Khalil Fong(方大同) - JOURNEY TO THE WEST(西遊記) Album Thoughts(Mandopop)

Track
CD 1 - BLACK
01. 悟空
02. FLOW (方大同 / 王力宏)
03. 聽
04. 味道 (方大同 / Zion.T (瓇) / 沷 (Crush))
05. Ring Finger
06. NMW
07. 笑開
08. 夢蝴蝶
09. Love You So Much
10. 醉 (方大同 / 杭蓋樂隊)

CD 2 - GOLD
01. All Night (方大同 / 王詩安)
02. Right Girl
03. Run From Your Love
04. 煩
05. Once
06. 無所謂 (方大同 / 張靚穎)
07. 黑夜
08. 很不低調
09. 放不過自己
10. As I Do
11. 方大同 - 悟空2003demo

  We are back again with another Chinese artist thats been making listeners want to get grooving  with his music for years. He's know as Khalil Fong and he recently released his new album titled "JOURNEY TO THE WEST", the 9th album in his discography. Fong's diverse music style stems from his diverse background in which he was raised in. Being born in Hawaii then living back and forth between there, Shanghai and Gangzhou cause him to see the different sides to the world outside of Chinese life. His music ranges from soul/funk/hiphop/rap/pop/ with a hint of traditional chinese musical influence. Even to this day Fong's music continues to mold and inspire a new generation of musicians in China. "JOURNEY TO THE WEST"pays homage to the Chinese story of the monkey king, Sun Wukong; that Fong loved so much as a child. The titles also represents Fong's desire to merge music from places all over the world. 

  I religiously began listening to Khalil Fong's music after his Wonderland era. Some music videos came up in the suggestion box on youtube when I was watching Wang Lee Hom music videos. I'm always clicking on random videos and I'm glad that I did because Khalil is an artist that you don't want to pass up on. Soul melodies are what hooked me instantly. Then I sought out his latest album and the rest is written in the stars. "JOURNEY TO THE WEST" got me wondering what this album was going to be about. Fong hopped record labels not one but two times before finally establishing his own label. The track "FLOW" was released some time later as a single. My mind was blown because I'm a HUGE Wang Lee Hom fan and this collaboration was too much for my mind to take in. "FLOW" seems like a track that isn't Khalil's or Lee Hom's; just a track that they both could perform solo. Its hard to tell who is who according to vocals because both singers do a such a good job harmonizing together. beginning with a traditional Chinese sound that plays all the way through the track in the background as a hip hop beat is layered over top of it. Electric Guitars that come in during the middle of the track are genius. It like an orchestra that brings out the track at maximum strength. Fong also hires quite a few female singers to feature on the album along with Korean indie singers Zion T and Crush. The album comes as a double disc where black is more modern style and Gold is a laid back older feel. I listened to both discs together without stopping and I honestly couldn't tell the difference between the music style concepts for both discs. The whole product just feels like a normal Khalil Fong album with a few nips and tucks here and there. "JOURNEY TO THE WEST" really sounds like an old school motown record only it was recorded by an asian guy. If Steve Wonder got a chance to hear the GOLD side of the album, I'm sure he would have plopped Fong right up on stage with him to sing a duet.(If this hasn't already happened.) This disc can't be anymore heartfelt and emotional than it already is. Fong takes what he has already mastered as an artist and crafted it some more to create RnB ballads that contain lyrics for the heart. He definitely can write some great lyrics that speak about world unity and the steps you take in life to achieve happiness. One new trait that I notice about his lyrics is that they seem to touch more sensual topics. Tracks like "Ring Finger" talks about a man who is married while lusting after another women. "Once" stands out lyrically and style wise with Fong getting aid from a choir as he sings about only having one chance to spread love to another. No matter their race or if you know them or not. This track spoke volumes to me as I believe love to be a universal concept. Other production of the album had Fong pulling out all the tricks to differ his music from everyone else. I love that he tried to feature different instrumental sounds like Guitars, Violins, Piano, and we can forget that he knows how to DROP THAT DAMN BEAT! The BLACK part of the album is a great representation of this. I started the album sitting down but was doing the two step around the house by the time the album was almost finished. My biggest problem with this album was that some tracks sound similar to each other because of tracks with similar styles being so close to each other. A few tracks felt like one big track and I didn't even know that a new song had started playing until I looked at the title. I'm also not a big fans of his ballads with a few exceptions of course. They sound too similar in melody for me.

   Khalil Fong sings like he was born outside of China. I can tell most of the time when a singer was born else where either by the way their music sounds and their accent while speaking Chinese.(Lee Hom had a problem with this some years ago.) Fong got soul! I'm not talking about that fake soul that people try to have by listening to a lot of Soul/RnB music. He genuinely has soul in his genes like he ate a black person. Soul is a music form that African Americans(black people) gave to this world willingly and unwillingly. It was originally create out of our suppression as a way to express our feelings for freedom as human beings. Rap/Hip-hop/Funk etc also fall into this same category. The whole feel is about where your heart is when your singing. Many people think its about singing a lot of vocal runs at the right time but your wrong. You sing vocal runs when you FEEL it not because you think it sounds cool. Fong gives me the impression that he loves RnB Funk Soul and he understands the history of where this music came from. There's a respect and to top it all off he's using soul to promote world unity, something Martin Luther King and the civil rights leaders wanted for this world. Everyone to have equal rights regardless of the color of their skin. The way he sings is just has this swagger grove to it that makes me think "This guy is the man." 

"JOURNEY TO THE WEST" took Khalil Fong two years to complete. With 21 tracks altogether, you know fans should be more than please with the new variety of songs. It was amazing how four different languages made an appearance on this album without upsetting the balance. I'm so proud of him for standing up for his own artistic vision and I wish him luck with his dream. Now to find a way to see him in concert one of these days.......