Kim Jaejoong releases studio recording teaser for solo album

The veil has been removed; Kim Jaejoong‘s rock genre solo album has slowly become a hot issue though the teasers shown. JYJ‘s official YouTube channel shared a teaser video of Kim Jaejoong recording in the studio. In the video released, Kim Jaejoong was shown hitting high notes like a rocker and showed previews of what kinds of songs would be in his album. Fans have shown an explosive reaction toward the video.

Fans who came across the teaser said:

“Is this really Kim Jaejoong? His vocals are so great. I got goosebumps.”

“It’s too long to wait for another 2 weeks for his album..”

“I think it will be a great song! Looking forward to the album.”

Kim Jaejoong’s first solo mini album will be released on January 17 and he will be holding mini concerts and fan meetings on January 26 and 27.

Sources: News – The Star; Photo – JYJ Facebook; Video – CJESJYJ

LEDApple to make a comeback on November 16

Rock band LEDApple is making its last touches during its preparation period to make a flawless return with Let The Wind Blow at the end of this week.

The group has left fans in anticipation with the release of its cryptic music video teaser. The video displays the members in a unconscious state. They are treated like lab experiments and may have had their souls extracted as a ghostly blue haze surrounds each member.

LEDApple will officially make their comeback on November 16. In the meantime, check out teaser video below.

 Source: LOENENT Image: Screenshot

[Exclusive] Interview: K-rock band J Morning rocks Philippines

One of Korea’s top rock bands, J Morning, is currently in the Philippines to promote their music through a series of mall shows!

Under KMB Company, the band has three main members Ssol (main vocal), Hyun (vocals and violin) and Mingyu (guitar). Taehoon (bassist) and Jin Bum (drums) are sub-members of the team. They have been active in Korea, holding concerts for SBS and MBC.

While in the Philippines, hellokpop has the great pleasure to sit down with the rock sensation and talk about their music.

Check out our exclusive face-to-face interview that will reveal more about J Morning and its music:

Q1: How was your band formed and who came up with the name J Morning?

Ssol: We met with the members in July so we picked the letter J in July. Then, for morning, like a rising star in the morning we want to rise in the world and also we want to be bright like the morning. So we made our name J Morning!

Q2: How are you inspired to create music? Who are the people that you look up to?

Ssol: Our team thinks that listening to music is important as well as watching other artists’ performances. J Morning has skills in listening and performing. I think that we are so cool! Like the animal chameleon, we have many colors and it’s a cool band, I think!

Music is our life. We got the power and the music. So, we will give you the power, pleasure and different colors. We want to be a great musician like our favorite, the late Michael Jackson. His music gives us hope. Like him, we will give our audience our best efforts at all times.

Q3: How is your experience in the Philippines so far? What do you think of the Philippines?

Ssol: I think everything is very perfect. Filipinos are lovely and their smile are very pretty. We may have differences in our appearances and language but we are one in music.

Mingyu: First, while doing our concert here, we met many kinds of people and all of them are so pure and pretty especially the cute children. I am so happy in experiencing this.

Q4: What do you think about the music industry in Korea?

Mingyu: I think K-pop and idols are very much loved by fans. Most of them are young and have been trained by their companies at a young age to become stars in the future. Sometimes, it takes 6-7 years for them to be a star. I think they are doing great.

Q5: What are the future plans of J Morning?

Manager: Our plan is to have a world tour and continuously to have performances. We will work on releasing a new album soon.

Q6: Any special message to your Filipinos fans?

Mingyu: Hello Philippines! I am so happy to come here! We are very excited that we have many concerts here and meet many kinds of people. Especially delicious food! We will give you an amazing performance! Thank you for watching us!

Hyun: Thank you for inviting us, Philippines! I love the Philippines! Thank you!

Ssol: I want to enjoy music together. I love Philippines and I love Filipinos! I love! I love! I love! Mahal kita (I love you)! Maraming salamat po (Thank you)! Kamshahamnida, Philippines!

Hoon: It is our first time here in the Philippines. There are many things to watch out for here in Manila. I met beautiful people.

Ssol: Yeah! He is very cute (referring to Hoon). He is my brother.

Hoon: I want to come again in the future. Thank you very much!

Indie rock band Apollo 18 announces Canadian Tour

When you think of Korean Indie, what groups come to mind? Drawing a blank? That’s highly understandable considering that there isn’t much of a focused attention, in major news outlets, on the genre. Some indie fans may believe this to be a serious injustice,  and so hellokpop is pleased to  introduce  the Korean Indie rock trio Apollo 18 and their upcoming Canadian tour!

Formed in  the summer of 2008, Apollo 18 boast a post-hardcore/post-rock hybrid sound that encompasses inspirations from across  rock’s ever-expanding sub-genres.  The trio, whose members include Choi Hyun-seok (vocals, guitar), Kim Dae-inn (vocals,base) and Lee Sang-yun on drums, bring to the table a unique blend of emotional lyrics tied with some seriously groovy instrumentation. Their sound is not only quite reminiscent of history’s greatest rock and roll artists, like Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin, but it also gives you the impression of something quite unique in its on rite.

The group has become one of the hottest acts to hit the Korean Indie scene in the last ten years, picking up major awards like the Hello Rookie prize of 2009 and the Rookie of Year award at the 2010 Korean Music Awards, and have released a total of six albums since their formation. Touring extensively, Apollo 18 has performed at many prestigious rock festivals such as  Seoul’s Green Plugged Festival and the Jisan Valley Rock festival, Japan’s famed Fuji Rock Festival,  and Taiwan’s  Beastie Rock Festival;  along with US appearances at South by Southwest (SXSW) in Texas and the Valley of the Vapors Independent Music Festival in Arkansas.

Their most recent album Black (released in 2011) featured songs written during that year’s US tour and was recorded in Japan. The tracks Corpse Flower  and Sonic Boom  were highly popular with fans,  and the latter even  garnered a nomination for the Best Rock Song at the 2012 Korean Music Awards in February.

Recently, Apollo 18 announced they would be embarking on a Canadian tour that will encompass four stops in Ontario and Quebec.  The dates and locations are as follows:

Sept. 19 : This Ain’t Hollywood : Hamilton, Ontario
Sept. 20:  Zaphod Beeblebrox  : Ottawa, Ontario
Sept. 21 :  Quai des Brumes [Pop Montreal] : Montreal, Quebec
Sept. 22 : Bovine Sex Club : Toronto, Ontario

For more information on Apollo 18 and their up coming Canadian tour, check out their official page on Facebook or follow them on twitter. To hear more music from Apollo 18, check out their official page on SoundCloud.

Source: Apollo 18 PR, (Photos) Facebook, MTV IGGY, Apollo 18 [1 & 2], (Video) OFFBEAT

Who would have guessed? The KOXX banks on idols

 [An editorial of 'Who Would Have Guessed' 2012 series]

In an industry dominated by hip hop and idol music, The KOXX are somewhat an exception. The most British sounding Korean artist has emerged, over the last few years, as the leading rock act of Korea. But, with rock music being a genre with very few amateurs in The Land of the Morning Calm, one hardly makes a living on it. However popular and critically acclaimed their releases have been, they always failed to chart at a significant position. The majority of indie groups make a living on live shows, as well as saving a lot on exhaustive advertisement campaigns and promotions. But rarely enough, comes an artist who decides to go mainstream behind-the-scenes. Despite conveying an image of being unconventional and revolted artists, the troublemakers of The KOXX have recently taken this step when they’ve accepted Miryo‘s offer to produce the first track of her debut album, Party Rock feat. Gary of Leessang and The KOXX. Shortly afterwards, The KOXX were at it again with the production of 4Minute‘s Dream Racer.

Miryo’s Party Rock

One can honestly question the motives of such decisions on either sides. For The KOXX, money is the word – there’s no wondering about it. As for Miryo, she stated knowing nothing about rock music until she watched The KOXX’s Trouble Maker MV and found it so cool, that she invited them on her debut album. Miryo, having a long history of indie background (and not exactly being an idol herself ) made the collaboration seem fair enough and actually kicked like a mule. But what about 4Minute’s choice and the way it was publicized?

4Minute’s Dream Racer

For their fourth mini album, Volume Up, 4Minute tried a bit of diversity. While the final delivery, in my opinion, was nothing more than a monotonous mess, The KOXX’s participation to the production was greatly emphasized. It served as a teaser to the comeback and the song was also used as a promoted track. Dream Racer was forgettable but that didn’t matter, for it was a merely strategic move aimed directly at the critics. Cube Entertainment surely thought that mixing it up with the critics ‘protégés’ could have cast a positive light on 4Minute. And that may actually have worked, had the delivery been any interesting. Nevertheless, The KOXX made a good deal and enjoyed the release of a new album last June. As if nothing changed, Bon Voyage was as well received by the critics and amateurs alike, as it sold poorly.

The KOXX’s Bon Voyage

In order to survive, you have to take the money where it is. As long as The KOXX continues to deliver such quality music as their last album, there is no room for complaints. It is rather sad though to think that they have to make a living by producing forgettable idol music rather than banking on their quality indie sound. Still, it is a SURPRISE, and one should just be happy that talented artists are cashing in on ‘some’ of their productions.

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

Sources :  News and Photos :  Daily Kpop   2 – Miryo’s interview       Video :  HappyRobotRecords   adamadamadamcouple    kidotrasub