On the 22nd floor of Soho House, a members’ club located in Hong Kong’s trendy Sheung Wan district, house music and deep conversations in English and French echo behind a door. 

A bright smile that mirrors the sunlight outside greets me as I step into 22Systm, a new music studio that’s set to officially open to the public soon. There stood Frenchman Léo Arbez, one of the three co-founders of music event company Magic Room, alongside his fellow countryman and DJ Rémy Kerstens, and Hong Kong entrepreneur Vincent Fong (also CEO of biotechnology and fragrance company Raze). The trio welcomed me and eagerly began to explain how they’re working to build up Hong Kong’s music community, both through their event series and free studio sessions for emerging artists at 22Systm. 

In 2020, Arbez and Kerstens, began hosting underground music events in Hong Kong under the name “Magic Room.” Their goal was to share music and foster a sense of happiness during the challenges of the pandemic. Fong soon got on board, and since then Magic Room has evolved into a vibrant community celebrating Hong Kong’s unique diversity, bringing together local and international artists and audiences at iconic locations like the Peak Tower and AIA Vitality Park near the Central Harbourfront.

Collectively, the trio own 22Systm and have a majority stake in the record label Nodes Rec. alongside producer Milam (more on him later). 

For the founders, Hong Kong, more than other Asian metropolises like Seoul or Singapore, offers a unique balance between East and West that resonates with their vision. Kerstens reflects on his own journey, explaining that he moved to Hong Kong fifteen years ago. For five years before that, he regularly visited the city while touring internationally as a DJ. He was drawn to the sense of harmony he found in this city that blends together various cultural influences.

Fong agrees that it’s the mix of different cultural elements that makes Hong Kong fascinating. He adds that unlike in Japan and South Korea (where he’s also been involved in the music industry), there is not a “defined Hong Kong sound,” which conversely allows artists the freedom to explore diverse musical styles like deep house and Afrohouse. Nevertheless, the trio feel that despite Hong Kong’s rich musical heritage, the city has fallen behind in terms of music and culture over the past five to ten years. Hence the necessity of a platform like Magic Room, which stands poised to share Hong Kong and Asia’s musical cultures with the wider world — and vice versa.

Though initially focused on hosting events, the team quickly recognized the need to go further in nurturing a community amidst the existing disparities in Hong Kong. Kerstens emphasizes the importance of unifying the music scene and thinks that the “only way that the city can rise and culturally express itself more is by connecting to each other.” Fong explains that through the studio, the team “wanted to foster a creative hub” rooted in their identities as DJs and producers.

As Fong highlights, while there has been much discussion about the fact that Taylor Swift overlooked Hong Kong on her recent Asia tour, cultivating a strong and supportive community rooted in the city is what will truly take its music scene to the next level.

But then, what’s so special about this studio and how does it stand to deepen the city’s music community? 

22Systm distinguishes itself by embracing diverse musical styles and fostering collaboration amongst artists. The studio’s core team of artists use different names for various projects, allowing for greater openness in the types of music recorded. This approach is complemented by a partnership with Soho House, which facilitates connections between local and international talent in Hong Kong.

Fong emphasizes the studio’s authenticity and dedication to accessibility: “This is not the most fancy studio… it is a place where people can gather and make music.” Rather than simply equipping itself with expensive equipment from the biggest brands, 22Systm champions a “Made in Hong Kong” ethos. The studio collaborated with local brands like KEF and AMG, which manufacture speakers and acoustic panels, respectively. In doing so, the team aims to cultivate raw and organic creativity, while creating a more welcoming environment.

It is worth noting that the studio serves as just one part of a broader, Magic Room-helmed artistic ecosystem. Recording sessions there may feed into Nodes Rec. releases, or lead to opportunities to play at Magic Room events, encouraging collaboration between artists in Hong Kong. 

For emerging artists, 22Systm will serve as a launchpad. Notably, recording time is offered for free, allowing new artists the chance to experiment and grow with less financial barriers. This nurturing environment is exemplified by the aforementioned Milam (Julien Bell), who first reached out to Magic Room four years ago to collaborate after recognizing a shared musical vision.

A Canadian-Chinese artist who grew up in Hong Kong and Beijing, Bell started his music journey by learning classical piano. While studying liberal arts and East Asian studies at Wesleyan University, he gradually developed a liking for jazz and house music. He started to make his own music at age 18 and began DJing at 19, and since then has spent more than a decade honing a unique sound that incorporates Asian influences such as the sounds of the guzheng (a Chinese zither), as well as spiritual elements from Daoism and Buddhism.

The impact of Magic Room on Bell’s career has been transformative. After proactively sending out demos to the team, he quickly secured a spot to play at one of their events, and then found himself getting invited back to perform at better time slots. Magic Room has not only provided him with performance opportunities but also connected him with a network of industry professionals.

The music industry can be complicated, but Magic Room is there to expertly guide artists through all the ups and downs. Working with individuals like Kerstens and Arbez at Magic Room gives Bell hope, as their good intentions have shaped a supportive artistic community within a sometimes challenging industry. As Kerstens notes, “The music industry is a pretty wild universe. If you don’t have the right people around you, it can really go in a different way than when you entered it.”

The co-founders faced their fair share of challenges during the establishment of their studio. Initially considering a spot in the same building that houses production for Fong’s Raze enterprise in Wong Chuk Hang, an industrial area on the southern side of Hong Kong Island, they changed plans when a Soho House team member suggested that they create their studio on-site in Sheung Wan, a more central neighborhood. However, the planning process was time-consuming, requiring multiple layers of approval over the course of a year. As Fong notes, “At the end of the day, we’re not a big company and have limited resources,” highlighting the need to be practical and efficient while balancing requirements for both high quality studio equipment and a convenient, accessible location.

Magic Room’s founders recognize that nowadays much of the music-making process can take place at home. So, to ensure that 22Systm can offer the final level of polish that artists may struggle to achieve at their home studios, they’ve got studio engineer Bruno Roth on board to help productions reach international standards.

Still, for artists like Bell, maintaining authenticity is vital. Roth agrees, stating that Magic Room’s collective goal is to have a unique sensibility when making music, with the music maintaining a sense of where it comes from, so that the local audience feels represented. He warns against creating “a copy of a copy.” 

Currently in its soft opening phase, 22Systm will officially open in January 2025, and looks set to give more Hong Kong artists the chance to craft their own sound. Fong also outlines ambitious plans for global expansion in the coming months, particularly around the Asia-Pacific. To close 2024, the team held a show at Bangkok’s The Standard on December 11. 

Ultimately, Arbez emphasizes the importance of breaking down cultural barriers in music, underlining how Magic Room aspires to forge a bridge that connects Western and Eastern music lovers, with Hong Kong as a key node.

Banner image by Haedi Yue.