More than 60 bands from across the world, the spectacular West Kowloon and free tickets: Clockenflap promises to  be the biggest music and arts festival the city has seen in a long time. Mark Tjhung gives you the lowdown on everything you need to know

Click here for the complete schedule and map

Clockenflap at West Kowloon’. It’s a phrase music lovers have been hoping to hear for years. After being kicked out of its Cyberport home in 2009, the city’s biggest music and arts festival has been looking for a home. Last year, Clockenflap downsized to an intimate warehouse gig but this year it’s finally setting up waterside at Hong Kong’s future centre of culture and expanding to a grander scale than any of its three previous incarnations.

The numbers don’t lie: two days, five stages, more than a dozen international acts, over 40 Hong Kong bands and artists, and a capacity that dwarfs any other outdoor venue in the entire territory. Oh, and it’s free! Thousands upon thousands have already registered for their tickets, promising the biggest festival since the shambolic Harbour Fest in 2003. And the Clockenflap lineup has never been as big, either.
There’s more than 60 bands, DJs and artists performing over the weekend so, to help you out, we’ve put together a little overview of some bands that you might want to check out...

Bombay Bicycle Club
Read our full interview with BBC here!
Renowned There aren’t too many British bands that have enjoyed the same kind of rise as BBC. Since breaking through in 2009, these London kids (they’re always going on about how young they are), named after a chain of restaurants, have released three deliciously (perhaps pretentiously) different albums that have made categorising them a complex affair. One thing’s for sure – they’re one of the UK’s hottest young bands at the minute.
Sound An ever-changing aesthetic morphing from upbeat indie pop to acoustic folk to ambitious and crafted art pop.
Found Harbour Flap Stage, Saturday 9pm

The Cribs
Read our full interview with The Cribs here!
Renowned This Yorkshire trio are one of Britain’s biggest cult bands. Over four albums, the three brothers Jarman (Gary, Ryan and Ross) have become known for anthemic choruses, raw guitar energy and infectious riffs. While they may have recently lost Johnny Marr, legendary guitarist of ex-Smiths and Modest Mouse fame who joined in 2008 and helped with their most recent album, Ignore the Ignorant, The Cribs train shows no sign of slowing. They’ve been working on a new album, so we’re hoping for a sneak peek of some fresh tunes.
Sound  British indie rock ranging from early lo-fi leanings to broad rock anthems and garage-tinged, poppy post-punk.
Found Harbour Flap Stage, Sunday 7pm 

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
Read our full interview with The Pains' Peggy Wang here!
Renowned  These ultra-cool New Yorkers write the kind of twee tunes that get your head nodding from side to side. Their two albums – from their self-titled debut to the significantly more produced Belong released earlier this year – have seen them become not only heavyweights in indie pop revival, but also influential in its modern evolution.
Sound Jangly indie pop that rode out of the Ride and My Bloody Valentine retro lo-fi school but got a produced and fuller makeover.
Found  Harbour Flap Stage, Saturday 7pm

Santigold 
Renowned When she broke through with her super successful debut album in 2008, you probably heard of this Philadelphia-bred singer, producer, rapper, songwriter and all-round talent as Santogold. She may have swapped a vowel since then, but those hits remain the same – from the infectious L.E.S. Artistes to the cross-beating hip-hop of Creator and the hazy, post-punkish Lights Out. She says her long-awaited new album is pretty much done and should drop anytime now, but we’ve still no word on its release date. 
Sound A mashed-up, eclectic concoction of hip-hop, electronica, dancefloor pop, post-punk 
and dub.
Found Harbour Flap Stage, Sunday 9pm

Benjamin Francis Leftwich
Renowned  With an acoustic guitar and a wispy voice, it’s hard these days not to draw some kind of comparison to Nick Drake, Elliott Smith or Bon Iver. This York-based singer-songwriter did, of course, with his debut album this year, Last Smoke Before the Snowstorm, which found some decent success in the UK charts.
Sound  Introspective and dreamy acoustic folk.
Found Harbour Flap Stage, Saturday 3pm

Nova Heart
Renowned If you enjoyed Pet Conspiracy at 2009’s Clockenflap, you’ll probably get into former Pet frontwoman Helen Fang’s new project (well, one of them, in addition to fellow Clockenflappers Free the Birds) – no doubt her theatrics that lit up Cyberport will be in full force.
Sound Occasionally minimal, at times dirty electro-disco beats fused with a dream pop haze.
Found Harbour Flap Stage, Sunday 5.15pm

Zebra and Snake
Renowned Tapio and Matti, the two Finns that make up Z&S, have been busy. They’ve just signed a record deal with 100% Records, and will release their first debut next year – an album full of their Krauty sound that’s just a little like The Knife.
Sound Ambient pop with analogue electronics and some driving beats.
Found Harbour Flap Stage, Saturday 5.30pm

Luke Vibert
Renowned It’s hard to keep tabs on this veteran English electronic artist – partly because he keeps changing his name. You might have heard his work under the monikers Wagon Christ, Plug or Spac Hand Luke, but under any name, Vibert has been influential in pushing the boundaries of acid electronica.
Sound  Blip and manipulation heavy acid jazz
Found Robot Stage, Saturday 8pm

French Horn Rebellion
Renowned  This American duo’s synthed-up nu-disco tunes have had them touted as a duo to watch, touring with the likes of Hot Chip, Cut Copy and MGMT. If you were wondering, yes, the French horn – the instrument, that is – does make the occasional appearance live.
Sound Disco-heavy electro-pop with plenty of synth buzzes and falsettos.
Found The Peoples’ Party Stage, Sunday 8.10pm

Chad Valley
Renowned Chad Valley is really Hugo Manuel, an Oxford gent who takes chillwave and adds doses of summer and sun, and he’s gotten big props from the likes of Pitchfork, NME and the Guardian for it.
Sound Sunny, synthy pop with lots of layers and good vibes.
Found  The Peoples’ Party Stage, Sunday 6pm

Duck Fight Goose
Renowned They’re one of the most promising bands coming out of China, we reckon. Armed with their awesome name, the Shanghai foursome signed to Maybe Mars have quickly become must-see acts – and they seem to revel in making their music as complex and original as possible.
Sound Math rock, experimentalism and electronica all with a vibrant and cheery outlook. 
Found  The Peoples’ Party Stage, Saturday 8pm

White Shoes & The Couples Company
Renowned Inspired by old soundtrack music and boasting a huge following in their native Indonesia, you’d almost think the Jakarta-based WS&TCC was stuck in some kind of timewarp. There’s no pretense – it’s just good, funked-up, jazz-pop fun.
Sound  Throwback-influenced jazzy pop rock.
Found Harbour Flap Stage, Saturday 4.15pm

Click here for local bands featured at Clockenflap

Click here for local DJ's featured at Clockenflap