"I hope to use this song
 To wash out the bitterness in my heart
 To call out my remembrance of you
 Holding back tears, I wish you happiness."
        --"Wishing You Happiness", Ka Keung

For a long while, Beyond mourned the passing of Ka Kui in silence.  They
were nowhere to be found.  They chose not to respond to most interviews.  
They just kept to themselves, and let time do its thing.

Then, late in the year, the band came out and performed at a concert
specifically for aspiring and successful original artists.  They accepted
an interview from one of the major magazines.  And yes, it was confirmed
that they would be putting out a new release as a band in the new year.

The publisher would be Rock Records, the company they had dealt with
during their stint in Taiwan earlier in the year.

In this release, "2 Lau Hou Jor/2F Rear Flat", the style that they had
forged originally was not as heavily used; rather, this CD was more of a
therapeutic release, something which would help them, and their fans,
confirm that they were still as a band, and to release those sad feelings
of losing someone as loved as Ka Kui.  Most importantly to note is the
song "There is Always Love", which is a song of gratitude to the fans who
have stuck by Beyond through thick and thin.

Soon afterwards, their contract with Amuse was coming to an end.  Beyond
chose not to renew it; rather, they decided to go independant.  With this
independance, they would be able to write whatever they wanted to, with
no cares about having to bow down to any market.  And their label of
choice: Rock Records.

As time went by, and old wounds slowly healed, Beyond put together
another release: one in their proclaimed "one release a year" program.  
They had chosen to follow this plan because the previous years had been
just too hectic to them, and especially since they felt that life was worth
living.  Through this, they didn't have to worry about doing silly
small-talk promotions on TVB, and they didn't have to rush their song
writing (resulting in better songs, since rushed songs lead to a
tendancy to create a "formula").  The release they put out in mid-1995 was
"Sound", a release that was almost as punk as their debut tape (yet still
somewhat "mainstream").  They followed this up in March, 1996, with their
EP "Beyond duk Jing Choi".

In a sense, the passing of Ka Kui was a new beginning for the band.  They
were finally able to dissociate with any managing companies that cared
only about the numbers at the bottom of their financial statements.  They
had the freedom to write the songs they wanted to, sign the labels they
wanted to, and most importantly, make the facilities in their band room
to become a full-force recording studio for aspiring bands as well as for
themselves.  Yet, the hard work of Ka Kui is not to be put aside, and
will never be forgotten.  As Ka Keung mentioned in their concert in Hung
Hom Stadium in May, "Beyond will always be a 4-person band".

Ka Kui, rest in peace.  We miss you, and will always remember you.

-E

--
Edmund "Ead" Gin, e...@unixg.ubc.ca, e5c...@ugrad.cs.ubc.ca
Undergraduate Student, Department of Chemical Engineering
An Eaditor of _The_nEUSpayper_ (an Offishul Publikayshun of UBC's EUS),
EUS Publicity Representative, EUS Editorial Board Chairperson, and
creator/maintainer of the EUS homepage, http://www.ee.ubc.ca/~eus
(Check the header or finger e...@unixg.ubc.ca for my Geek Code! :) )