Eman Lam
Eman Lam
To mark her 30th birthday, which falls on Oct 25, Hong Kong’s Eman Lam released her long-awaited debut solo album.
After all, fellow musician Ellen Loo has already made a successful solo splash with the Mandarin language The Ripples (2011). Together, Lam and Loo make up Cantopop folktronica duo at17.
Happily, Lam proves that the wait has not been in vain with her self-titled Cantonese disc. There is a beguiling quality to the songs which keep one listening.
Opener Wanna Be has Lam crooning suggestively: “Wanna kiss a girl, wanna dance with a boy”. It’s Snowing On Beijing’s Streets paints a dramatic picture as she sings on the bluesy electronica number: “I betrayed the equator, dancing towards the sand, want to touch Beijing’s sky”. Like Water, meanwhile, is a lovely spare ballad caressed with the utmost tenderness by Lam.
She works with a number of well-regarded musicians including singer- songwriter Pong Nan, lyricist Chow Yiu Fai and her elder brother Chet Lam.
But there is no mistaking that it is anyone’s voice on the album but hers.
So, how did you mark your 30th birthday?(ST)