SinoHaven 華埠
Hong Kong Violence 香港暴力
Chinese
Noise
A living archive exploring Chinese identity, underground music and cultural memory through 25 years of Hong Kong Violence.
01 Introduction
Chinese Noise begins from a simple question: how do cultural histories survive when they exist outside traditional institutions, archives and museums?
SinoHaven x HKV explores the intersection of Chinese identity, underground music and cultural memory through the story of Hong Kong Violence and the people who helped shape it over the past 25 years.
As HKV reaches its twenty fifth year, the project creates an opportunity to document experiences, histories and perspectives that might otherwise remain scattered across events, releases, artwork, personal collections and memories.
02
華埠
SinoHaven
SinoHaven 華埠 is an ongoing documentary project founded by photographer Tyler Chan and researcher Edison Ng.
Through photography, interviews and field research, it documents the histories, identities and everyday experiences of Chinese communities across the Netherlands.
Its aim is not only to record individual stories, but also to contribute to a growing archive that explores how migration, heritage and community continue to shape contemporary Chinese life across generations.
03
香港暴力
HKV
Founded by Kin Wing Lam in 2001, Hong Kong Violence began as a small underground record label rooted in Dutch hardcore culture and the energy of the Rotterdam gabber movement.
Founded in the Netherlands by someone whose family roots trace back to Hong Kong's New Territories, HKV developed within a uniquely Dutch subculture while carrying influences shaped by migration, heritage and identity. The result was a project that occupied a distinctive space between different cultural worlds.
Over the past twenty five years, what started as a record label grew into an internationally recognized platform encompassing music, visual identity, events, merchandise and an international community.
Today, as interest in hardcore and underground electronic music continues to grow in Hong Kong, Chinese Noise creates an opportunity to revisit this story from a broader perspective and document the people, experiences and cultural exchanges that shaped it.
Its history extends beyond records and events. It is also a story about identity, belonging, creativity and the communities that form around shared cultural experiences.
04 The Project
Stories, sound, image and memory.
Chinese Noise combines documentary research, photography, long form storytelling and community memory from within the hardcore underground.
The project consists of two interconnected parts. The first focuses on the story of HKV through a long form conversation with founder Kin Wing Lam. The second expands the perspective through contributions from artists, collaborators, supporters and others connected to HKV.
Together, these voices create a broader picture of the communities, relationships and cultural exchanges that developed around the project over the past twenty five years.
Part One
The HKV Story. A long form conversation with Kin Wing Lam about the origins of HKV, its development and what twenty five years means today.
Part Two
Voices from the Scene. A growing collection of stories from artists, collaborators, supporters and people connected to HKV.
“The label that does more merch than records.”
Gareth de Wijk
Founder & CEO, PRSPCT Recordings
05 Future Directions
Preserving culture while creating new connections.
The goal of Chinese Noise is not only to celebrate HKV's twenty five year milestone, but to document a unique cultural story that exists between places, identities and communities.
Founded in the Netherlands and shaped by roots in Hong Kong, HKV developed within Dutch hardcore culture while occupying a distinctive space between different cultural worlds. Over the past twenty five years, that journey has produced music, artwork, events, relationships and experiences that extend far beyond the boundaries of any single scene.
As a living archive, Chinese Noise aims to preserve these stories while exploring how migration, heritage and creative expression continue to shape communities across generations. By bringing together documentary research, personal histories and underground culture, the project creates a space where overlooked experiences can be documented, shared and reinterpreted by future audiences.
06 Project Contributors
Follow the project.
Chinese Noise Archive