Photo taken by Arman Dzidzovic, Sharon Lee, and Winston Yeung
Alexmalism, alias Alex Yiu, is a Hong Kong-based music producer, sound artist, composer, and DJ. Drawing inspiration from minimalism, industrialism, sound art, trance, pop, and classical music, he explores the boundaries between styles and genres. He has performed and deejayed at numerous venues and platforms, including XXX, OIL Club, ALL Club, Cycle Music and Art Festival (Gerðarsafn), Sónar Hong Kong 2019, CTM@Berghain, Times Museum, M+, Tai Kwun Contemporary, and NTS Radio. At Sónar Hong Kong 2019, his set was praised for its innovative blend of industrial rhythms and melodic trance elements, captivating the audience with unexpected sonic textures.
His first track, “Sombre,” was released in the compilation Mental Maps by the pan-Asia label Chinabot. His debut album, TKO, was released on Absurd Trax. Named after Hong Kong’s Tseung Kwan O Bay (also known as Junk Bay), TKO features a collection of jagged club tracks built on a conceptual framework inspired by David Harvey’s geographies of global capitalism. Alex’s approach is minimalist, but the results are often maximal. Throughout the record, he moves through trance, house, and techno, employing pointillistic synth patterns and industrial rhythms. Some tracks are lively and effervescent, while others feel murky and grinding, reflecting the dualistic nature of “TKO” itself. Beneath Alex’s apparent disaffection toward his hometown, listeners can sense a sliver of reverence.
Beyond his work as a performer and producer, Alexmalism has also made significant contributions as a researcher and writer. As an independent scholar, his interests include the current deconstructed club music scene in East Asia and its networks, the Hong Kong underground music scene, and other music and sound-related topics. At the City University of Hong Kong, Alex Yiu’s research examines the impact of technology on art, particularly in the context of China. His PhD thesis focuses on Sinofuturism, a new aesthetic and ideology that has emerged in response to rapid technological development in China, significantly influencing the Shanghai avant-garde music scene and artistic practices.
As a sound artist, he has exhibited at Para Site, A+ Contemporary, Burning Man by UNPOP, and many other venues. He has also collaborated with artists such as Jas Lin, IV Chan, Joseph Lee, Suze Chan, and Steve Hui. Notably, as the then associate editor at ArtAsiaPacific, he writes about contemporary Asian art, visual culture, postdramatic theatre, new media, digital humanities, and popular music.
In 2022, Alexmalism expanded his artistic reach by venturing into Cantonese pop music. His self-titled Cantonese electronic pop album, ALEXMALISM, was independently released on streaming platforms. The album showcases his versatility as an artist and his ability to create music that appeals to a broader audience.
Alexmalism，本名姚少龍，是一位來自香港的音樂製作人、聲音藝術家、作曲家及 DJ。他從極簡主義、工業音樂、聲音藝術、Trance、流行音樂及古典音樂中汲取靈感，探索不同風格與類型之間的界限。他曾於多個場地及平台演出及打碟，包括 XXX、OIL Club、ALL Club、Cycle Music and Art Festival (Gerðarsafn)、Sónar Hong Kong 2019、CTM@Berghain、時代美術館、M+、大館當代美術館及 NTS Radio。
他的首支單曲〈Sombre〉收錄於泛亞洲廠牌 Chinabot 發行的合輯《Mental Maps》。他的首張專輯《TKO》於 Absurd Trax 發行。專輯名稱源自香港將軍澳 (英文舊稱 Junk Bay)，收錄了一系列以 David Harvey 全球資本主義地理學為概念框架的鋸齒狀 club 音軌。Alex 的創作手法極簡，但效果往往極繁。整張專輯游走於 Trance、House 及 Techno 之間，運用點描式合成器音型及工業節奏。部分曲目生動活潑，另一些則顯得混濁而磨礪，反映「TKO」本身的二元性質。在 Alex 對家鄉表面上的疏離感之下，聽者仍能感受到一絲敬意。
除了演出者及製作人的工作，Alexmalism 亦在研究及寫作方面作出貢獻。作為獨立研究者，他的興趣包括東亞當下的解構俱樂部 (deconstructed club) 音樂場景及其網絡、香港地下音樂場景，以及其他音樂與聲音相關議題。於香港城市大學，姚少龍的研究探討科技對藝術的影響，尤其是中國的脈絡。他的博士論文聚焦於中華未來主義（Sinofuturism），這是一種因應中國急速科技發展而生的新興美學與意識形態，對上海前衛音樂場景及藝術實踐產生相互影響。
作為聲音藝術家，他曾於 Para Site、大館當代美術館、A+ Contemporary、Burning Man by UNPOP 及其他多個場地展出作品。他亦曾與林欣傑、林思穎、陳子雯、陳敬元、Suze陳及許敖山等藝術家合作。值得一提的是，他曾擔任《ArtAsiaPacific》副編輯，撰寫關於亞洲當代藝術、視覺文化、後戲劇劇場、新媒體、數碼人文及流行音樂等的文章。
2022 年，Alexmalism 拓展其藝術版圖，涉足粵語流行音樂。他的同名粵語電子流行專輯《ALEXMALISM》於串流平台獨立發行。專輯展現他作為藝術家的多元性，以及創作能吸引更廣泛聽眾之音樂的能力。
Education(s):
PhD candidate - School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong
Master of Music in Sonic Arts - Goldsmiths, University of London
Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) in Music Composition/Production - Hong Kong Baptist University
Major Exhibitions:
2022-23 "Myth Makers—Spectrosynthesis III", Taikwun Contemporary, Central, Hong Kong
2019 “Play. Boredom. Worship.” Co-curating with Suze Chan, Tomorrow Maybe, Eaton HK, Jordan, Hong Kong
2018 “Kotodama”, Para Site, Quarry Bay, Hong Kong
2018 “Sound Form”, Contemporary Musiking Hong Kong, Centre A, Vancouver, Canada
2016 “What Potions Have I Drunk of Siren Tears”, A+ Contemporary, Shanghai
2016 “At Wit’s End”, Kula-Bazaar, Asia Kula Kula-ring, Asia Culture Center, Gwangju
2015 “Nook Echoes, A Joint Exhibition of Cross-media Arts”, PMQ, Hong Kong
2014 “Yasi * We Friend -- A Cross-Media Response Exhibition to Leung Ping Kwan”, Hong Kong Fringe Club, Hong Kong
Performances/Compositions:
2020 Online streaming concert, E(ar)-Storm | ReNew Vision, New Vision Arts Festival, Hong Kong
2020 Soundtrack for Kit Wan Studios Capsule Collection 20/21 conceptual film
2020 Absurd Trax vs Selam X, “Liminal”, CTM Festival, Berghain’s Säule, Berlin, Germany
2019 “Lush Processes”, Sound Forms 2019, Contemporary Musiking Hong Kong, McAulay Studio, Hong Kong Arts Centre, Wanchai, Hong Kong
2019 ART AFTER HOURS: HONG KONG VISIONS WITH CONTEMPORARY MUSIKING HONG KONG, JC Contemporary, Tai Kwun, Central, Hong Kong
2018 EP “TKO” release concert, HKCR, Foo Tak Building, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
2018 “Chinese Hill Billies” (Do not hasten to bid me adieu), Lecture-performance, Para Site, Quarry Bay, Hong Kong
2018 “UNPOP”, Burning Man 2018, Audio Games Lab, Contemporary Musiking Hong Kong, Black Rock Desert, NV, USA
2018 “Livecraft”, Steve Hui x Alex Yiu, Twenty Alpha, Foo Tak Building, Wanchai
2018 “Alter Ego”, Fresh Form II, Sound Forms 2018, Hong Kong Arts Centre, Wanchai
2018 “Chinese Hill Billies” Lecture performance, Gold Saucer Studio, Sponsored by HKADC, Vancouver, Canada
2017 “You Millions, I Embrace You!” participatory performance in “Proletarian Punk”, Institution for Provocation, Salt Projects, Beijing, China
2017 “Doublé”, multimedia composition, Cycle Music and Art Festival, Gerðarsafn, Kópavogur Art Museum, Reykjavík, Iceland
2017 “Ever Since I Left the CityU”, sound performance, XXX Gallery, Tai Kok Tsui, Hong Kong
2017 “You Millions, I Embrace You!”, participatory performance, 100ft. PARK, Sham Shui Po, Hong Kong
2017 Sonic Anchor #29 Part II & #31, sound performance, Comix Home Base, Hong Kong
2017 “Dance off” by Joseph Lee, sound design/performer, Hong Kong Jockey Club Contemporary Dance Series, Black Box Theatre, Kwai Tsing Theatre, Hong Kong
2016- DJ at Hong Kong Community Radio, live stream performance, Hong Kong
2016 “Snark”, Curated by Andre Chan, performer, Tai Kok Tsui, Hong Kong
2016 “What Potions Have I Drunk of Siren Tears”, sound performance, A+ Contemporary, Shanghai 2016 “In between the Tropic of Cancer”, sound performance at Tokyo University of Arts, Tokyo
2016 “EXPERIMENTAL SERIES #2”, sound performance, Fringe Upstairs, Fringe Club, Hong Kong
2016 Papay Gyro Nights 2016 Hong Kong, group improvisation, Focal Fair, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
2016 “Spaces Traces, Places”, performer, Modern Academy 2.0, Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, Unit 12, Cattle Deport Artist Village
2016 “noise=noise [] THE HIDDEN []”, audiovisual performance, Multimedia Theatre, Run Run Shaw Creative Media Centre, Hong Kong
2015 “Boundary Music”, Angharad Davies, Rie Nakajima at Whitechapel: Music for Museums”, White Chapel Gallery, London, United Kingdom
2015 “Practical Vocation” with Francesco Moraca and Serenella Martufi, sound design, The Old Laban Centre, London, United Kingdom
2015 SONIC STRIP: Goldsmiths MMus Degree Show, audiovisual performance, New River Studios, London, United Kingdom
2015 “PureGold 2015”, audiovisual performance, Southbank Centre, London, United Kingdom
2015 “Impression: Fire Dragon Dance” for Chinese Orchestra, CCC & Music Friends, "Chinese Music Impression" concerts, Hong Kong
2014 “Sonic Anchor #16 Fieldwork and Housework”, audiovisual performance, CMHK, Hong Kong
2013 “Hong Kong Composer On Stage”, sound performance, 2013 Chinese Composers' Festival, Hong Kong Composers’ Guild, Sheung Wan Civic Centre, Hong Kong
2013 Midday, Quarry Bay” for percussion ensemble, New Generation Concert, RTHK Radio 4, Hong Kong Composers’ Guild, Hong Kong
2012 “La Soledad” for viola da gamba, Concert “After Gesualdo”, Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, St. Joseph Chapel, Sai Kung
2012 “Here and There” by LeeCat Ho, sound design, Dance Theatre "Self.Explore" by Mary Jane Tang, CCDC Dance Centre Jockey Club Dance Theatre, Wong Tai Sin, Hong Kong
2010 Graduation Song, The Complaints Choir of Hong Kong, participatory art project
Conferences/Symposiums/Presentations
2020 “Becoming ‘Hong Kong’: Sound and Music of the 2019 Hong Kong Protests”, Research Networking Day, CTM Festival, Berlin, Germany
2018 "An Overview of the Internet-based Underground Post-Genre Club Music and its Translocality: From a Hong Kong Local Perspective", presentation, “Symposium: Underground Music-Making in Hong Kong and East Asia”, Keynote speaker: Prof. Will Straw, School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong, December.
2016 “Perspective on Sound Arts in Hong Kong”, performance/presentation, Special Program 3 ‘In between the Tropic of Cancer’, Cultural Typhoon 2016 ‘Can You Feel It?: Cultural Intervention in the Globalising Cities’ with Keynote speaker: Prof. Lawrence Grossberg, Tokyo University of Arts, July.
Workshops
2017 Cycle Music and Lab, Modern Academy, participating artist, Spring Workshop, Hong Kong
2017 Munich Biennial – International Biennial Platform Hong Kong (Part 2), participating artist, Connecting Space Hong Kong, Hong Kong
2016 Munich Biennial – International Biennial Platform Hong Kong (Part 1), Connecting Space Hong Kong, Hong Kong
2014 “The Modern Academy”, participant, Goethe-Institut Hong Kong, Hong Kong 2009 The Complaints Choir of Hong Kong, participant, Hong Kong
Fellowships/Prizes
2016 Sonic Transmission Artist Exchange Project, Contemporary Musiking Hong Kong
2014 CASH Music Scholarship, Composers and Authors Society of Hong Kong Ltd.
2013 New Generation Concert, First Prize, RTHK Radio 4, Hong Kong Composers’ Guild
PhD candidate - School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong
Master of Music in Sonic Arts - Goldsmiths, University of London
Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) in Music Composition/Production - Hong Kong Baptist University
Major Exhibitions:
2022-23 "Myth Makers—Spectrosynthesis III", Taikwun Contemporary, Central, Hong Kong
2019 “Play. Boredom. Worship.” Co-curating with Suze Chan, Tomorrow Maybe, Eaton HK, Jordan, Hong Kong
2018 “Kotodama”, Para Site, Quarry Bay, Hong Kong
2018 “Sound Form”, Contemporary Musiking Hong Kong, Centre A, Vancouver, Canada
2016 “What Potions Have I Drunk of Siren Tears”, A+ Contemporary, Shanghai
2016 “At Wit’s End”, Kula-Bazaar, Asia Kula Kula-ring, Asia Culture Center, Gwangju
2015 “Nook Echoes, A Joint Exhibition of Cross-media Arts”, PMQ, Hong Kong
2014 “Yasi * We Friend -- A Cross-Media Response Exhibition to Leung Ping Kwan”, Hong Kong Fringe Club, Hong Kong
Performances/Compositions:
2020 Online streaming concert, E(ar)-Storm | ReNew Vision, New Vision Arts Festival, Hong Kong
2020 Soundtrack for Kit Wan Studios Capsule Collection 20/21 conceptual film
2020 Absurd Trax vs Selam X, “Liminal”, CTM Festival, Berghain’s Säule, Berlin, Germany
2019 “Lush Processes”, Sound Forms 2019, Contemporary Musiking Hong Kong, McAulay Studio, Hong Kong Arts Centre, Wanchai, Hong Kong
2019 ART AFTER HOURS: HONG KONG VISIONS WITH CONTEMPORARY MUSIKING HONG KONG, JC Contemporary, Tai Kwun, Central, Hong Kong
2018 EP “TKO” release concert, HKCR, Foo Tak Building, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
2018 “Chinese Hill Billies” (Do not hasten to bid me adieu), Lecture-performance, Para Site, Quarry Bay, Hong Kong
2018 “UNPOP”, Burning Man 2018, Audio Games Lab, Contemporary Musiking Hong Kong, Black Rock Desert, NV, USA
2018 “Livecraft”, Steve Hui x Alex Yiu, Twenty Alpha, Foo Tak Building, Wanchai
2018 “Alter Ego”, Fresh Form II, Sound Forms 2018, Hong Kong Arts Centre, Wanchai
2018 “Chinese Hill Billies” Lecture performance, Gold Saucer Studio, Sponsored by HKADC, Vancouver, Canada
2017 “You Millions, I Embrace You!” participatory performance in “Proletarian Punk”, Institution for Provocation, Salt Projects, Beijing, China
2017 “Doublé”, multimedia composition, Cycle Music and Art Festival, Gerðarsafn, Kópavogur Art Museum, Reykjavík, Iceland
2017 “Ever Since I Left the CityU”, sound performance, XXX Gallery, Tai Kok Tsui, Hong Kong
2017 “You Millions, I Embrace You!”, participatory performance, 100ft. PARK, Sham Shui Po, Hong Kong
2017 Sonic Anchor #29 Part II & #31, sound performance, Comix Home Base, Hong Kong
2017 “Dance off” by Joseph Lee, sound design/performer, Hong Kong Jockey Club Contemporary Dance Series, Black Box Theatre, Kwai Tsing Theatre, Hong Kong
2016- DJ at Hong Kong Community Radio, live stream performance, Hong Kong
2016 “Snark”, Curated by Andre Chan, performer, Tai Kok Tsui, Hong Kong
2016 “What Potions Have I Drunk of Siren Tears”, sound performance, A+ Contemporary, Shanghai 2016 “In between the Tropic of Cancer”, sound performance at Tokyo University of Arts, Tokyo
2016 “EXPERIMENTAL SERIES #2”, sound performance, Fringe Upstairs, Fringe Club, Hong Kong
2016 Papay Gyro Nights 2016 Hong Kong, group improvisation, Focal Fair, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
2016 “Spaces Traces, Places”, performer, Modern Academy 2.0, Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, Unit 12, Cattle Deport Artist Village
2016 “noise=noise [] THE HIDDEN []”, audiovisual performance, Multimedia Theatre, Run Run Shaw Creative Media Centre, Hong Kong
2015 “Boundary Music”, Angharad Davies, Rie Nakajima at Whitechapel: Music for Museums”, White Chapel Gallery, London, United Kingdom
2015 “Practical Vocation” with Francesco Moraca and Serenella Martufi, sound design, The Old Laban Centre, London, United Kingdom
2015 SONIC STRIP: Goldsmiths MMus Degree Show, audiovisual performance, New River Studios, London, United Kingdom
2015 “PureGold 2015”, audiovisual performance, Southbank Centre, London, United Kingdom
2015 “Impression: Fire Dragon Dance” for Chinese Orchestra, CCC & Music Friends, "Chinese Music Impression" concerts, Hong Kong
2014 “Sonic Anchor #16 Fieldwork and Housework”, audiovisual performance, CMHK, Hong Kong
2013 “Hong Kong Composer On Stage”, sound performance, 2013 Chinese Composers' Festival, Hong Kong Composers’ Guild, Sheung Wan Civic Centre, Hong Kong
2013 Midday, Quarry Bay” for percussion ensemble, New Generation Concert, RTHK Radio 4, Hong Kong Composers’ Guild, Hong Kong
2012 “La Soledad” for viola da gamba, Concert “After Gesualdo”, Hong Kong New Music Ensemble, St. Joseph Chapel, Sai Kung
2012 “Here and There” by LeeCat Ho, sound design, Dance Theatre "Self.Explore" by Mary Jane Tang, CCDC Dance Centre Jockey Club Dance Theatre, Wong Tai Sin, Hong Kong
2010 Graduation Song, The Complaints Choir of Hong Kong, participatory art project
Conferences/Symposiums/Presentations
2020 “Becoming ‘Hong Kong’: Sound and Music of the 2019 Hong Kong Protests”, Research Networking Day, CTM Festival, Berlin, Germany
2018 "An Overview of the Internet-based Underground Post-Genre Club Music and its Translocality: From a Hong Kong Local Perspective", presentation, “Symposium: Underground Music-Making in Hong Kong and East Asia”, Keynote speaker: Prof. Will Straw, School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong, December.
2016 “Perspective on Sound Arts in Hong Kong”, performance/presentation, Special Program 3 ‘In between the Tropic of Cancer’, Cultural Typhoon 2016 ‘Can You Feel It?: Cultural Intervention in the Globalising Cities’ with Keynote speaker: Prof. Lawrence Grossberg, Tokyo University of Arts, July.
Workshops
2017 Cycle Music and Lab, Modern Academy, participating artist, Spring Workshop, Hong Kong
2017 Munich Biennial – International Biennial Platform Hong Kong (Part 2), participating artist, Connecting Space Hong Kong, Hong Kong
2016 Munich Biennial – International Biennial Platform Hong Kong (Part 1), Connecting Space Hong Kong, Hong Kong
2014 “The Modern Academy”, participant, Goethe-Institut Hong Kong, Hong Kong 2009 The Complaints Choir of Hong Kong, participant, Hong Kong
Fellowships/Prizes
2016 Sonic Transmission Artist Exchange Project, Contemporary Musiking Hong Kong
2014 CASH Music Scholarship, Composers and Authors Society of Hong Kong Ltd.
2013 New Generation Concert, First Prize, RTHK Radio 4, Hong Kong Composers’ Guild