Ahead of his concert with Diana Wang under the Big Top at the Great European Carnival bc magazine spoke to musician and entrepreneur Khalil Fong. The singer-songwriter and producer, who started his own label Fu Music a couple of years ago, is renowned for his innovative style onstage and off.
Who is Khalil Fong today? How would you describe yourself… musician, entrepreneur? Musically how do you think your sound has evolved over the years?
I started off introducing the genre of soul and R&B to the mandarin market. Eventually I adapted a more eclectic and experimental mentality. Nothing too unusual or avant garde but just about reflecting my personal background and experiences in life and music. I guess you could say I’m one of the people in the industry trying to break boundaries and promote creativity.
Growing up who were the artists you listened to, inspired you and why? Who do you listen to now?
In my younger years I would listen to Ritchie Valens, Buddy Holly, John Lee Hooker, Fats Domino, Charles Brown, Eric Clapton, Eddie Jefferson, Chet Baker, John Coltrane, Ivan Lins, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Stevie Wonder, EWF, James Brown, Little Richard, Elvis, Jimi Hendrix, MJ, Prince, Bill Evans, Steely Dan, Boyz II Men, Babyface, D’Angelo, Musiq Soulchild, N.E.R.D to name a few. These days I listen to Haim, Frank Ocean, Childish Gambino, John Mayer, Gary Clarke Jr., Chris Dave, Robert Glasper and the list goes on.
Of the many songs you’ve written what is your favourite and why? Which song would you most like to cover?
Don’t really have a favorite song. I enjoy the experience of making music but I never enjoy listening to my own music since I’m heavily involved in the production and arranging of it all, there are no surprises left in it for me. I’d much rather listen to someone else’s material. There are an array of songs I’d love to cover someday. I have always had a plan to release an album of jazz standards later on.
You were fairly prolific in releasing songs and albums (and concerts) in the early part of your career, but they’ve dried up recently with almost nothing for two years. Why’s that?
I have maintained an average of releasing an album about every 1-2 years. The last LP, Journey To The West, was released at the end of 2016. It was a double album of 20 plus songs that marked the start of a temporary hiatus from releasing full albums of original material. I had just established my own label Fu Music and wanted to focus on fostering our own artists. For the past year and a half I have been working on Diana Wang’s second LP which was just released in November. She herself is a talented songwriter and we worked closely on her album with two of the other producers within Fu Music, Derrick Sepnio and Fergus Chow. She is a Dutch born Chinese who like me grew up with a passion for R&B music and through her latest album you can hear where we are going with Chinese R&B and the fusion of different schools of thought.
Do you see the Fringe Backer campaign as a success or failure? You were targeting $10m but after two years you’ve been backed for barely $350,000?
I went in to it with a totally experimental mentality. I thought well, Jessica Alba gave it a try as well as a few others and why not have a go at it. I thought it would be a fun way to celebrate and announce that I was starting my own label. If I got the funding, great, if not at least I tried. In some ways it would have been romantic if all the fans and music lovers hopped on board and made it easier for me to accomplish my label goals but I’m also a realist so I never had any expectations. I do want to thank the fans that believed in the project and supported it to the best of their abilities. In case anyone is wondering, that campaign ended long ago. As for my label, nothing is too easy and nothing is too difficult to accomplish but I think in the last year, it’s obvious to people that we are serious about what we are doing.
Do you think the relatively small amount of backing relative to your target shows a lack of appreciation for your music, or a lack of confidence in the viability of the business?
At the end of the day, not everyone who loves listening to music are passionate about making music or are aware of the current challenges that face artists and musicians. I ask myself everyday, why am I still in this business that is suffering in so many ways? Because it’s my passion and it is what I believe in.
Is writing new songs a very organic process with the music and lyrics coming together smoothly or do you find one easier than the other?
Writing and producing, is just like being in the kitchen. If you enjoy it, it’s rewarding, if you don’t it can be taxing and tedious. I enjoy both songwriting and cooking. I don’t write all of my lyrics as it is a common practice for Chinese music that there will be a designated lyricist for the task. Chinese lyrics are much more poetic and sometimes require more finesse than English.
Have you found the creative process easier or harder since you set up FU Music? Can you truly release what you want as you aspired when you set the company or are you even more commercially sensitive about what you release?
Definitely easier. I want every artist or producer at Fu Music to collaborate and contribute their own ideas and be a part of creating the Fu brand.
Live, will the songs be much as you recorded them, or are they written and structured to be open for interpretation live?
It really depends. There is no rule of thumb but often times the live versions are upgraded for a more colorful interpretation on stage.
With music having fully embraced digital distribution do you get the same sense of completion from releasing a digital only release, or is there a more satisfying feeling from having a physical release in your hand and seeing people buy a cd/cassette of your music?
I will always love the thought of buying the latest record in a record store. However, as traditional as I am in that sense, I am absolutely aware of the implications and the actual reality of where things are headed. My only hope is that digital can evolve to be a more sustainable model for the music creators. Every album I have listened to in recent years is an album I have purchased digitally.
What can readers and fans expect from you show in the Big Top?
Khalil Fong x Diana Wang and a unique carnival experience.
You can listen and follow to Kahlil Fong here:
facebook: www.facebook.com/soulboykhalilfong
instagram: www.instagram.com/soulboykhalilfong
website: https://fu-music.com/ http://khalilfong.com/en/
Khalil Fong & Diana Wang
BillBoard Radio Live in Hong Kong
Date: 8pm, 20 January, 2018
Venue: Central Harbourfront
Tickets: $850, $750 from HKTicketing