Juno Mak interview: Juno Mak, the Hong Kong singer and filmmaker, says he has spent more than 20 years deliberately breaking musical formulas and will bring a cross media concert to the stage this year.
As the year closes, many people find old names and unfinished stories resurfacing in their memories. For Juno Mak, those persistent echoes have shaped a career that blends music, film, and stagework.
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Necklace, Juno Mak’s own
Juno Mak has been active for more than 20 years, and his work has become an emblem for a generation in Hong Kong. To understand his creative world is to trace a steady will to overturn expectation and to take artistic risks, as in the decade spanning his four part project centered on obsession and rumor.
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Necklace, Juno Mak’s own
“I think it is hard to put into words,” Juno said with a smile. “My work tends to be personal. I believe you have to learn the rules before you can break them.”
We followed his lead to see what he is building, what he hides along the way, and what he is seeking through his work.
Juno Mak interview: Breaking and rebuilding the formula
Today, Juno often presents himself in black and white imagery and loose, dramatic clothing. His public pages mirror that spare visual language. Musically, his output has become recognizable as a distinct Juno Mak style, a touchstone for many listeners.
“This question is difficult right away,” he laughed. “My work is quite personal, and I want to find ways to break established patterns in creation.”
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To break a formula you must first understand it. In traditional pop production, songs are split among composers, lyricists, producers, and performers. Juno learned that system from the inside when he began with a major label.
“When I was with a big company, the singer was mainly an interpreter,” he said. “I wanted to know more about length, structure, and the ideas behind a piece. So I learned the formula, then I started to disassemble it.”
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He described an experiment that altered public perception: a song where he split the vocal parts to play both male and female roles. The move surprised listeners and proved that staying true to a personal voice can win new appreciation.
Breaking from the mainstream carries costs. “Formulas exist because they work and they are easier to follow,” he said. “Taking apart a formula is more interesting to me, but it can end badly. If you succeed, you get applause. If you fail, you are the pioneer who takes the fall.”
So he focuses on the work itself, saying, “What matters most is finding your own voice.”
Incubation and composition
How important is having a unique voice? “If you have ten roles, you have ten viewpoints even on the same event,” he said, drawing on his work in film. “As a director you should have your own take on a subject, not just copy what worked for others.”
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He returns constantly to people. Small observations became creative fuel for him. “I used to watch how people eat breakfast. Everyone eats two fried eggs differently. It is fascinating because the food is the same but the manner is different.”
Those small differences create contrast and the sense of two sides of the same story. In his songs “Nian Nian Bu Wang” and “Rashomon” the same incident is recounted from opposing viewpoints to reveal the true cruelty of conflicting memories.
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After choosing a theme he begins by finding characters, then shaping the story. “What moves me first is not the plot but whether a character is interesting,” he said. “A character may have a past, experiences, and a particular way of speaking and acting. I build from that.”
He admits his incubation takes longer than many others. The result is a string of works that feel carefully refined. “Making movies and music is similar for me. I do not chase novelty. I want to know how a work will hold up three or five years later.” He added that a demo of “Distance Between Heaven and Earth” sat with him for six or seven years before it reached its final form.
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In an era where 15 seconds can decide a piece of work, Juno continues to plan at pace of months and years. He spent five years writing the film story “Feng Lin Huo Shan” and three years using three albums to tell one complex romance, releasing them on the same day.
For the year end concert titled “Juno Mak Presents: The Album : In the Name of a Father.” he will reinterpret sections that were omitted from the original release and bring the character Dong Pu onto the stage in a literal way. The project is another example of how he crosses media boundaries to dismantle and reassemble formulaic storytelling.
“On the surface that album looks like a love story, but it is about more than two people,” he said. “It is about characters and their friends, enemies, strangers, and the various forms of love that exist between them. As time passes, those chapters and emotional pieces become more complete.”
“For me they are not just roles but real people,” he said. “Even if I have not lived their experiences, their problems and ways of coping often reflect a part of me. They grow with me.”
How the artist is forged
Which work satisfies him most? “It is hard to pinpoint, because each piece represents who I was at that age,” he said. What looks effortless now came from years of practice and struggle.
He often uses black and white to tell a story. “In the commercial world color is everything, but when I strip away color I can see the strength and condition of a photograph,” he said. That curiosity drives him across disciplines.
He remains rigorous and exacting in his process. “I am harsh on myself. If a scene does not feel right I will throw it away and rewrite it. It is painful, but it is how I continue to learn and grow,” he said.
He says imagination is the start of a dream. He continues to pursue that love and those flights of fancy, and he emphasized one last time, “Singer, director, producer, or writer are just job titles. What matters to me is the creative idea behind them.”
Executive Producer: Angus Mok
Photographer: Karl Lam
Art Direction: Karl Lam and Yoanah Chan
Styling: Yoanah Chan
Interview and text: Louyi Wong
Videographers: Alvin Kong and Matt
Video edit: Alvin Kong
Makeup: Janice Tao
Hair: Powder Room
Watch: Franck Muller
Jewelry: BVLGARI
Wardrobe: Prada, Dior Men, Gucci, Emporio Armani
