Eaton HK’s Unheard Festival Celebrates Weird and Wonderful Worlds of Sound

Description

Unheard isn’t a music festival, it’s a celebration of sound, place and community. So while there’s a smattering of shows and parties at Eaton HK‘s annual audio shindig, there’s even more cerebral opportunities — to absorb, consider and respond at a long list of talks, workshops, listening sessions and interactive encounters covering everything from birdwatching to sound bathing… in an actual swimming pool. 

Presented in partnership with Contemporary Musiking HK and DTBY, live events (mainly) run across two weekends (25–26 July and 1–2 August). In between, the event is anchored by the ongoing “Instruments of Convenience / Surveillance,” an augmented reality sound installation which invites its audience to engage with a touchless musical instrument – all while exposing the realities of data tracking in today’s tech-reliant urban environments. 

If you can make it to only a day, then take note of Saturday 1 August’s trio of noteworthy events, kicking off at 1pm with the Asia premiere of It Was All a Dream, an intimate documentary comprised of Dream Hampton’s vérité-style archive of early hip-hop moments, featuring candid cameos from The Notorious B.I.G., Snoop Dogg and Method Man. Later the same day there’s a City Sampling Workshop with viral social media creator Chef West, before the evening explodes into the immersive ambient Open Ears club night, headlined by Guangzhou-based electronic duo Cola Ren & Leonwill.

If indie is more your thing, head down on 29 July for a midweek deep dive into Beach House’s beloved Teen Dream, spun on vinyl and discussed by James and Cheryl of Mystery Train. Active listening is also encouraged at a talk with an intimidatingly long name, hosted by Hong Kong-based selector Steven Lee on 2 August: “Not just Citypop: 80s Japanese Ongaku —  Ambient pop, Digital Exotica and Post-bubble Post-punk.”