7 days ago
How this ex-rock vocalist created an AI to turn you into art
Hope in a guitar case
Tang's band name, Pandora, was no coincidence. 'I thought it was a beautiful thing,' Tang says. 'Though life is fraught with tragedy and struggle, one thing always remains: hope.'
With his bandmates, he brought different musical ideas into perfect pitch. Although their most popular song, Can You Give Me An Answer? , was a melancholic ballad, Tang admits he prefers uplifting music because he wants to offer hope to people, which aligns with the band's founding mission.
Above Hong Kong indie band Pandora performed its original music 'Can You Give Me An Answer?' in the final of the Parkland Top Band Competition 2012 (Video: Parkland Music)
Performing live was a transformative experience that shaped his confidence and taught him to be mindful—something he has carried into his business career. 'If I say, 'put your hands up', and no one does, that's fine,' he says. 'I learned not to let my actions depend on other people's reactions. I simply own it.'
The five-member band stayed together for about four years, performing at over 100 shows. They disbanded in 2014 but regrouped in 2017, led by one of the original members with a new line-up.
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After earning a master's in international management from the London School of Economics and Political Science in 2016, Tang spent several years working in consultancy and strategy roles. He quickly became disillusioned, especially in contrast to the passion he felt while performing on stage. 'Looking at numbers felt soulless,' he says.
So he asked himself a defining question: 'If I were to dedicate 100 per cent of my life to something with the goal of creating a lasting impact in this world, what would I want to create?' Through reflection, he found his north star: to build something that combined his three core passions of creativity, technology and business.
Above In 2022, organised an art show at the shopping mall K11 Musea in Hong Kong's Tsim Sha Tsui (Photo: Instagram/Kelvin Tang)
That clarity became the foundation for Tang's first concept was a global museum app that allowed users to browse and interact with content from a vast network of participating museums worldwide for free, serving as their source of inspiration . It never took off, as investors believed monetising it would be difficult.
Undeterred, he launched an AI-powered mobile app for an art marketplace in 2021 to help artists sell their physical and NFT (non-fungible token) works with fairer commissions. When the market for digital collectables cooled, Tang knew it was time to shift again.
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At one of its early projects, generated Van Gogh-style NFTs from user-submitted photos. The activation caught the attention of event sponsor HSBC, which later became first business-to-business client.
Over the years, the company created a wide range of personalised products for companies to engage with clients. It developed a suite of AI-powered photo booths that could 'generate branded art on the fly' unlike others in the market, which mostly relied on templates.
product development is driven by customer needs, using proprietary AI pipelines and agents. 'We only build stuff customers explicitly request or that we're sure they'll need soon,' he says. One day, Tang hopes, anyone could walk into a space, upload a photo, choose a style and walk out with a one-of-a-kind gift with its support.
Though Tang is now focused on scaling his generative AI business, the performer in him still lingers. 'Do I see myself performing again? Yes, I do,' he says. 'I love performing, I love the creative process, but I would like to make it synergistic with my company and my network of artists to deliver unique value to the audience.'
The mic may be down now, but the show is far from over.
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We asked Kelvin Tang a series of rapid-fire questions, covering topics from tattoos to favourite superpowers to get a glimpse into how his mind works.
You have several tattoos. What was your first and when did you get it?
Kelvin Tang (KT): It was at the end of Covid. I turned 30 in 2022 and looking in the mirror, I thought, 'If I don't have any tattoos, it's not me.' As a kid, whenever I played video games that let me customise my avatar, I'd always cover it in tattoos.
Now, whenever I travel somewhere meaningful, I get a tattoo to commemorate the experience and draw inspiration from it.
I wanted my first one done in Hong Kong. I asked myself, who would be the most iconic person to tattoo me here? I thought, 'How amazing would it be if the artist who tattooed David Beckham did it?' Beckham's one of my favourite footballers. So I reached out to the tattooist, who happens to be very involved in Buddhist philosophy, and told him I wanted something that symbolised Zen, a mindset of peace and calmness.
Do you plan first or act first?
KT: That ties back to my latest tattoo, Festina Lente. It was the motto of Augustus, the first Roman emperor. It means 'think thoroughly, act fast.' If you only act quickly, you make foolish decisions. If you overthink, you get stuck in analysis paralysis. Augustus knew the optimal approach was to think deeply and then move decisively.
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Above Tang and artist Danny Casale, also known as Coolman Coffeedan, at the K11 Art Mall in Shanghai (Photo: Instagram/Kelvin Tang)
Which artists would you like to give a shout-out to?
KT: I must shout out Coolman Coffeedan, Danny Casale. He's a good friend. Our friendship shows that beautiful, harmonious relationships can exist at a grassroots level between the US, Hong Kong, China and beyond.
If you could have one superpower, what would it be?
KT: Teleportation, without a doubt. I could pop in and out if I had a campaign in the US. If I want to visit friends in London, I can go there. It's a practical choice for now. If I had unlimited resources for a private jet, I would consider a different superpower altogether.
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