Chinese American Bear is the project of married musicians Anne Tong and Bryce Barsten. Both parts Teletubbies and The Soft Bulletin, Chinese American Bear have crafted their own strain of bubbly indie pop – all glimmer, no filler. They are in the process of releasing singles for their upcoming LP, Dim Sum & Then Some (out May 8), with their latest release being the funky ‘Mama’ (out now!). And to top it all off, a North American/European tour that stops off for a few dates in the UK. I asked Tong and Barsten ten questions to fathom the hunger behind their multicultural flavour.
THE ARGUS FAR FIVE
How would you describe the sound of Chinese American Bear?
Bryce:
Experimental, playful, and warm. Funky, groovy, and positive. Cute, psychedelic, and fuzzy.
Anne:
Playful, light-hearted, fun, happy, cute.
What are your biggest non-music influences?
Bryce:
Anne. She has a childlikeness to her, her humour, her demeanor. It’s one of my favorite things about her, and it inspires me to be more silly, and to laugh more.
Anne:
My childhood and immigrant experiences. I’m really proud of my Chinese-American background and love honoring and remembering my childhood in our music. That includes Chinese food, growing up with strict immigrant parents, and having fun with the Chinese language.
If you had to cover any song and put a Chinese American Bear spin on it, which would you choose?
Bryce:
The Beatles’ ‘Let It Be’ or ‘Hey Jude’. Or Britney’s ‘Hit Me Baby One More Time’. Or The Killers ‘Mr Brightside’. Would be fun!
What is your earliest memory of music?
Anne:
Starting violin lessons when I was five years old. I remember really wanting to learn music and enjoying learning about music theory but I really disliked playing violin. I hated practicing. So I quit violin a year later when I was six. I later started piano lessons when I was eight years old and never looked back.
Bryce:
Sitting at the piano for my first lesson when I was seven or eight. I don’t remember actively listening to music before then, only by proximity to my parents, or radio, but I was fascinated by making sounds, and playing things as fast as I could. My first teacher was a jazz guy, but my parents hired him to teach me classical. Week by week, the classical lessons lessened, and the jazz lessons became more frequent. I never really became a jazz pianist, or got good. But the improv side is when & where I fell in love with writing. You know, sitting down at the piano and just playing. Not thinking, or learning, or reading music. Just playing around.
I do remember hearing The Postal Service’s ‘Such Great Heights’, though, in middle school, and I think that was the first time I felt completely enveloped in music. Enamoured and entranced. I remember staring out the window of the car, it was dark. It felt religious.
What does the rest of 2026 have in store for Chinese American Bear?
Bryce:
Lots of touring! We’re releasing our album Dim Sum & Then Some on May 8, and then heading to Europe that month. Then we’re touring the USA in June/July, and back to Europe in August and September. Playing some fun festivals like London Calling, Reeperbahn, this amazing festival is Sicily called Ypsigrock. Maybe/hopefully Asia in spring 2027. Hoping to add Jimmy Kimmel to that list, or a Taco Bell sponsor. Preferably the latter.
Anne:
Or a Panda Express sponsor!
THE CHINESE AMERICAN BEAR FIVE
Your upcoming LP is titled Dim Sum & Then Some. How important is food as an inspiration?
Anne:
Very important! Food has been a major source of inspiration for all of our albums. For our upcoming LP in particular, there’s one song called ‘Mama’ that’s about my mom calling out, “it’s time to eat.” Mealtimes are a very important part of Chinese culture and typically when a meal is cooked and ready to eat, moms will yell the phrase ‘chi fan le’, which literally translates to ‘it’s time to eat!’ And every Chinese kid knows that moms hate it when you’re late to the meal table, so you better run to the table the first time ‘chi fan le’ is yelled out or you risk an even louder shout (and a possible reprimand) the second time.
How do you decide which bits to sing in each language?
Anne:
We don’t have a hard-and-fast rule but we typically try to write verses in Chinese and choruses in English because people like singing along to choruses and we figured it’s easier for a western audience to sing along to an English chorus. Again though, it’s not a super strict rule and we break it all the time.
Bryce:
Yeah, whatever feels right in the end trumps any soft rules we’ve made.
How is it to make music with your spouse?
Bryce:
It’s fun, and pretty easy for the most part. I think a huge advantage we have is communication. Because we’ve been together for 18 years, we don’t have to beat around the bush on anything. Our communication is just really direct, and we arrive at conclusions quickly that way. We don’t take things personally, and just like in normal life communication, we know there is love at the bottom of everything. We also have pretty separate roles. We’ve definitely had comments like, “How can you work with your partner, that’s crazy! I could never.” I think we’ve also just collaborated on so many other things, for so long. Like life things. Cooking together, planning trips together, taxes (terrible!), etc., we just work well together. Of course we get into tiffs here and there, like Anne has about one good hour of work in her before she gets sleepy. Hahaha. While I can work for five hours straight. So that can be contentious!!
Anne:
I second everything Bryce said. I would add that it’s really fun to tour with your spouse! If this was only Bryce’s project for example, I would definitely feel sad about him spending weeks away from me on the road. So it’s fun to be in a band together because we get to travel the world together!
You’re touring the UK this May, and you’ve already played here many times before. What’s been your favourite thing about the UK?
Anne:
I love your history! I’m a huge history nerd. The United States is such a young country compared with most places in the world. Most places in the US are only a few hundred years old. I love exploring the UK’s historical museums and sites and learning about your much longer history.
Bryce:
I love your Indian food. I love your accents, and pub culture. I also love the red bus, and your parks. And your authors. London might be my favorite city, though it’s the place we’ve spent the most time.
What was the inspiration behind the video for your latest single, ‘Mama’?
Bryce: Superbad. 70s disco. Dancing that is ‘lame’ haha.
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