Hong Kong-based singer-songwriter Fong Da-tong promotes his new album, 15, in Shanghai. Huang Cheng / For China Daily

Khalil Fong Da-tong has always stood out in the Chinese music scene. The Hong Kong-based singer-songwriter specializes in soul music, a genre that is unfamiliar to most Chinese fans of music, and almost never sings in Cantonese. But he is acclaimed not just by fans, but also by critics. The talented musician wows his listeners once again with his sixth album, 15.

"This energetic album has been as much a challenge for me as it is for listeners used to my previous romantic songs," says the Hawaii-born artist at a press conference to promote the new album in Shanghai.

He was 15 when he started to learn the guitar all by himself. Two years later, he took up the piano to develop his songwriting and production skills, and his guitar playing took the back seat. In the introduction to his latest album, he says he is "revisiting one of his earlier encounters with the guitar".

Fong says he has long wanted to introduce blues in his album, a style which is not widely accepted in the Chinese music scene. "Few people understand that blues and gospel are the origin of R&B and soul," he says.

He spent months re-listening to his idols, such as Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, B.B. King, as well as some of the younger ones such as John Mayer.

Much of his inspiration for his songs, he says, comes from the news and movies. For instance, one of the numbers in the new album, Friends Without Mushrooms, tells the story of a report that appeared in an American newspaper.

"A group of friends had taken magic mushrooms, a kind of drug. One of them, who became mentally aggravated because of its hallucinatory effects, thought his friend was a demon and brutally killed him and another girl in midst of a struggle," he recalls. "Just two months after this incident, another almost identical one occurred in Asia."

He uses almost childlike folk guitar to form a strong contrast with the dark subject. He even plays the harmonica with the guitar, in a homage to Bob Dylan, one of his idols.

"This news seemed like such a ridiculous joke to me that people could actually stoop so low in a time when we should be focusing our energies on positive accomplishments," he says.

He says that he also plans to write a song about drunk driving, another widely focused social issue.

Fong says his songs aim to foster positive attitudes. His new album, for which he teams up with two of his friends, a drummer and a bass player, explores justice, courage and self-transformation.

His upcoming concert tour will start in Hong Kong in August.

The 28-year-old, who is still single, jokes that the guitar is his wife. When he suffered from a collapsed lung last August and had to stay at home for three months, he spent most of his time improving his guitar skills. On recovery, he set himself a punishing pace of at least 18 hours in the studio every day for six months, making the skinny singer even thinner.

But his hard work and talent have not been in vain. The new album topped the overall chart in HMV Hong Kong for two consecutive weeks by number of CDs sold. "But I don't care too much about sales volumes. To me, the recognition of my listeners is more important," he says.

"I hope I can continue to introduce the great music that has inspired me, to those who I inspire. It'll be great if some of my listeners pick up the guitar, drum or bass after listening to the new album," Fong says.