Singer-songwriter Emma-Lee Moss, known as Emmy the Great, has penned a memoir exploring Hong Kong's Cantopop scene. Born in Hong Kong to an English father and a Hongkonger mother, Moss moved to England at age 11, just before the 1997 handover. Her book, My Cantopop Nights, intertwines her personal story with the history of Cantopop, a genre blending Chinese and Western pop.
The Significance of Cantopop
Moss recalls how Cantopop shaped her identity. Even as a child, she understood the political shifts. 'Thanks to our British passports, we would avoid the greatest schism our city had ever known,' she writes. Returning to Hong Kong as a musician, she reconnected with Cantopop, capturing its spirit in her album April/月音.
Key Songs and Memories
Aaron Kwok – Love You Endlessly
Kwok, one of the 'four heavenly kings' of 1990s Cantopop, inspired Moss's haircut at age 11. 'I arrived in England with that haircut, where no one knew who Kwok was. I passed from a world where he was a god to a world where he did not exist.'
Faye Wong – Dream Person
Wong's Cantonese cover of the Cranberries' Dreams marked Moss's return to Hong Kong. A sleepover with a friend introduced her to indie music, shaping her teenage years. 'The mixtape became my entire personality.'
The Wynners – You're Free
Discovering that her father wrote English lyrics for the Wynners, a 1970s band, revealed a hidden family history. 'It gave me greater insight into my parents' lives when they were young.'
Beyond – Boundless Ocean, Vast Skies
Beyond's anthem, released before singer Wong Ka Kui's death in 1993, resonated with Moss during the pandemic. 'They were Hong Kong's biggest rock band, but no one in England knew them.'
Sam Hui – Half a Catty, Eight Taels
Hui's humorous song about work-life balance mirrored Dolly Parton's 9 to 5. 'The story of Hong Kong is the sound of it. Listening to Hui, I realized I would find that history through Cantopop.'
Tat Ming Pair – The Stars Are So Bright Tonight
This prophetic 1988 song asked if Hong Kong's glamour would fade after the handover. Tat Ming Pair, known for LGBTQ+ activism, remain a cult act.
Anita Mui and Leslie Cheung – Yuanfen
The concept of yuanfen (karmic serendipity) changed Moss's life. Mui and Cheung, icons who died in the same year, embodied this fate.
Faye Wong – One Person Playing Two Roles
Wong's collaboration with indie band AMK introduced Moss to Hong Kong's underground scene. 'It was like she had written this song for me.'
My Cantopop Nights: A Memoir in Songs by Emma-Lee Moss is published 11 June by Jonathan Cape.
