Continue with Radio Interview of Denise Ho...............

That psychological barrier is still there. Someone would still say " you are very much like Anita....' Some people miss her and reflect that upon me. Because of that, I may not recognize my own potential as I try to cater myself to that type of audience. All these things could hold me back. This time I gave myself a homework assignment. To make this CD. Of course is also because this is the 10th year anniversary. In memory of her, as a way to pay tribute to her, this is my homework. This also serves as an exam for me.

Hostess: "During this process, what we really want to explore--- during the growth you have experienced, and I can see that in you --- the way you have broken the (psychological) barrier what do you think is the real element behind this. What drove you or forced you to take this one step forward. If you had not taken this step, you would not have experienced the growth.

Denise: I think is because I want to do better. My feeling is quite complicated. Part of it is telling myself this is something that must be done , as a commitment for myself and for her. This is something that you cannot try to shy away from forever. You know that if you try to get away from it, then you will always be standing in the same spot. If you face (the issue), you could fail, but you may also be successful in getting over this barrier. Once you make it through, you get pass the doorway into a a new level . With all these things in combination, I feel that okay, I will do it. The process has been agonizing. Sometimes I tripped all over. I tried different ways to find some solutions. I know this is a very abstract answer. Is like I could see the problem, the psychological barrier, but I have not yet found the methods to resolve this. ....

To be continued .......

.....Continue from before...

"If you ever get a chance to talk to Alex Fung...., he was the main person taping my vocal. From the first song onward, the first song we recorded was Manshujaka. I went into the studio feeling really scared. Is so difficult to sing, is so difficult to sing. That became my standard comment being repeated all the time. All the way to the last song, I still kept on saying this is so difficult. Alex Fung said "so which one isn't difficult?"

Hostess: "Is subconscious".

Denise: "For these songs that I know so well, the difficulty is how I can sing it my own way. I struggled with this a lot, trying my best to not to sing it in a way that is similar to Anita. Should the music be re-arranged to avoid the similarity, or should I change the key? I felt that I had to rely on those tricks, I was thinking those would help me out. After a while, I realized I no longer had to rely on those things. I think the first time I felt relieved, was at the time of singing "Like an Old Friend Coming".

The funny thing is, I never previously sang her songs in the recording studio. May be I did that (sang her songs) in live shows, under certain circumstances, but very rarely in recent years. When I was in the studio, hearing my own voice singing the songs that I have been listening to for 10-20 years, the feeling is very peculiar. The peculiarity is that I finally found my own way of singing. I no longer need to change a fast song to a slow one, or a slow song to a fast one to avoid being similar to her. I simply sing it purely and wholeheartedly then it is no longer Anita-Mui-like. I found my own voice and I was deeply moved at that moment."

Hostess: "To do this interview at the end of 2013 is particularly meaningful. Usually, at year end, we just review what happened during that year, but the weight of this CD was not limited to this past year. For example, Momento Live represents your growth in the last 2 to 3 years, and ( this CD) represents your learning, growth/refinement for the last 10 years.........."

To be continued...............

Continue from before:

Hostess:"............ in terms of music, you have got your own team of people. How you treat your own voice, or how to select which voice. All of it is your own taste of music, your own training/conditioning and preference. Is all from you, not based on outside reference.
Also what you mentioned before is the accumulation of sentiments. All the ups and downs. You said this is all accumulated over the past 10 years."

Denise" Yes, what you said earlier is very true. This album cannot be based on following some reference. That won't work. Also, the composition of the team is quite interesting.
Bing Ho is like me. He has been listening to Anita's songs since he was young. I have been listening to the songs, so he was forced to listen to them. (BeepBeep's comment: I am not sure what Denise is referring to ? Is this person a family member of Denise Ho?) He is very familiar with the songs. So there is burden there. He and I are both very sensible people, but we have got Alex Fung, who is totally not familiar with Mui-Jei's songs, except may be the most classic ones.
This song list does have some songs that are quite side-tracked. He doesn't know them and he does not carry any burden. He doesn't need to think about how to make them different.
Is all based on his own feelings. Of course I chatted with him a lot, or he chatted with me a lot. He tried to understand the background of this CD, what I would like to achieve.
What's the special meaning for me behind a particular song. He gathered and merged together all the different emotions, sentiments, all the broken pieces and translated that into music.

The chemical reaction among the three of us is very interesting.
The sensibilities are there, and also the sensitivities and emotions as well. I am very grateful to both of them, because during the process (of recording this album) I was stressed to the point of going crazy. They made me feel confident and calmed me down.

Thanks so much Beep-Beep for all your work on this! This is a really good interview. It is really interesting, if you follow the HOCC fan chatter, to realize that her young fans don't know Anita first hand and don't really care, because they're HOCC's fans, but express a respect for Anita because HOCC loves her. So HOCC is carrying Anita forward into the future, because no one else is, and because she is equipped to do so like no one else. Anita is absolutely unique, entertaining an audience at an age when the rest of us could barely go to the toilet by ourselves; contrast with Denise who had a normal upbringing and family and schooling.

Ho Bing is Denise's older brother. He plays the keyboards in her band, he and her sang a duet to their mom in her 2009 concert. He does a lot of behind the scenes musical writing and production work, sort of like Anthony Lun.
Her mom was reportedly seen helping sell t-shirts and greet fans at her concert. Contrast with another brother and mom.

I just finished watching her new concert (4 DVD's !). I liked her music in the 2009 concert better, but the chief feature of the new concert is how relaxed and happy Denise looks. She looks really different, and confident. It's really something to see, almost like Anita is looking out of Denise's eyes for a second and winking at us.

I learned that Denise has another idol besides Anita, the amazing Japanese woman Shiina Ringo. She doesn't tour outside Japan and no one else I know has even heard of her; I will be forever grateful to HOCC, if not for her I would never have learned that Shiina Ringo exists. This translated bio is worth reading:

http://forums.electricmole.net/showthread.php?t=212

If you're interested search on YouTube for Shiina Ringo, Ringo Shiina, Tokyo Jihen (name of her band). Her outstanding strength is as a writer.

I think you will find that there is as much of Ringo in HOCC as Anita. It's just a jaw-dropping family tree of musical intelligence. I'm so jealous!! Maybe Shiina Ringo is sort of HOCC's Momoe Yamaguchi?

Thanks again for your good work!