Sunshine, Tears, and Disco

Anne Tong and Bryce Barsten of Chinese American Bear (华裔美国熊) started making music for fun, and three albums later, it’s clear that joy is still their top priority. Since 2019, the Seattle-based couple has made bouncy bilingual pop, sung in Mandarin and English, that has led them to gain an international audience. Their latest album, Dim Sum & Then Some, is an explosion of everything pure and good in this world: laughter, fantasy novels, true love, sweets, disco, sunshine, 2010s indie rock, and Chinese cuisine. Ahead of their show at Neumos this month, I talked with the duo about the new album, pop fandoms, and singing in Mandarin with pride.

What was the first song that you guys wrote together, as a band?
TONG: “小熊 (Little Bear),” from our first album. It was written back when we didn’t even know we were going to have an album or be a band. Bryce was playing around with new sounds at the time—it was totally experimental and DIY. It was my first time recording myself singing. It was actually used in a British TV show a couple of years ago called Extraordinary. We were like really?

BARSTEN: Yeah, I was just screwing around. I had just bought my first synthesizer. I was experimenting with different sounds, and Anne was teaching me Mandarin. It’s a really janky, chaotic song!

How did the “bear” theme start?
TONG: It’s honestly just a pet name we have had for each other for almost two decades. We’ve been together 18 years—we met in high school.

BARSTEN: And the band name actually came while we were listening to “Little Bear.” I’m convinced that I thought of it, and Anne is convinced that she thought of it, so it’s kind of a debate between us. I remember one of us shouting it as we listened to the finished song and danced around our room.

That kind of leads into my next question: What’s the best and hardest thing about making music with your significant other?
TONG: The best part is just being able to spend so much time together. If Bryce toured solo as much as we tour now, it would be really hard on me. We get to travel the world together, and it’s really fun to build something together. The worst part is that Bryce has been at this a lot longer than me—he’s been writing and recording music since he was like 12! I came upon this project when I was 30, so it’s a relatively new world to me. When he gets in the studio, Bryce is very serious. Outside of music, he is very chill, sensitive, and kind. Not that he’s not those things in the studio, but I see a different side to him… the work side.

[Turns to Barsten] You’re very focused and particular!

BARSTEN: Touring is definitely my favorite part. I’ve never even considered touring without her. We really ended up in the best-case scenario. The hardest part, which is maybe the flip side of this coin that Anne’s talking about, is that I’m used to working in the studio with band members who are so excited and enjoy working for long blocks of time. Because Anne doesn’t have as much experience in the studio, after 30 minutes, she’ll take a nap. She’ll be like, I’m tired. We’ve been here for a while. But really, it’s only been 30 minutes.

[Both laugh]

TONG: I’m still practicing the muscle of writing and being in a studio! Bryce can just keep going and going.

Can you share some of your influences on Dim Sum & Then Some?
TONG: We like to write about things that bring us simple joy. Any song that we write is probably influenced by what makes us happy, like what types of food we like to eat and the places we like to travel.

BARSTEN: Musically, we were listening to a lot of disco, like the Bee Gees and ABBA. ABBA is a big one—their melodies and production are so good. We were also influenced by bombastic electronic music, like MGMT. I’m a huge fan of their producer, Dave Fridmann. His production is pretty experimental—almost on the edge of being too much. We try not to take too many sounds from other bands, but rather take more of an ethos from bands and people like Dave Fridmann, who have a very experimental but pop-forward approach to music.

What is your relationship to modern pop music?
TONG: I’m a huge fan. I’ve always been a big fan of top-40 pop, but I especially love the girly pop that’s come out in the last few years, like Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan, and Olivia Rodrigo. The song “Forever Lover” on the new album is actually inspired by my lifelong obsession with Taylor Swift. I’m a huge Swiftie, and I’ve been begging Bryce the last few years to write me a song that sounds like a Taylor Swift song. “Forever Lover” was his response to it.

Do you think about these pop-girl personas when you’re onstage?
TONG: Yes, one thing that I’m inspired by about the pop girlies is just how dynamic they are on stage, especially Taylor Swift. She plays to stadiums of 70,000 people, but she makes you feel like she’s singing directly to you. I also appreciate how her fans have an understanding between each other. I want our fans to feel that, too. Oh, you’re a CAB fan, I know exactly what you’re about.

Have you guys met any extreme CAB fans? What do you think about Swiftie-style fan culture?
TONG: A couple came to a show in Atlanta and told us that they used our lyrics in their wedding vows. We were extremely touched by that. That, and we’ve definitely seen fans cry. Our fandom is really interesting because we’ve realized over the years that our music has mass appeal. When we first started this, I was like, Are only Asians gonna like this? Will others be able to relate to it? But we’ve found that non-Asian people really love the vibes. The songwriting brings people a lot of joy. And then, for the people who are Chinese or Asian, I’ve been told what brings them joy, and sometimes to tears, is the immigrant storytelling and hearing Chinese sung proudly. Growing up, a lot of us felt embarrassed about speaking Chinese in public with our parents. I’ve been told many times that our way of singing proudly and joyfully in Chinese is healing for their younger selves. I’ve cried with fans before. Those moments are really special. 

See Chinese American Bear at Neumos on Saturday, July 25, 8 pm, 21+.

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