Brothers Henry and Roger Chung joined efforts with an array of world-renowned international artists to create a Canto-gospel album for charity – ‘Cantopop with a deeper message,’ as they put it.

How did you guys get into the music world?
Roger: There’s a story that my dad always tells everyone. When I was one-and-a-half years old, I could sing before I could talk. I still remember vividly singing Stevie Wonder’s I Just Called to Say I Love You. It’s one of my earliest memories.
Henry: Since I was little, I’ve been listening to many different types of music: Cantopop, oldies, rock’n’roll. I got into the blues when I went to the States when I was 15 years old, and that prompted me to get out and buy blues records: Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, you name it. And because of the blues I got into jazz and because of jazz I got into gospel. When I got back to Hong Kong, I wanted to contribute back to the culture here. I decided to pick up harmonica in 2000 and have been playing it ever since.

Why a harmonica?
H: Because it’s the cheapest instrument that could produce the best sound. I wanted to be thrifty, but still play with a band. I think I’ve picked the right instrument because I don’t think I can play anything else to be honest. I’m not talented enough to play anything else.
R: He’s just being humble and modest.
H: No, I’m just telling the truth.

And what is your instrument of choice, Roger?
R: Actually I kind of followed my brother, playing the piano, when I was five.
H: I’m classically trained too, but I’ve forgotten everything.
R: I cannot say that I’ve forgotten everything. I still know the basic skill, I can read and improvise. Before I went to the States, I was always criticized by my piano teacher for playing the piano in a very percussive manner, really loudly. Because of that, I was never really into the instrument. But when I got to the States, I asked my piano teacher there whether I really played that loud and she said, ‘No, it’s your style. Keep it, because that’s something unique to you. No one can play like you.’ And it started from there, and that’s when I got really into piano.

What’s the inspiration behind this collaboration?
H: Wow, many inspirations. The list goes on, from Martin Luther King Jr to the golden days of Canto-Christian-pop, and, of course, our friends. They all inspire us. But most of all, God inspires us. We want to create an album and we want to dedicate it to God and it is also our gift for Hong Kong people. Because I think at this time of challenges, it offers encouragement. We want to encourage people to not give up and really care for each other, care for society and love their neighbours.
R: It’s something special in Hong Kong because you haven’t really heard a lot of pop songs talking about societal values, about caring for others and world peace. Right now, Cantopop is pretty much karaoke songs, and we want to do something different.

How did you come up with the idea to collaborate?
R: We have been writing a lot of songs together. It all began when I entered a gospel song competition at my church, celebrating its 70th anniversary. I wrote one song and won [the competition], and that’s when I started writing more songs.
H: We have written about 40 songs now. But we wanted to pick
the best for the album, the crème of the crop. This is how the idea came about.
R: Actually, the others are also good. But we had to choose the combination of songs that would work for the album.

Which song has the most meaning to you?
R: Back to Heaven. It was written as a tribute to our grandmother, who passed away during the production. The arrangement was
only done with one voice and a piano. It has a very special meaning to me.
H: To Do Justly, To Love Mercy. It’s one of the first Canto-hip-hop songs to send a gospel message to the listeners. We are featuring Hou Shih Chieh who is probably the best erhu player in the country. The experience of working with her was amazing. She was so humble, even though she’s phenomenal. And I think it fits the lyrics of the song very well since it is about walking humbly with God.

Why did you call the album The Chimes?
R: The Chimes is actually a song’s title on the album and in Chinese it means ‘the sound of the Chung brothers’. So it’s a play on words. But there’s also a deeper meaning to it. When you hear the chimes, it will remind you of something: it’s time to care for each other, for family, for people you love, care for what’s going on around us and to let go of whatever burden you might have. That’s the chimes.

The Chimes is due to be released in July 2009.
For more information about the Chung Brothers and The Chimes, visit http://hkchimes.tdw.hk/