PHOON - The Hong Kong Band's 2019 EP is an Indie Rock Hidden Gem


            PHOON - Phoon (EP)

I first discovered PHOON on Youtube, through their song "You!", which was the only song they had released at the time. I was immediately drawn in by the catchy vocal melodies and the interplay between the electric guitar and keyboard. I listened to their first (and as of yet, only) EP as soon as it was released in 2019, and it has been frequently in my rotation ever since.

PHOON is, or was, a four member band from Hong Kong, that seems to be inactive according to a recent comment from vocalist Lili Forest on his Instagram post about how the song "You!" hit 1 million streams on Spotify. His comment from September 2023 reads: "we are basically disbanded now hahaha lets see how things go in the future" so I guess there is a sliver of hope that they may reunite, but in all likelihood, this EP will continue to be the only release from PHOON. Lili Forest has released a few solo songs under that name though, which are worth checking out.

This EP contains 6 songs, one of which is an instrumental Intro. Throughout the EP, you'll hear catchy vocal melodies soaring over punchy guitar rhythms, keyboards, bass, and drums. Lili Forest has a unique voice and his vocals are definitely a high point in these songs, but the other instruments are just as much a pleasure to listen to. As I mentioned at the beginning, I especially enjoy the interplay between guitars and keyboards.

"You!" is a perfect example of all of this. It's an incredibly catchy song, and the instrumental interlude that transitions from guitar to keyboard is one of my favorite parts. "不妙" is the only song that is not entirely in English, with only a few lines in the chorus being sung in English. The section near the end where Lili Forest starts out talking and then builds in intensity until he is basically yelling is one of my favorite aspects of this track, and something unique to just this song. "Me!" is a fun and bouncy track that transitions seamlessly into a section of synths and stylistic auto-tune at the end. 
"Pure" and "People in the Dark" are less upbeat and more reflective, trading in the punchy guitar rhythms for arpeggios and more drawn out melodies. 




Band Members and Side Projects

Vocals/Guitar: Lili Forest 

Other Projects:

  •     Lili Forest 
  •     MUKZI - He has one song on Spotify under this name, and a lot of live performances on Youtube under this name as well as MUKZI & The Island

Drums: https://www.instagram.com/sumj.chan/ 

Other Projects: 

  • Project Narratist
  • shawn/sumj.

Bass: https://www.instagram.com/tongyuting/

Keyboard: https://www.instagram.com/lamlut/ (instagram is private)


Social Media: 

https://www.instagram.com/p/Ce4HA1vvusx/

https://www.youtube.com/@phoon3939

https://www.facebook.com/phoonhk

https://twitter.com/PHOON_band


Random Recs for PHOON Fans:

WHIZZ - Sorrowful: Spotify Link

Los Bunkers - Llueve Sobre La Ciudad: Spotify Link


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