It's a move forward, but not detached from where we were. We have a pretty identifiable sound, so we wanted to evolve it but not lose track of where we came from.

There were some of our fans who really caught on in the early years and were really attached to that sound. It just took a little bit of time to sink in ... and a lot of those people are now digging it. We certainly have a lot of crossover appeal with our sound. But we're very much true to our art.

Elliot was really in a period where he was writing a lot ... feeling the inspiration. It was really hitting with us, feeling like he was pushing the next evolution of the band. The eight of us are a collective, but Elliot stepped up to the plate with a bunch of material that was really progressive.

Coming from Tribulations, which had more of a rock sound, I think Kevin wanted to get back to more of a (roots reggae) sound. A lot of the early '60s and '70s Jamaican music based itself off the Motown sound, and that was the big thing for Kevin: the vocal harmony and the composition.

First and foremost it's the size, the market cap of these Chinese companies. The magic number here in Singapore is $300 million (US$185 million). If the market cap is lower than that, most funds will usually stay away.

It can be grueling at times because you have to be meticulous about everything.