'Top-notch' ThisIsTheMusic
'Very talented' Banks Radio Australia
'Off-the-wall, but in a good way!' Indies With Marky
'Loves to tell a story and does it really well' The Songbird
'Off-kilter one-man band... a winner' Here Comes The Flood
'Genuinely original and risky... deserves our attention' Fresh On The Net
'Truly unique sound... refreshing break away from the mainstream' RGM
'A student of melody... takes a cue from the best songwriters that England has produced over the past centuries and often matches their ability and charm' Alt77
Quirky indie-popster from London. Likes singalongs and wordplay. AKA Hong Kong Cockney*
Garlen Lo is a born-and-bred Londoner of Hong Kong-Chinese origin. Aged 8 he was raised by a wine-guzzling auntie who played country music at max volume. One Christmas, he got a guitar and took naturally to writing drunken singalongs with twee wordplay.
He formed an unruly, skinny-jeaned indie band in the mid-2000s, but after that imploded, tried to become a respectable member of society. Not quite succeeding at that either, he resumed his love for songwriting during the pandemic. The result is this. And he is chuffed that his first four singles have all been someone’s ‘track of the week’ (see reviews below).
He is a one-man band: playing all the instruments, singing, producing, and making the music videos. He'd like to give gigging a go again (guh guh guh guh guh, lol) but can't face the stress of forming a band. He is open to collabs, as the kids say.
Songs about unrequited/nostalgic love seems to be his thing. Just because. His Mastermind subject would be The Beatles and Chelsea FC. What's yours?
*For a short time, he went by the artist name Hong Kong Cockney but lacked the confidence to see it through. He likes it as a nickname though, like Springsteen's The Boss.
SINGLE #5 - 15 Mar 2024
Brown Paper Ball
A song about writing a love letter... and scrunching it up.
Download at Bandcamp.
Reviews