Two years ago, Chochukmo was pretty much the band in Hong Kong. Time magazine hyped them. Celeb-artist Simon Birch painted a monster three-metre canvas of them. They played a high-profile slot at the music festival Clockenflap. And, of course, they released their debut The King Lost His Pink. There was talk of record deals and overseas tours, but just as their unique math-rock sound – fusing indie elements, post-rock tangents, latin-rhythms and the wailings of charismatic frontman Jan Curious – threatened to break out beyond Hong Kong, Chochukmo called it quits. On the eve of their return, nay relaunch, this fortnight, we talk to guitarist Mike Orange about the rollercoaster ride so far, and the next station for the Chochukmo train.

We’re excited you guys are back. Tell us why why you decided to reunite.
After we disbanded, we sometimes jammed, played around and had fun. We still saw each other and played music together, but just in a casual way and not with much intention of properly writing something. That stayed the same until Handshake Records of China contacted us and asked us to contribute a song for the Light for Japan compilation album, which was released as a fundraiser. We decided to go back into the studio to record an unreleased song, Higher Higher, and to contribute to the compilation. After the recording, we all felt like maybe we can give it one more shot.

What did you break up initially ?
The tension during the China tour [in 2010] left scars in our hearts. After that hectic China tour, we all collapsed. When we headed back to the studio, we didn’t know what to do. We just didn’t feel like writing or even playing anymore. When all of us showed signs of having the same feeling, we felt like a band which does not walk should not exist.

Do you think that break actually helped the band?
The break has allowed different band members to get detached from the band for a while and try to work on each one’s own stuff, join some other music projects and to have our minds refreshed, musically. Also it gives us a break to really think about what the band means to us and what we want to do with the band. The answers might be different for different members, but it doesn’t matter as long as we all know this is a band that we’re still very passionate about and treasuring.

We’re not seeing much pink in your image anymore. Has the band officially lost its pink?
The pink is always here, as you can tell from our website, our logo. We’re just tired of wearing pink. We’re a band with five members of very different personalities and want every member to show their very own personality.

Have there been any drastic changes to the band or the band’s approach?
Basically Chochukmo is still the same. We’re always aiming at the same goal but maybe the execution might change from time to time, as we’ll always be learning from experience all the way.

You’ve put a lot of online attention into the relaunch – with the streaming gig and your interactive videos. Why have you done that?
We don’t have many resources for promotion. It’s not so easy for our music to get on to radio or mainstream media, so the internet is the only way out. With more and more platforms on the internet like Ustream, we think we should make good use of these platforms.

Is there a new album in the works?
We have five to six finished, unreleased songs. We’re like half way through our next album, so it’s a good time to play around with those new tunes before we proceed to writing the rest of the songs for our next album.

What are the new songs like?
We’re trying new ideas and elements in the new songs. Most of the songs on our first album sounded a bit more straightforward, with a more rock smell. For our new songs, they’re more experimental and more arranged. We’re trying to be more playful for the songs we have in hand now. But to us, no matter how we twist them, those songs still sound quite ‘Chochukmo’.

Mark Tjhung 

Chochukmo play Hang Out on Friday November 11. Tickets: ccmcityu@gmail.com; 6800 1329.