Fresh off playing the Jade Music Fest in Asia, a Toronto-based indie folk musician has released his most Chinese-sounding single to date. Tennyson King 百城 blends four traditional Chinese instruments—the zhongruan, erhu, guzheng, and dizi—on “Big Mountain High (大山高)”. In a news release, the Hong Kong-born and Mississauga-raised musician reveals that he was inspired by the ancient guqin composition “High Mountains and Flowing Water”.
“It made me feel sadness and a sense of power at the same time,” King says.
In a video directed by Ewan Mac, King appears in front of a temple in an outfit designed by Fly By Knight. He strums his zhongruan once as the sounds of an erhu (two-stringed Chinese violin) suddenly fill the air with a melancholic, Chinese melody. The vocals that come next, however, are distinctly western at first. But then, the song erupts in a rousing chorus that takes listeners back to Asia in a crescendo of Chinese instrumentation.
“We wanted to take the traditional Chinese elements but keep a modern western folk pop style of production,” King explains. “Traditional Chinese music isn’t usually played to a metronome.
“The timing is more free because it’s about expression,” he continues. “We wanted to try and keep some of those elements and let the musicians play.”
Dan Hosh and King produced “Big Mountain High (大山高)”.
In the original ancient song, a working-class woodcutter and musician form a deep bond. So deep, in fact, that when the woodcutter dies, the musician refuses to pick up his instrument again. King’s song speaks of his reverence for his ancestors.
“The death of the woodcutter in this story reminded me of my father who passed and whom I never to got share any of my music with,” he states.
Chinese classical musicians featured
“Big Mountain High (大山高)” is the first single from King’s upcoming album, 100 Cities. It features Toronto-based Chinese classical musicians Lina Cao (guzheng), Amely Zhou (erhu), and Lipeng Wu (dizi), as well as a Peking Opera performance from Taiwanese singer I-Shuo Lin.
The Jade Music Fest in Asia took place from April 24 to 26 in Huashan 1914 Creative Park in Taipei. It encourages trans-Pacific collaborations between Canadian musicians and their Asian counterparts, often in multiple languages including English.
In the past, King has performed at the Glastonbury Music Festival and other Jade Music Fests in Vancouver. He has also toured Canada, Australia, China, and Japan. Earlier in his career as a professional musician, King wrote songs for his first album exclusively in English. However, in recent years, he has been injecting more Cantonese and Mandarin lyrics into his compositions. “Big Mountain High (大山高)” is his first song written with the intention of fusing traditional Chinese instruments with western folk music.
“ ‘Big Mountain High (大山高)’ is a symbol of strength, confidence, and taking up space,” King declares. “For the first time, I feel confident in who I am as a whole being with my culture and traditions, and am unafraid to take up space with my art.”
To learn more about Tennyson King, visit his website or follow him on Instagram @tennysonking. Learn more about the Jade Music Fest on its website. The Toronto Spark is on Bluesky @torontospark.bsky.social.
