Barry Szeto: Making the Rounds, Making it Big? at Schema : more than ethnic

Breaking into the New Year is pop/R&B sensation and BC native Barry Szeto. With his first self-titled album due to be released late this spring at the iTunes store, Szeto is one of many Asians trying to break into the western music industry.

Experimenting with different genres including Reggae, Reggaeton (a Latin inspired genre) and Hip Hop, his smooth and soulful voice makes his style one of a kind.

This past December, 2008, I had a chance to catch up with Szeto at a local bubble tea cafe in Richmond Hill, Ontario. He was very nonchalant when he greeted me - like we were old friends. His black hair was carefully spiked to a peak, and I knew this young man was serious about getting into the music industry when I saw a silver chain draped around his neck holding a classic cassette tape pendent - reminiscent of the real ones from back in the day.

After ordering some food and our green tea, he slowly began telling me about his journey into the western music scene.

"I'm trying to get [Asians and non-Asians] to like me as an artist, period," Szeto said. "I don't really want to let the whole Asian thing get in the way, because this is all about music at the end - it's about making them dance."

At the age of three, he and his family moved to Scarborough, Ontario. The schools he attended were streaming with hip-hop, R&B, and Reggae tunes. As a result, his biggest influence include Boys II Men, Mariah Carey, TLC, Brian McKnight, and Paula Abdul.

"I like to experiment with different genres and I don't think any Asians have experimented with Reggaeton except for Che'Nelle," Szeto said. Che'Nelle, a successful Asian sing/songwriter, born in Malaysia and raised in Australia, gained international attention shortly after uploading her demo onto MySpace, a popular social-networking website. Her debut album Things Happen for a Reason with Capitol Records was released in September 2007.

"It's all about MySpace and Facebook," he said. Like Che'Nelle, he's used it to upload his songs, list his next gigs, and post news updates. Today, these free social-networking sites have allowed up-and-coming artists to self-promote.

He also started his own website, barryszeto.com, where listeners can have a sneak peak of his song, This is our Night, which made it on ThatRadio.com's Top 30 charts.

Over the past two decades, North America has seen many Asians trying to break into the western music scene. Aside from Che'Nelle, Jin Au-Yeung (aka MC Jin) was the first Asian-American solo rapper signed by a major record label. Torontonian George Nozuka, R&B/Soul sexy vocal talent, debuted in his album Believe in 2006.

While some like Nozuka succeed, others don't. For instance, North America has seen Coco Lee, a Hong Kong native, come and go. Even after receiving international recognition for singing A Love Before Time for the movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon a the 73rd Academy Awards ceremony, the lack of regular radio airplay was one reason that slowed her success in the English music industry.

Taking a sip of his green apple green tea, Szeto looks up with a sigh and assured me this industry really is tough to break into - not only for Asians, but for anyone regardless of race, gender, or age. "Music is very subjective. You can't expect everyone to like your music."

Starting from the tender age of seven, he learned to play the piano, guitar, and violin. By the age of thirteen, he was writing his own songs. In 1998, he competed with Fefe Dobson (an Island/Def Jam recording artist) at the Apollo Nite talent show. He was also a finalist on Toronto's KISS 92.5 FM's Talent Search. In 2000, he competed on Today's Talent Time, a Canadian version of Star Search, and received second place.

Like many artists before him, he has spent the last couple years picking up small gigs around town and sending his demo CD to different record labels. As Coco Lee and the many artists before her have shown, it's about getting your music heard - a journey with many ups and downs. Szeto even stopped singing at nineteen, and only recently got back into gear.

"You get to the point where you get a little discouraged, you're like okay, this is impossible. So, I really took those few years to just find out who I am as an artist, as a person, a young man, and to be comfortable in my own skin. So, now I'm older and now I can express myself better in writing and performing as an artist."

While this is a steep learning process, he is not short of support from his biggest fans - hist mother and two sisters, Verna and Susan.

At this point, I finally had the courage to ask him the one question that many Asians must be wondering: "What did you parents say?" I was pleasantly surprised at how down-to-earth and open he was with his answer.

"The typical Chinese family will not accept it. But you know what though? My parents are separated. I live with my mom right now and she's been nothing but supportive. She would drive in the middle of the night to pick me up downtown or out of town, and she's always been supportive of me recording. As long as she sees how happy I am with what I'm doing right now, that makes her happy, and that's what a real mom, a real parent should do."

Just recently, he teamed up with Simon Bader, producer/sound engineer, from Massive Sound Productions to record his first full-length album.

His self-titled debut aims to showcase his vocal and writing talents. His ambition to experiment with different genres makes him unique and this album dynamic.

"There's a song that can relate to everyone," he said.

Although this is a long process, his strong determination and efforts are paying off. ThatRadio.com was the first to pick him up in 2008, and others have followed suit. Today, his songs This is Our Night and All Night Long is on rotation on ThatRadio.com along with three interviews on The Blu Show, La Cultura, and And the Beat Goes On.

Schema Magazine

Barry Szeto: Making the Rounds, Making it Big?

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