Chinese American Bear, the duo of Anne Tong and Bryce Barsten, today have released their new single “No No Yeah Yeah (不不好啊好啊)” via Moshi Moshi Records. The rhythmic, infectious single is a sharp burst of blissful melodies and danceable rhythms, which sees the band continue with their trademark brand of indie pop.
“This song came about one day because we were joking about wanting to write a song using only ‘No’ and ‘Yeah,'” the band explains. “Can we make a song with such simple lyrics, be engaging and fun still? It felt like the ultimate test. We obviously failed because we added some other lyrics. haha. But it was fun writing with those constraints because it forced us to get creative with different melodies. It’s easier thinking of melodies when you don’t have to think about the lyrics, so it lent itself to that well. We came up with too many melodies in the end, and had to whittle it down. There are so many melodies and rhythms flying around all the No’s and Yeah’s. It feels jam packed, but the arrangement is sparse to help combat the busyness. Just a thumping bass synth, heavily processed drums, and some glittery stuff here and there. Bryce’s favorite part of the song is the little reverb’ed out bridge into the last verse. The chord progression changes for the last verse, just that once, and it’s really pretty for a moment, then transitions out of it quickly. Our next challenge will be to write a song with only one word!”
Chinese American Bear is a lighthearted and quirky mandopop duo from Seattle, creating fun & eclectic bilingual English/Chinese ear candy. Comprised of Anne Tong and Bryce Barsten, the married couple creates groovy, and “not too serious, food loving” tunes in their home studio together. Their sound, somewhere between Melody’s Echo Chamber, The B-52’s, The Flaming Lips, and a hypercolor cartoon, has earned tens of millions of streams and global acclaim. They’ve been featured in VOGUE+, Paste Magazine, Under the Radar, celebrated by BBC Radio and KEXP (#1 album), and spotlighted across major Spotify playlists including All New Indie, Indie’s Top 50, Fresh Finds (#1 cover track), Bedroom Pop, Chill Vibes, and more. They toured internationally with the release of their second album Wah!!! including 15 cities in China, multiple trips to the UK, dozens of festivals, and support for the pop star/internet phenomenon Poppy (USA), and Greer (USA). Their music has been featured in the film The Wedding Banquet, Apple TV series Platonic, EA’s new “Skate” video game, an Apple commercial, and more.
