Ahead of the release of their debut album, Mark Tjhung speaks to the emotional (but not emo) Hong Kong post-rockers 

Fragile are sitting on futons on the floor of their Kwun Tong studio, all in their socks. Bottles, cans and other evidence of good times are stacked semi-neatly in the corner, and in the middle of the ring formed by the six-piece post-rock group, the studio dog ‘Mui Mui’ lies comatosed. She’s receiving gentle belly rubs as the members of the band are attempting to talk about their group.

“She should answer you. She’s the mastermind,” says Mono Koo, laptop operator for the Hong Kong group, pointing with an outstretched finger at Jacqueline Ngai. “She is the spirit of the band.” Ngai seems slightly embarrassed by this compliment, although Koo’s appraisal seems entirely justified. Ngai, one of Fragile’s two guitarists, has been at the heart of the band since it started as a dream pop outfit in 2006. Since then, they have evolved, shedding this dreamy persona, and heading down a post-rock path, discarding their vocalist in the process, as many a post-rock band does. “We think instrumentals can offer more imagination for the audience,” says the softly spoken Ngai.

The band’s imagination has now resulted in their debut album, White Shadows <<白影>>, an hour-long disc containing four atmospheric, sprawling tracks. “To me, the four songs offer different feelings. Some songs are more dark, some you can feel more hope,” says Ngai, barely finishing her sentence before Sing Wong, the second guitarist, interrupts. “Some are just like a movie – you have some soundtrack, you have some picture. When you listen to our songs, it’s like four movies,” he says. Koo continues, “It’s very emotional, but not emo,” a cue for laughter all round.

Without instruments in hand, they’re a band of laughter, jokes and informalities. But later, as they practise their song Spark – a track based on a simple, contemplative line with intense, shimmering guitar lines – in their band room, a stoic symphonic seriousness overcomes the group, as they stand and deliver in classic post-rock fashion.

This nonchalance, however, betrays the band’s undoubted excitement over their upcoming tour of China, which will take them to the Mainland musical hubs of Guangzhou, Wuhan, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Shanghai and Beijing. They’re looking forward to taking their music beyond the SAR.

“I think the taste of the audience in China is more diverse than in Hong Kong,” says keyboardist Kimberley “Bighead” Wong. While crowds continue to flock to post-rock acts of international reputation, such as Toe, the Album Leaf and Japanese four-piece Mono in recent times, the Fragile crew thinks the appreciation of local post-rock is rather subdued.

“I think [post-rock is popular in Hong Kong], but not local post-rock. Local post-rock is the other story I think. There are a lot more hardcore or metal bands,” says Koo. “We need to create a scene first. We don’t have a scene here.”

And while they don’t see themselves as trying to ‘inspire’ other bands, they do hope that White Shadows can contribute to Hong Kong’s post-rock development. Says Ngai: “We’re just doing what we like, and we just hope that if more and more people like to listen to post-rock, maybe they’ll want to try.”

Fragile launch White Shadows at Hidden Agenda on September 4. Tickets: White Noise Records; 2591 0499.