Chapters

For Chapters, Fung has brought his two great loves together: music and Chinese poetry. Using famous Chinese poems as the lyrics, Fung produced eleven songs and called up collaborators like Chet Lam, Kelly Chen and Eason Chan to lend their voices. The result is an impressive attempt to truly bring east and west together, bringing old Chinese poetry alive with a modern sound that originated from the west.

Hearing well-known poems sung as song lyrics can be somewhat jarring, which is why listening to the music before looking at the poetry is essential for Chapters. All the songs on the album are composed and arranged by Alex himself, and he shows that he's a versatile musician with a very contemporary instinct. The styles range from the ballad-esque melody of "Drinking Wine" (Track 3, by Tao Yuanming, featuring Chochukmo) to the neo jazz flavor of "A Plum Blossom" (Track 5, by Li Qingzhao, featuring frequent collaborator Ivana Wong) to the dubstep rendition of Xu Zhimo's "Goodbye Cambridge" (Track 9, featuring Kelly Chen).

Chapters may also be seen as an odd academic experiment by those who find that the emotions in the poems don't necessarily match Alex's arrangements. This is especially the case in songs like "Bring in the Wine" (Track 4, by Li Bai) and "Goodbye Cambridge," in which the lyrics are so mismatched with the music that the lyrics sound as if they've been inserted as temp lyrics. On the other hand, Alex's arrangement for Huan Xi Sha (Track 8, by Nalan Xingde, featuring Eason Chan) and "Perhaps" (Track 10, by Wen Yiduo) are both very effective in conveying the emotion of the words.

Instead of focusing on the content of each poem itself, Chapters is about Alex discovering new ways to express these old works. One can call it a musical exercise for intellectuals or a modern musician in a jam session with poets from previous generations, and it's effective at both without alienating listeners. At just 36 minutes, Chapters may not always work, but at least it's consistently interesting and puts Alex Fung on the radar as a Hong Kong artist to watch out for in the coming future.