For On The Record, we’re delving into the sonic world of Besides, the Hong Kong-based project led by David McGinty and Kit Cheung (who is currently in Taiwan). Their latest EP, Breakfast, is a four-track exploration of lo-fi indie, alternative rock, slowcore and shoegaze, which all works together to set a fresh, contemplative tone. This interview explores the inspiration behind the EP, particularly its thematic departure from their debut release The Empty Air and the vintage gear that shapes their sound. We also discuss the symbolic meaning of the foody title, their creative process as a duo, and the influence of their Hong Kong surroundings. Join us as we uncover the layers of Besides‘ reflective music and their plans for the future.
Welcome to Unrecorded! For those who aren’t already familiar with Besides, can you introduce yourself?
‘Breakfast’ is the title track of a four-track EP through lo-fi alternative rock, slowcore, and shoegaze. The, a project led by Hong Kong-based musicians David McGinty & Kit Cheung (currently Taiwan).
You’ve just released a new EP, what inspired the title Breakfast? Is there a symbolic meaning behind it?
It’s about the fresh perspective, the morning freshness and a new day. Its also about new beginnings
How does the Breakfast EP differ creatively and thematically from your debut album The Empty Air?
The name of the band and much of the lyrics stem from conversations in the band room stairwell. For the first album we had the concept of a robot building a home on mars and waiting for the people to arrive – it was around the time the curiosity rover ran out of battery – that kind of felt alive in some way. At that time we just moved band room and two of our band ere out of action so we just used what was at hand to create a side project which became the main focus. We really improved logic pro knowledge over the first album. I (Dave here) also created a lofi side project and learned a lot from that – we kind of merged them over that summer.
Do you have a favourite track from the EP? And why that one?
I like ‘Lemonade’ – the first line is about the saying when life gives you lemons you make lemonade – but the song is saying ‘I’m not making lemonade anymore and gonna do something else’ – I guess we’ve all felt that in a shitty job or relationship so -I had my last sip of lemonade and out of sight. Always feels good to remember that and know when to move on
Were there any particular musical or artistic influences that shaped your sound?
We always want to have chill vocals and layered guitar work. We took influences from Pavement, the eels, flaming lips, Bon Iver, Radiohead, Cigarettes After Sex and lofi beats
You’re known to use vintage gear in your music, did you incorporate any specific old synths or recording techniques in this EP?
Yes there are a bunch of old guitar pedals and the guitars are old fender strat and custom mike lull bass with a 20+ year Hartke bass amp. There is an old modified Baritone guitar in there too. We love the Rhodes sound so used some emulators and a dodgy old korg keyboard.
Does your life in Hong Kong influence your music and the themes you tend to explore?
It sure does, I was exposed to a lot more music styles in my time here but particularly Japanese and Chinese / Cantopop music and chord progressions. We have lots of musicians come through the doors of the band room so we always have new and interesting styles.
Your music often invites contemplation and self-reflection. What do you hope listeners will take away from Breakfast?
We hope that its for fans of slowcore, indie rock, and ambient textures enjoy Breakfast we want to give that early morning kind of feeling in the crowd at a festival when you just take it in with out dancing but absorb the music and the feeling of a fresh day.
Are there any upcoming plans to perform live or tour with the new EP? How do you envision the songs translating to a live setting?
I saw a lot of bands adapt their approach to live – we’ve not got that far yet but I imagine triggering logic and some stripped back acoustic stuff. We come from rock band and singer songwriter ethos so it would be interesting to perform these – I’d probably play the bass for them as I think the bass lines are fun
What’s next for Besides?
The name of the band and much of the lyrics stem from conversations in the band room stairwell. Besides the busy lives we have we always have music. We just used what was at hand to create a side project which became the main focus. We have a few more tunes already recorded so we’d like to create another album and if fans are interested to hear us live we’d love to share what we are up to.
You can listen to title-track ‘Breakfast’ in our Shades of Pop playlist.
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