Son of James’ new single “Come On” is oh so careening and funky that you’d have a hard time believing what’s making that gritty, swaggering sound is a delicate Chinese instrument. Especially with bandleader Shon Wong’s whiskey-soaked commands to “Come on!” harkening back to James Brown’s “Get on up!”
Listen on Spotify here: open.spotify.com/album/0NC6hm1WWRMjkbShMEI3cr
But when you listen again, you hear it – a Guzheng (Chinese harp) in the intro, and the sound transcends its genre to become something entirely magnetic and magical.
“The Chinese have such beautiful instruments that pierce your heart, rip through your soul and give you goosebumps,” Wong explains. “These instruments are the key ingredients to a Chinese Canadian sound that I am creating. A blend of funk, rock and soul – a sound I call ‘Chynatruckerfunk.’ Only with music of our own can we truly celebrate our identity.”