Jacob Collier, on the other hand, grew up in a musical family – his mother is a violinist and teacher at the Royal Academy of Music's Junior Academy, and his maternal grandfather was also a violinist, who taught at the Royal Academy of Music.
He briefly studied jazz piano at the Royal Academy before going viral in 2013 for his cover songs on YouTube. In 2016, he released his debut album, In My Room, which he made in his North London family home.
Franz Ferdinand was formed in Glasgow in Scotland in 2002 and named after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, whose assassination in 1914 contributed to the beginning of World War I. The band, however, have said they picked the name mainly for the way it sounds.
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Born in the English city of Exeter, vocalist and lyricist Beth Gibbons is a founding member of the psychedelic rock band Portishead, which formed in 1991. The band returned to the stage in 2022, seven years after their last performance. In 2024, Gibbons released her debut solo album, Lives Outgrown.
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