When you're short of inspiration, only one thing can get the
creative juices going: some stirring sounds. We asked Asia's top
creatives what music inspired them to come up with their best work.
Singapore: Undoubtedly the trendiest of the bunch, our friends in the
Lion City came up with the abrasive sounds of Rage Against the Machine
and Radiohead's scrambled miserablism as their ideal soundtrack to help
the ideas percolate. Certain creatives also seem to find that the
soundtrack at the local pool halls helps to concentrate their minds even
further, apparently.
Kuala Lumpur: Singapore's neighbours in Malaysia, on the other hand, are
far more mainstream, with the lightweight charms of Jennifer Lopez
mentioned as a favourite.
Hong Kong: A soulful bunch, these, with the thought-provoking strains of
John Lennon's Imagine named by one agency boss as his top choice.
Clearly, beneath the commercial exterior of the city lurks a sensitive
soul.
Manila: Filipino creatives' tastes are pretty wide-ranging, but in the
end it comes as no surprise to find that the
stand-on-a-clifftop-with-the-wind-in-your-hair pomposity of Irish
rockers U2 gets the thumbs-up for inspiring new work.
Beijing: Of all the big Asian cities, it seems that creatives in Beijing
are enthuastic about the greatest range of music. Jazz, classical,
cantopop - you name it, they like it. Western pop music was the only
genre that didn't meet with much enthusiasm. "I don't pretend to
understand Western culture as well as Chinese," says one agency bod.
"Singing Western songs doesn't really rouse my emotions." To be honest,
we'd be surprised if Jennifer Lopez and U2 roused many people's
emotions.
