Album Review: Yi Sung Yol – V

Release: May 23, 2013
Producer/Distributor: Fluxus Music/KT Music
Genre: Rock, post-rock
Reviewer Rating:

We will be interviewing Yi Sung Yol later this month as he performs at the London K-Music Festival! Additional details here.

The change occurred around Why We Fail (2011). That was a plenty difficult album already, not only to write about but just to try and comprehend.Yi Sung Yol threw off the restrictions of ballad and rock, blues and folk; instead he embarked to tell a massive spiritual narrative, embracing memorable melodies and abstract soundscapes alike as but tools. The result was an album unlike any other – an enduring milestone in both storytelling and meaning.

V (it’s his fourth and not fifth album, by the way) doesn’t bother with narrative: this time, the focus is on sound and what that does to people. We often say artists “use sound to tell a story”, but that’s not quite appropriate here – the object is musical composition, chaos and order itself, and whatever is evoked in the listener is purely visceral. He doesn’t completely eschew lyrics, like a post-rock band might, but in many tracks they are much too cryptic for us to believe that Yi intended for them to be interpreted literally.

The album is drawn in broad strokes. There are many devices that are designed to stand out at the forefront: a French excerpt of Camus’ The Stranger found in Minotaur, extensive usage of đàn bầu in the first half of the album, exotic and sometimes ritualistic utterances, and Satin Camel‘s dreamy guitar outro are all easy to characterize as hallmarks of high art, if we are to make such distinctions. The devices are tremendously effective, of course: the narrations and gutturals build stormy atmosphere, and Le Hoai Phuong‘s performance in We Are Dying could not have conveyed insecurity and discomfort any better.

These are also usually the same elements that make an album inaccessible. And yes, you won’t exactly be rocking out to V anytime soon. The songs are long (most range from six to ten minutes), and the melodies are not catchy and do not stick very well – you can’t expect a melody like 시간의 끝 (The End of Time)‘s (2007) to return, but Yi doesn’t even give us anything on the order of Why We Fail. But it’s also not as difficult as you might imagine. By essentially eliminating the role of lyrics and concentrating intensively on the most effective way to deliver sound, the album has a way of bringing the experience to the listener. Minotaur is the best example: driving guitars, constantly shifting riffs, and ceaseless cadence simultaneously keep the track marching ahead and give us more than enough sound to engage with. Fear turns down the energy and extracts a sense of longing amidst struggle with effortless piano and ambiance. It doesn’t take a lot beyond your full and undivided attention to soak in this album.

V not only brings the experience to you, it also packages it in a different way. According to the artist, six of the tracks here were recorded live at Café Veloso with the full band in one take. With no track splicing and no post-production, instruments blend together and infringe upon each other in a way you’re not supposed to hear in studio albums. Here’s an easy comparison: listen to the two renditions of Who?. The Veloso version is noticeably more muted, the acoustic strokes lacking the sharp edges and separation present in the studio version (which was also recorded full-band in one take) but with more scale and echo. There’s a raw feel to these live tracks that make them come alive.

It’s awfully rare for established artists to change the philosophy of their music, but Yi has struck boldly – and hit gold. V gives us a lot of tough emotions, from desolation to confusion to inevitability, but Yi Sung-yol’s treatment overlays a certain carefree attitude on top of it all. It’s as if the album is a long dream: it deals with things that are just outside the grasp of comprehension, launches nightmarish attacks, shows visions of indescribable beauty… and then you wake up, secure in the knowledge that it’s but a grand display. V doesn’t come together as perfectly as Why We Fail did – an album like this never does – but its daydream is a lot more fantastical and a lot more sensual than that album’s transformative tale of apocalypse and healing. Two masterpieces now adorn Yi’s career, and they couldn’t be more different from each other.

Tracklist (recommended tracks listed in bold)

1. Minotaur
2. We Are Dying
3. Who? (Veloso Live)
4. 개가 되고 (Dog Etc.)
5. Satin Camel (바다였던) (Ocean Once)
6. Fear (Don’t Let It Get the Best of You Darling)
7. Who? (Fluxus Studio Live)
8. Secretly (Wouldn’t You Like to Know…) – Originally 솔직히 (Secretly) from Why We Fail (2011)
9. Bluey – Featuring Jang Pil-soon
10. Cynic

Note: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely of the reviewer and not of hellokpop as a whole.

Agree or disagree? Or have a recent release that you’d like to see reviewed? Let us know with your comments below! Requested albums will be considered each week and may be selected to be reviewed in the subsequent week.

Sources: Photo – Daum Music; fluxus on YouTube (additional videos for Fear, Bluey, and Cynic available on channel)

Album Review: Clazziquai Project – Blessed

Release: February 5, 2013
Producer/Distributor: Fluxus Music/Yedang Company
Genre: Electronica
Reviewer Rating:

If you start out at the top, where further do you go? That’s basically the question Clazziquai Project was faced with after the pathbreaking debut of Instant Pig (2004). The project-turned-group has had its ups and downs since then, but throughout all that, it’s never really relinquished the title of Korea’s premier electronic team. DJ Clazzi is one of the most consistently reliable producers in the business; the group’s vocalists are peerless in their style of electronica and house. At this point, a bad album would come as a shock. Blessed is no such shock; The beats are as vibrant, the instrumentation as rich, and the finesse as apparent as ever.

As always, the album’s weight lies in the laid-back lounge and soft electropop. Blessed and Sweetest Name are familiar in their fuzzy electric piano, warm overtones, and repetition-minded refrains. Meanwhile, Love Recipe and 사랑도 간다 (Even Love Goes) hearkens back to the group’s older fusion-house experiments as they bring in Latin rhythms and melancholy passion into the fold. There’s not too much to be said for these; suffice to note that Clazzi navigates them with veteran confidence, and the results are pleasant. More interesting are the ways in which the members’ solo works have weaved their ways into Blessed.

Last year, DJ Clazzi showcased denser (and less accessible) electronica in his solo debut album. Those influences show through in 그녀는 위대해 (She Is Great). Abrasive synth textures and sweeping pads replace the mellow soundset found elsewhere, and there’s a noticeable focus on rhythmic flow over melody. Not that the melody lags: oft-unheralded fourth member Christina puts delectable sass into perhaps the album’s best performance alongside support from guests Ciel and MYK. On the slower end of the spectrum, there is the hard ballad Like A Diamond. It’s a new style for this group: there’s a powerful instrumental buildup, and once we’re there, trance-like synths line the space between ponderous chorus and clubtune interludes. There is some exciting potential here.

In the meantime, Alex has been building a discography in pop-ballad. It seems fair to call 꽃잎 같은 먼지가 (Dust Like Flower Petals) a spin-off from that direction. Pulsing guitars and live drums make the modern-rock track Blessed’s most analog track, and Alex thrives in the lively atmosphere. Vestiges of Horan‘s work with project group Ibadi appear in 여전히 (Still), as the vocalists’ softest pianissimos sail upon jazzy accompaniments. Tracks like Brown Gold Eyes combine these styles and yield more subdued ballads.

The new influences inject some novelty to the core Clazziquai formula, and undoubtedly the album is more diverse for them. I do feel that Blessed is a little too stylistically fragmented – the general warm hue and lyrical themes help hold it together, but it’s not enough to keep tracks like Dust Like Flower Petals or 함께라면 (Can’t Go On My Own) from feeling jarring. Blessed also carries over the group’s older issues, like lyricism that often sacrifices too much substance for style and overly frequent language-switching. (However, She Is Great does avoid both of these.)

Don’t let this stuff keep you away from Blessed, though. For all the minor squabbles, this is still about as good as it can get. For fans of the genre, the quality of Clazzi’s composition and arrangement (as well as the two more serious tracks) will appeal as always, and for everyone else, this is Clazziquai’s most accessible and friendliest album yet. It may not represent a huge developmental leap, but Clazziquai Project again catches two birds with one stone. They continue to do what they’ve done best.

Tracklist (recommended tracks listed in bold)

1. Blessed
2. Sweetest Name
3. 러브 레시피 (Love Recipe)
4. 그녀는 위대해 (She Is Great) – Featuring Ciel, MYK
5. 함께라면 (Can’t Go On My Own) – Featuring Kim Jin-pyo (JP)
6. Love Right
7. 꽃잎 같은 먼지가 (Dust Like Flower Petals)
8. Brown Gold Eyes
9. Like a Diamond
10. 사랑도 간다 (Even Love Goes)
11. 여전히 (Still)

Note: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely of the reviewer and not of hellokpop as a whole.

Agree or disagree? Or have a recent release that you’d like to see reviewed? Let us know with your comments below! Requested albums will be considered each week and may be selected to be reviewed in the subsequent week.

Sources: Photo – Daum Music; Videos – Fluxus and 3cinquesette on YouTube

Clazziquai Project releases fifth album, “Blessed”

Korea’s electronic pop’s pride, Clazziquai Project, returns with Blessed. 

Clazziquai Project will be returning to the music scene with their fifth full album, Blessed, on February 5th, ending their hiatus of three and a half years. The group’s 2004 debut album, Instant Pig, was a groundbreaking work that combined the then-unfamiliar electronic sound with mainstream sensibilities. Afterwards, they have been receiving praise and love from fans for nearly 10 years now with their diverse styles of electronica that include house, lounge, and acid.

In Clazziquai Project’s fifth studio album, Blessed, minimal melodies blend with tightly packed, well-made sounds and down-to-earth yet sensitive lyrics to showcase a musical scope that is still uniquely Clazziquai’s.

Vocalist Horan penned the lyrics for lead single Love Recipe. 

Clazziquai Project vocalist Horan wrote the lyrics for the album’s title song, Love Recipe. It’s a song akin to a recipe for those in love and those who dream of sweet love, matching a Latin rhythm with an acoustic pop melody to evoke a calmly spreading and lovely eagerness.

The lyrics were written for people who were in love. The sweet lyrics were written like a recipe for those who dream of love. Love Recipe is a song matched with Lain rhythm with an acoustic pop melody and creates a soft and lovely emotion from listeners. If Together, which features rapping of the still-hip Kim Jin-pyo, is a song about a love akin to a soulmate who puts excitement into a tiring routine and gives soothing and relief to that routine.

Clazziquai presents a variety in genre each album they release and gets more attention from fans for their new sounds. In the new album Clazziquai shows off refreshing rock sounds as well as unique Latin rhythms and fully-acoustic tracks. In the album, you will be able to find a variety of music genres.

While much of today’s music pursues “instant-style” music focused only on the sensual with fast and passionate love songs, Clazziquai instead presents a mature perspective on love atop a minimalist electronic sound. Look forward to more of their activities, as we can already speculate a difference between their music from the mainstream.

Track list:

01. Blessed
02. Sweetest Name
03. Love Recipe (title)
04. 그녀는 위대해
05. 함께라면 (feat. 김진표)
06. Love Right
07. 꽃잎 같은 먼지가
08. Brown Gold Eyes
09. Like a Diamond
10. 사랑도 간다
11. 여전히

Source: Direct correspondence with Fluxus Music; Video – fluxus on YouTube

[Press release] Clazziquai Project releases ‘Sweetest Name’ prior to album release

Clazziquai Project has released its new track titled Sweetest Name prior to its 5th album release.

The group slowly hinted their comeback with a couple photoshoots and few performances as well. The new track release will mark its comeback from a  three-year hiatus since Clazziquai Project’s last album. The group announced the comeback and track release through its official Facebook page. Clazziquai Project also shared a photo of vocalists Alex and Horan behind a cafe counter as a teaser image for the new music video.

If you are a fan of Clazziquai, the song have a familiar sound, as it is made with the Clazziquai style of house beat. The full album will be released on February 5.

Sources: Direct correspondence with Fluxus Music; Video – fluxus

2012 In Review: Part 10 – Label of the Year

[2012 In Review Series]

0. Prelude – Best Album Art
1. Introduction
2. Best R&B/Soul
3. Best Rock/Alternative
4. Best Rap/Hip-hop
5. Best Dance/Electronica
6. Best Pop/Ballad
7. Best Crossover/Miscellaneous
8. Best Original Soundtrack
9. Best Collaborative Work
10. Label of the Year
11. Rookie of the Year
12. Song of the Year
13. Artist of the Year
14. Album of the Year
15. Concluding Remarks

Welcome back to our 2012 In Review series! Today we recognize the labels and agencies that made the scene go around this year. There is a partial metrics approach to selecting this category: things like the number of releases by signed artists, sales figures, average review scores, and number of artists/works selected to this humble series and similar ones elsewhere are all useful things to take into account. So there’s a little bit of that here, but my approach is also qualitative – how much intangible impact did a label have on the scene? Did it cause trends to emerge or paradigms to shift? That’s the idea.

As always, honorable mention picks are sorted by alphabetical order of names!

Label of the Year 2012

YG Entertainment

Signed artists: 1TYM, 2NE1, Big Bang, Epik High, Gummy, Jinusean, Lee Hi, Masta Wu, Perry, Psy

Notable releases: 2NE1 – single I Love You; Big Bang – 5th mini album Alive (and repackage edition); Epik High - 7th album 99; G-Dragon – 1st mini album One of a Kind; Gummy - singles from I Am A Singer 2; Lee Hi – debut single 1, 2, 3, 4; Psy – 6th album 싸이6甲 (Psy 6th Best) Part 1 and single Gangnam Style; Se7en – mini album Se7en New Mini Album

In hellokpop’s 2012 In Review: Runner-up R&B/Soul Song for Lee Hi’s 1, 2, 3, 4; Honorable Mention R&B/Soul Song for Se7en’s 내가 노래를 못해도 (Even If I Can’t Sing); Honorable Mention Dance/Electronica Album for G-Dragon’s One of a Kind; Honorable Mention Dance/Electronica Song for Big Bang’s Bad Boy; three others to be announced

What a year for this Big Three label. It seemed like anything YG touched in 2012 turned into gold. Se7en’s comeback EP was well-received critically; Big Bang sold the second-most albums in 2012 while successfully completing a 12-country tour. 2NE1′s single was praised for continuing to push idol-music and -identity boundaries; G-Dragon’s album was praised for returning to unrelenting swagger and solidifying his musical scope. Even the rookie, Lee Hi, stormed onto the scene by topping Melon charts for 25 consecutive days and becoming the first female solo artist ever to top M! Countdown, Gaon, and Billboard K-pop charts for three weeks. If that wasn’t enough, here are two word for you: Gangnam Style. Epik High’s comeback was just about the only dud of the year, and even that’s not too concerning given that group’s stellar track record. They’ll be back big.

Aside from the commercial successes, a lot of YG’s acclaimed artistry this year can be attributed back to the company’s direction. While big labels’ micromanagement of their artists is often seen as meddlesome at best and repressive at worst, YG showed how much good that can do under the best circumstances. Lee Hi’s super debut, acclaimed for its unique interpretation of Motown-lite, wouldn’t have been possible without the agency’s repository of soul music know-how. 2NE1 does something surprising with every release (this year, it was the embracing of trance sound and a further disintegration of established member roles), which is an encouraging sign of YG’s boldness with its flagship female group as well as its comfort with diverse genres. In the meantime, Teddy, Perry, and the other in-house developers are only growing in prowess. With at least three rookie teams – a boy band, girl group, and Kang Seung-yoon as solo – set to debut and new releases coming up early for 2NE1 and Lee Hi, YG seems to have no intention of slowing down in 2013.

Label of the Year Runner-up

Fluxus Music

Signed artists: Annyeongbada (Byebye Sea), Clazziquai Project, Eastern Sidekick, Handsome People, Ibadi, Loveholics, SAZA Choi Woo-jun, Tei, Urban Zakapa, W&Whale, Winterplay, Yi Sung-yol

Notable releases: Annyeongbada – 2nd album Pink Revolution; Clazzi – 1st album Infant; Eastern Sidekick – 1st album The First; Handsome People – 1st album Are You Handsome?; SAZA Choi Woo-jun – 2nd album SAZA’s Blues; Urban Zakapa – 2nd album 02

In hellokpop’s 2012 In Review: Runner-up Collaborative Album and Honorable Mention Dance/Electronica Album for Clazzi’s Infant; Honorable Mention R&B/Soul Album for Urban Zakapa’s 02; Honorable Mention Dance/Electronica Song for Clazzi’s Love & Hate; Honorable Mention Crossover/Miscellaneous album for Handsome People’s Are You Handsome? and SAZA Choi Woo-jun’s SAZA’s Blues; Honorable Mention Crossover/Miscellaneous Song for SAZA Choi Woo-jun’s Blue Gonna Blue

Fluxus really is no longer the little label that could. Its artists, in both number and clout, have grown impressively with heavyweights and rookies alike. The versatility of this label is apparent in the wildly different genres its musicians pursue as well as the different categories that they’ve been recognized in already in the series. This is what makes Fluxus a living embodiment of what K-pop should (and likely will) look like in the near future. We’ve seen the beginning of the end of the current, five-year-old idol-dominance dynamic this year; bands and solo artists made strong commercial surges, even as existing idol groups (at least, the most successful ones) began to restructure their identities and become more artistry-oriented.

If the industry does exit the idol phase, mid-major labels will start to diversify their rosters, and I think some will start looking like Fluxus. Artists that can generate buzzes without idol-style marketing, like Fluxus’s Clazziquai and Urban Zakapa, are valuable in this new landscape. Those with old and dedicated fanbases (even if small), like Yi Sung-yol and Tei, can help push albums over MP3 sales. A rich potential for in-house collaborations and the versatility to adapt to trend changes, like Fluxus has, are also important. This label put out a ton of quality work in 2012 from its rather unique position, and turns out it was ahead of the curve all along.

Honorable Mentions

Amoeba Culture

Signed artists: Dynamic Duo, Supreme Team, Primary, Yankie, Planet Shiver, Rhythm Power, Zion.T

Notable Releases: Production and promotion support for J-Tong’s 모히칸과 맨발 (Mohawk and Bare Feet); Dynamic Duo – 6th album 6th Digilog; Primary – 1st album Primary and the Messengers LP; Rhythm Power – EP 누구 하나 빠짐없이 잘생겼다 리듬파워 (Everyone Is Handsome Rhythm Power); Simon Dominic – single 여섯시 반 (Six Thirty); Zion.T – more featured appearances than you can count

In hellokpop’s 2012 In Review: Best Rap/Hip-hop Song for Primary’s 독 (Poison); Runner-up Rap/Hip-hop Album for J-Tong’s Mohawk and Bare Feet; Runner-up Rap/Hip-hop Song for J-Tong’s 사직동 찬가 (Sajik-dong Anthem); Honorable Mention Rap/Hip-hop Album for Dynamic Duo’s 6th Digilog Part 2 and Primary’s Primary and the Messengers LP; Best Collaborative Song and Honorable Mention Rap/Hip-hop Song for J-Tong’s 개판 (Clusterf*ck); two more to be announced

Beatball Music

Signed artists: 3rd Line Butterfly, Bobbyville, The Freaks, Kirin, Look & Listen, Mukimukimanmansu, Puer Kim, Seokyo Group Sound

Notable Releases: 3rd Line Butterfly – EP Ice Cube and 4th album Dreamtalk; Kirin – debut album 그대여 이제 (You, Now) and five singles; Look & Listen – debut album Ready to Go; Mukimukimanmansu – debut album 2012; Puer Kim – debut EP Mom & Sex and 1st album 이응 (Yieung); Seokyo Group Sound – 1st album 우리들은 (We)

In hellokpop’s 2012 In Review: Runner-up Rock/Alternative Song for 3rd Line Butterfly’s 헤어지는 날 바로 오늘 (The Day We Part, Today); Honorable Mention Dance/Electronica Song for 3rd Line Butterfly’s 스모우크핫커피리필 (Smoke Hot Coffee Refill); three others to be announced

(An aside: four of the albums you see above – by Kirin, Look & Listen, Mukimukimanmansu, and Seokyo Group Sound – were selected as Daum Music’s Album of the Month. That’s darned impressive.)

Pastel Music

Signed artists: Besweet, Belle Epoque, Bulssajo, Casker, Cloud Cuckoo Land, Donawhale, Epitone Project, Fanny Fink, Han Hee-jung, Herz Analog, Humming Urban Stereo, Instant Romantic Floor, JaeJuSoNyun, Jo Wul, Lucia, The Melody, Misty Blue, Ninaian, No Respect For Beauty, Park Jun-hyuk, Pony, Slow 6, Sumiara & Phonestuber, Sentimental Scenery, Sogyumo Acacia Band, Sweetpea, Taru, Tensi Love, Toxicbiasfleurivy, Trampauline, Urn I, YeSlow, Yozoh, Zitten

Notable Releases: Pastel 10th Anniversary projects; Besweet – EP Bitter Sweet; Casker – single Wish and 6th album 여정 (Journey); Epitone Project – 2nd album 낯선 도시에서의 하루 (A Day in a Strange City); Herz Analog – debut EP Prelude and 1st album Herz Analog; Humming Urban Stereo – 4th album Sparkle; Instant Romantic Floor – three singles; Lucia – EP Décalcomanie; No Respect For Beauty – debut album Why Perish; Pony – EP Little Apartment; Sentimental Scenery – EP There Is Nowhere Else in the World; Slow 6 – 3rd album Somewhere; Taru – four singles and EP Blah Blah; Yozoh – three singles; Zitten – EP 백야 (White Night)

In hellokpop’s 2012 In Review: Best Pop/Ballad Album for Lucia’s Décalcomanie; Runner-up Rock/Alternative Album for No Respect For Beauty’s Why Perish; Runner-up Crossover/Miscellaneous Album for Sentimental Scenery’s There Is Nowhere Else in the World; Runner-up Pop/Ballad Song for Zitten’s 백야 (White Night); Honorable Mention Rock/Alternative Song for Pony’s 안녕 (Goodbye); Honorable Mention Dance/Electronica Album for Casker’s Journey; Honorable Mention Pop/Ballad Album for Zitten’s White Night; Honorable Mention Pop/Ballad Song for Lucia’s 그대의 고요 (Your Tranquility); Honorable Mention Crossover/Miscellaneous Song for Sentimental Scenery’s View; one other to be announced

What do your picks look like for this category? Discuss with us in the comments, and join us tomorrow in Part 11 as we unveil the Rookie of the Year!

Note: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely of the reviewer and not of hellokpop as a whole.

Sources: Photos – YG United, Nate, Daum Blog, Ceci, Frontier Times; Data – Gaon Charts