Chinese American Bear, the duo of Anne Tong and Bryce Barsten, today announce their new album Dim Sum & Then Some, due out May 8th via Moshi Moshi Records. The announcement arrives alongside the release of groovy, buoyant lead single "All The People (所有人)." The album is a positive and lighthearted collage of the duo's life together - exploring all the things they love: food, appreciating small joys, the Chinese-American upbringing, love, and fairy tales.
"All The People (所有人) is probably my favorite song on the album," Barsten says. "It’s so fun, light, cool, and a little weird. It’s a song for everyone. All the people. It has some fantasy vibes, musically and lyrically."
The track is also accompanied by a video directed by Barsten–he explains:
“The original idea for this music video was to build giant costumes for people to wear, but that quickly became too ambitious of an idea, haha. Then it dawned on me one day to use puppets! It'd still have that tactile/physical feeling, and I could have multiple characters. I made it in my parents basement actually, which feels hilarious to say. I felt like a little 12 year old gremlin, working every day in the depths of the basement.”
“The ‘La La’ characters are all stop motion, frame-by-frame, and then hand puppets are filmed live. I honestly didn't even write out a script or anything for this. I just knew I wanted the puppets singing in a theatre, I wanted the ‘La La’ characters to be like these goofy squads of backup singers, and I wanted puppets to shoot beams of light out of their mouths that turn into a heart for the final build of the song. I had like two tiny lights my dad gave me to light the puppets, but mostly just used the overhead lights in the basement. The whole thing is real DIY, like most things we make, but I put a lot of love and time into giving it life. I think with the coming of AI, it feels even better to make things like this. To be hunched over in my parents basement for hours, excited and inspired, using my hands, and brain.”
Tong expands on the inspiration behind the track: "When Bryce first showed me the sounds for 'All The People', it immediately reminded me of a fantastical setting with castles and fairies so I leaned in that direction with the lyrics. It was fun to write about a topic we hadn’t explored much before. I’ve written a lot on our favorite foods and Chinese culture but hadn’t explored much fantasy. We’re actually both huge fans of fantasy in general (Bryce puts on the Lord of the Rings movies at least twice a month in our household, it’s his comfort background noise). I also recently started getting into 'Romantasy' (A Court of Thorns and Roses, Fourth Wing, etc.) so I was also in that mindset."
The sounds on Dim Sum... are more musically dense and exploratory, marking a sonic evolution for the duo. The band finds themselves delving much further into experimental territory, while also incorporating more traditional pop elements than they ever have. There's a nice mix of sonics on this album, featuring warbly guitars, hints of psychedelia, pop, disco, and strings, while also incorporating synth driven, electronic, sounds, as well as droney, hypnotic elements. The LP is a true reflection of the Chinese American Bear ethos: open, curious, and lighthearted.
Chinese American Bear is a lighthearted and quirky mandopop duo from Seattle, creating fun & eclectic bilingual English/Chinese ear candy. Comprised of Anne Tong and Bryce Barsten, the married couple creates groovy, and infectiously fun tunes in their home studio together. Their sound, resulting from the intersection of Barsten's fondness for MGMT, The Flaming Lips, Pond, and Sly Stone, with Tong's classical piano training and love for all things pop (Taylor Swift, Jonas Brothers), have allowed them to carve out their own brand of indelible indie pop. They've earned tens of millions of streams, global acclaim, and have been featured in VOGUE+, Paste Magazine, Under the Radar, celebrated by BBC Radio and KEXP (#1 album), and spotlighted across major Spotify playlists including All New Indie, Indie’s Top 50, Fresh Finds (#1 cover track), Bedroom Pop, Chill Vibes, and more. They toured internationally with the release of their second album Wah!!! including 15 cities in China, multiple trips to the UK, dozens of festivals, and support for the pop star/internet phenomenon Poppy (USA), and Greer (USA). Their music has been featured in the film The Wedding Banquet, Apple TV series Platonic, EA’s new “Skate” video game, an Apple commercial, and more.
"All The People (所有人)" is out today via Moshi Moshi. |
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