Alumni Kaleidoscope: Lawrence Tsui - BEng(CPEG)

BEATS TO THE TOP, THEN HIGHER YET

Jacky, Joey, Andy, Eason, Leon, Sammi. These are just some of Hong Kong’s pop singing legends Lawrence Tsui have collaborated with. Today, as the founder of GIG Studio, there's no doubt Lawrence presently occupies a lofty position in the city's music scene. Lawrence's first contact with music started with piano lessons at age 10, but it was the drums and drumsticks that soon enthralled the youth. He further developed his passion and skills at the instrument at HKUST, where he graduated with a Bachelor’s of Engineering in Computer Engineering.

"If you wanted to find me during my university days, your best bet was the music room in my dormitory," recalls Lawrence. A Christian, he often performed in churches and even once joined fellow musicians to perform in the United States; such was Lawrence's devotion to his love that he even deferred his HKUST studies by a year for that overseas tour. His winning of the Best Drummer at the Yamaha-organized Hong Kong Open Band Competition, Asian Beat two years running (2000 and 2001)confirmed Lawrence's prodigious gifts as a drummer.

Turning professional after graduation, Lawrence not only performed alongside Cantopop's top acts, he was also the drummer for the Chinese fusion band SIU2. Lawrence says, "Joining that band was an eye-opener for me; we played a wide range of music and performed all around the world for our tours." SIU2 finds itself playing in packed halls in China, Taiwan, Korea, Malaysia and as far afield as Britain, France, Germany, Poland and Australia.

In 2012, he founded GIG Studio, the first studio in China providing online drum recording services. Over 1000 songs of Chinese music have been recorded to date. In addition to renting out studio and musical equipment, GIG Studio helped produce over 20 soundtracks for Asian blockbusters such as The Mermaid, From Vegas to Macau III, and Call of Heroes. With Lawrence's boundless enthusiasm for his craft, there's no telling what he'll achieve next in the musical world—the only certainty is Lawrence will attain excellence in whatever he does.