[Discography Review] Younha – The Comet

Go Younha started her career as a singer and pianist auditioning all over Korea. She was turned down at over fifteen of her auditions, most of the judges not finding her pretty enough to get a fan following in the largely image driven Asian music market. But Younha was finally contracted by a Japanese record label and introduced to Japanese audiences with the song Yubikiri (childhood promise), a slow, soft ballad that gave her a small fan following. Shortly after her debut song Yubikiri, Younha stunned her audiences with the release of the song “Houki Boshi,” Japanese for “Comet.” The song, which was used as the ending theme of the anime series “Bleach,” rocketed into the top ten of Japan’s oricon charts, earning her the nickname “oricon comet.” Younha is both a singer and trained pianist. This is important to note in that in most of her songs she not only sings, but plays the piano, and does so at the same time during concerts. Younha essentially invented the Piano Rock genre, and is one of the few artists that have legitimately made a niche for themselves. Younha’s early success in Japan set the stage for later success and popularity in her native Korea. She is a self made artist, who not only holds a special place in my heart, but one I respect for her sheer talent and drive alone. She never gave up, even after being turned down constantly in auditions; that undying spirit comes through in her music.

Part One: The Made-in-Korea Oricon Comet, Finding a Voice

Yubikiri, Younha’s first single, and a large amount of her Japanese work, lacks a certain unique quality her Korean and later Japanese work achieved. When you listen to Younha’s contemporary work and compare it to Yubikiri the song feels somewhat generic, the vocals underpowered. It was a brave first step, with a somewhat off sounding acoustic sounding feel and an oddly placed electric guitar solo. Those familiar with Japanese music can best compare Yubikiri to a B grade YUI song. The slow ballad is something Younha has traditionally struggled with, especially in her Japanese work, yet Yubikiri is solid, and is worth checking out in both Japanese and Korean.

Younha’s next step was through the now famous Houki Boshi. This song determined Younha’s direction; it plotted her course into the future, and for good reason: this song is amazing. Houki Boshi defines piano rock; it is a strong, hopeful song that lifts you up. It’s a song that has always cheered me up since the day I first heard it. In fact, this song singlehandedly introduced me to Asian music as a whole, and for that I owe this song a personal debt. Houki Boshi isn’t perfect. It lacks the vocal strength of her later Korean work, and sometimes the instruments seem to cloud the song; in a way it lacks the clarity of her later work. Criticism aside, this song is a must listen.

I don’t like glossing over anything to a great degree, but as for the majority of her Japanese work including her first album, Go Younha, there is a lack of definition in her music. Although she’d done well defining her style with Houki Boshi, she didn’t follow through, and continued doing ballads even though her most popular songs were fast, energetic pieces. There were a few stand out exceptions to this trend, the first being Motto Futari De, a poppy, soft piece, and the second being My☆Lover, a quick witted pop-rock piece, although these were far from what Younha was capable of. Younha started to show true potential as more than a one hit wonder with the release of Te Wo Tsunaide and Ima Ga Daisuke in 2006. Te Wo Tsunaide is a rock piece best described as angst ridden. It’s angry and frustrated, and carries a sound still unique in Younha’s musical history. Ima Ga Daisuke on the other hand is a happy, upbeat song guided by a guitar and a church bell. It too is unique when compared to Younha’s other Japanese songs, especially with the inclusion of the church bell as narrative object in the song. These songs were experimental to put it blatantly, and while both are solid, neither of the songs seemed to heavily influence any of her later music. But then Younha found her direction with Audition.

Audition, Younha’s first true Korean single, was the true shade of things to come. It featured two songs, both of which featured vocals stronger than any of her previous Japanese work. Whereas Houki Boshi laid the groundwork for piano rock, the A-side Audition fulfilled the musical style’s potential, executing on a concept Younha hadn’t explored in any measure of true detail since Houki Boshi’s release. Alongside the song’s strong structure were Younha’s incredible vocals. I’ll just come out and say it; Younha is infinitely stronger singing in Korean. Her voice hits natural sounding lows, and her voice pulls the song together in a way she hadn’t managed to with the majority of her Japanese work. The single set the stage for her later Korean releases and set high expectations for her first Korean album.

The final standout song in Younha’s early career was Hakanaku Tsuyoku. It’s a fast, hard hitting rock song, up tempo and loud. It achieved a measure of popularity, but nothing incredible. I however see this song as the limit of Younha’s dabbling in pure rock. Aside from the more recent Hero, and Houki Boshi, nothing as strong or loud instrumentally has ever been released by Younha. Her vocals suffer singing in Japanese, she can’t go as low or sound as harmonious as she did in Audition, but the song is, nonetheless, a great piece to rock out to, and for that it deserves some credit.

To put it simply, none of Younha’s Japanese work ever achieved the same level of popularity that Houki Boshi achieved. Younha struggled to experiment with new musical styles and it’s reflected in her work, not one song mentioned above sounds quite like any other Younha song, which is a testament to her talent, but it didn’t sell albums until Younha brought all she could muster to her home country, Korea.

Part Two: Success and Popularity in Korea

A Perfect Day to Say I Love You was the first truly successful full album in Younha’s history as a musician, and her first album released in Korea. It features as its title song Password 486, a song I even as an established Younha fan never saw coming. It synthesizes a number of influences from Younha’s earlier work and comes together in almost perfectly harmony. It combines the piano rock feel of Audition with stellar vocals, and unlike her earlier work Younha’s vocals definitely rise above the instrumental and sound crisp, clear, and elegant. Younha’s experimentation with musical styles in Japan pays off in 486, the song that set the bar for Younha in Korea. On a side note, the boy in 486’s music video was Younha’s first kiss, no joke. In a subtle nod to Te Wo Tsunaide Younha sang in both Fly and Delete. Both these songs are angry and frustrated, like Te Wo Tsunaide. The difference that sets these songs apart is partly in the composition (piano and guitars drive both songs but in a far more elegant and refined manner,) but the single defining factor that separates these songs from Younha’s earlier endeavors is the sheer vocal strength she manages to show. I can’t understate, Younha makes such a huge leap in her vocal strength in her first Korean album.

Her second Korean project was a remake of her Japanese album, Go Younha, but for Korean audiences. Entitled Haesong, or Comet, the album shows how influential vocal quality is when it comes to creating music. The title track is, obviously enough, Comet, a remake of the renowned Houki Boshi. The song shines in that Younha masterfully and authoritatively sings in Korean, and does so stronger and more effectively than in the original. It’s sort of like a revised version of the original, and it just works. I’m not simply blowing smoke when I say that all these songs are simply better sung in Korean, they’re stronger, and deeper, and sound much more natural in Younha’s native tongue than in Japanese. Shortly after Comet’s release, Younha released SONGS -teen’s collection-, a Japanese album featuring a Japanese remake of Password 486 and two new songs. Although the 486 remake sounds somewhat pained, the other two songs on the album are stellar. This album came as a surprise to me in that it evolved Younha’s Japanese direction into something genuinely interesting. She refines her style thoroughly, and finally finds her vocal ability when singing in Japanese. Check out this little side note, it’s worth the detour.

Younha shattered all my expectations with the recent release of Someday, her second original Korean album. The album gets everything right, and Younha shines. Gossip Boy leads the album, with a wonderful high tempo synthesis of guitar, violin, and piano. It’s fast, hopeful, and is again carried by clear, strong vocals. It sets a perfect mood and is an amazingly well done track that could have easily taken the place of the title track, which says a lot. The next track, Memory, or Gieok, is a great palette cleanser. It departs from Gossip Boy’s high power vocals and slows the album down just a little bit. Here Younha features with Tablo of Epik High, another fantastic group, and absolutely nails the first slow song on the album. This is one of my all time favorite pieces, driven by violins and a thumping bass, the song pulses along melancholically to its sad, lonely finish. Rising from Memory’s ashes is Hero, a loud, impressively structured violin rock song. It’s Gossip Boy’s angry cousin in a sense, and again Younha nails the vocals, but also notable is the instrumental. Instead of taking precedent or overpowering Younha’s voice, like it seemed to in her past work, it works with Younha, complementing her voice rather than detracting from it. Someday evolves Hero’s concept and runs with it, utilizing strong, guitar backed vocals, but this time with far more peaks and valleys. The song goes from quaint and quiet to incredibly vibrant in a manner of seconds. It’s a testament to her voice, and to the construction of the song that again works with, not against her. Here’s where my head spins, I can praise and praise those last four tracks, but all were just lead-ins to the title track, Telepathy. These five tracks are, simply put, some of the best Younha ever offered her audience, and Telepathy is probably the most impressive of them all. The reason Telepathy succeeds is that it manages to do what 486 did, but better. It synthesizes her earlier styles and influences and creates a wonderful, pumping, high power rock song that captures Younha’s hopeful, youthful sound better than any of its predecessors. Closing out Someday, for me at least, is My Song And…, an all-in-English ballad that swept me off my feet, one that demands to be listened to. That’s all I’ll say about it, simply listen for yourself.

From humble roots Younha developed her musical style into what it is today, a unique brand of Asian music that, in my opinion, is impossible to successfully imitate. Younha doesn’t conform to what is typically defined as Asian pop, instead she creates her own brand, her own unique sound, and that in itself is hard to find. If you’ve never listened to Younha I implore you to give her a shot, rarely does an artist come so far in both style and presentation in such a short time span. From Oricon Comet to Korean sensation, she’s made her mark on the Asian music scene, and on me. ※

[Album Review] Beat in Love – Clazziquai Project

After a long hiatus, I return.

Clazziquai is well known in Korea for their OST soundtrack beats: soft, melodic, and catchy. Clazziquai continues the tradition with Beat in Love, an album seemingly targeted at the international market, as 70% or so of its tracks have all or mostly English lyrics. What impresses me is that Clazziquai’s lead female vocalist, 호란, really performs them well. In a similar move, Cherry Filter’s single Rolling Heart featured an all English version of the title song. The difference between Clazziquai’s English lyrics and Cherry Filter’s is that Clazziquai managed to keep their songs feeling organic, while Cherry Filter seemingly shoehorned English into a Korean template creating an incredible amount of disharmony in the track. Beat in Love, and the Daishi Dance remix of Fiesta are the two major winners, for me, in this album. The rest of the songs in the album are a collection of remixes and remakes all of which are unique in their own respect, it’s hard to not find at least one or two songs you like on the album; this is definitely a Clazziquai album to say the least. Check out the tracks in the music player, they won’t disappoint.※

The infectious and pretty meta-styled MV:

Clazziquai – Beat in Love




[Album Review] L.O.V.E. – 태사비애 (Taesabiae)

태사비애 (Taesabiae)’s 4th digital single album, L.O.V.E., is an interesting fusion of pop and elements of classical music. Combining modern electronic with Pachelbel’s Canon, the song 내사랑 (My Love) is in my opinion the strongest in the single. 내사랑 is proficient in that it combines a classical score with modern pop without annihilating the classical base. So many pop songs take classical songs as their object and subsequently destroy them with synthesized bile. 내사랑 does a fantastic (though admittedly far from perfect) job at modernizing the classic piece. The lyrics flow well aside from the lengthy (and hilariously trite) spoken word intro, and the chorus is well voiced and very catchy. 줄래 (Give it To Me), the partner to 내사랑, is a piano driven laser of a pop song that wastes no time before hitting you in the face with its chorus. It’s good, catchy, all of those trite descriptions of a good pop song apply, but compared to the more inspired 내사랑, it feels somewhat lacking in context. I find myself listening to both songs fairly equally, however, so it’s win-win for 태사비애 so far. I’ll be expecting more from these girls in the future. ※

[From Korea] Night Sky

What a beautiful night.

I took the subway with my friend a few hours ago; a little boy on the train pointed to me, and said to his mother “waegookinida!” “A foreigner!” My friend and I laughed. I replied with a smile, “ne, waegookinimnida.” “Yes, I am a foreigner.” His mother turned to me, seemingly amazed that I understood what her son had said. All I could do was laugh. We got off the subway and walked down the street. A group of kids, still in their school uniforms, walked into a Korean karaoke bar called a noraebang (literally song room). An old woman cleaned the front of her shop with the help of her husband, tossing buckets of water onto their sidewalk. A little girl played with her dog in the parking lot of a small apartment building, shouting to the dog “anja!” “Sit!” All it did was stare back at her, tongue dangling out of its mouth. We walked into a small chicken restaurant. I had a healthy serving of Kim chi followed by some of the best fried chicken I’d ever had. My friend and I talked for a while, waiting until the sun was below the horizon before leaving. I walked my friend to his apartment, a small little place near my university, and there we parted ways. The back street that leads to my dormitory was quiet with a small exception, a group of kids kicked a soccer ball against the old university wall, laughing, shrieking at times. On the front steps of an old stone house nearby two small girls watched, waiting for their turn to play with the soccer ball.

Another day my roommate and I went out to grab some food. Cruising down Seoul’s highway at 120 kilometers per hour was only slightly nerve racking, dodging cars and zipping in and out of traffic fluidly. Slowly, my death grip on the car door loosened as I grew accustomed to the maniacal pace of Seoul traffic. We couldn’t decide where to go, so we drove and drove. My roommate had an idea, we would go to a small Japanese ramen place in Gangnam (one of the more expensive sections of Seoul), after which we would go to one of the prettiest locations in Seoul, a mountain road called Bukak Skyway situated close to the Blue House, the seat of South Korea’s president. I agreed, of course. We had dinner, smooth Japanese soup a refreshing break from the vibrant flavor of Korean dishes, and meandered around Seoul before reaching our destination. We swerved around twisting Cliffside roads. Military police patrolled the lengthy skyway, wary of any suspicious activity. They were no doubt haunted by the memory of the assassination of another South Korean president earlier in the century, when North Korean commandos used the shelter the mountain provided to hide before they struck. We reached the summit and climbed up a deserted staircase to a viewing deck, modeled after a traditional South Korean guard tower. The view was worth the drive. Seoul’s lights twinkled all around us as far as the eye could see. Seoul tower pierced the sky in the distance, the red light on its tip blinking somewhere above the clouds. It was the first moment in Korea where I could relax, where I could just look into the distance and admire the city as it was without worrying about food, going to class or anything of the sort.

I could tell a million stories just like these, because this is what I take from Seoul. I could write an epic tale of my travels, detailing every last place I’d visited and critiquing them on whether they lived up to their reputation, but that’s not what I remember. I remember the little boy on the subway, and the girl shouting “anja” to her dog, and the view from Bukak Skyway.

I couldn’t have asked for anything more from Korea. ※

[From Korea] On the topic of frequent posting…

You get it? I haven’t posted frequently. Hur.

The week has been very… enlightening, let’s say. The flight, as many would expect, was a combination of Hell and Hades all mixed into a vampiric cocktail with a terrible aftertaste: jetlag. Though many people told me with a great deal of authority that I’d probably want to kill myself rather than deal with jetlag, after only a day I felt perfectly acclimated, and have been fine ever since. Now I’ll state the obvious and tell you, the reader, that all you really want to know about is Korea. So here it is.

Seoul is huge. No, I don’t think you understand. When I say huge I mean “hyooj.” That’s right, it needs its own crazy phonetic spelling to be accurately described. Seoul very closely resembles absolutely no city I’ve ever been in except (in some parts) the bay area. This is in part because Seoul’s streets are not your typical “American” city streets; streets here are small and tucked away and only the main streets resemble what you’d find in San Francisco or Chicago. Getting around in Seoul though is incredibly easy. That’s right; I italicized incredibly for a good reason. The subway is clean, modern, and designed for safety. Many stations have an enclosure that prevents people from falling onto the tracks, subway cars even have televisions in them oftentimes. Stations, destinations, and announcements are both in English and Korean (which is a moot point for me considering I can understand the Korean anyway). The city itself has a ton of character, which leads me, via painfully inadaquate segue, to my university 

So, no one told me this place was essentialy part of a hillside. From the top of the university you can see downtown Seoul and the surrounding landscape. Hills dot the skyline and high rise apartment buildings dominate the lowland. The view is epitomizes rapid urbanization. My classrooms are state of the art, sponsored directly by Samsung, and it shows. From the cusy sleep-tastic chairs to the high resolution projector embedded in the ceiling, it’s very cool and no doubt very expensive stuff. My dorm room overlooks the university, and every morning I get up bright and early to watch the sunrise, which never disappoints.

My “Korean Buddy” as he is labeled is more a true friend than an institutional tool. We bunk in the same room and get along very well. The easiest way to make friends in Korea is to show that you know the culture, know the music, and maybe hum a little tune from a hot new K-pop artist. Once people realize you’re here to gain the ability to empathize with a new culture, rather than demand conformity to your own values, your life becomes so, so easy. Living here is great. Food is plentiful and cheap. Often I can get a whole meal for 3500 Won ($3.50) complete with appetizers, drinks, it’s great. It’s not too hot, not too cold, not too rainy or sunny. Point in turn, I really like it here.

Will try to update more often as opportunities present themselves, I’ll hopefully elaborate of the specifics on what I’ve already done, where I’ve gone, food specifics, and my experience with a lot of the anti-administration demonstrations (not riots, for those of you can already smell the tear gas) happening locally. So stay tuned kiddos.

Goodbye, or as you say in Korea, 안녕~ ※

[Track Review] Love Love Love (Astronica Remix) – Epik High

 

Love Love Love is, without question, the song that catapulted Epik High into the upper echelons of the Korean music scene. Released on June 11^th, the Astronica Remix of Love Love Love is a noteworthy addition to Breakdown, Epik High’s post-release version of Pieces, Part One. What impressed me about the Astronica Remix is that it both meshed with Epik High’s fifth album perfectly, and managed to improve upon the original song itself. If one were to look visually at a diagram of each track, the original would look akin to that of a jagged key, whereas Astronica would look like a perfect curve. Astronica mellows out, emphasizing a new bass line and slight tweaks to the timing, beat, and volume of background noise as opposed to totally overhauling the song. Though the song is good, I’d only recommend buying the new repackage only if you haven’t already purchased the first release of the fifth album. ※

[Track Review] 쥬얼리 (Jewelry) – 모두다쉿! (Everybody Ssh!)

쥬얼리 (literally Jewelry). I tried to resist getting into them, but after accidentally hearing their newest song, 모두다쉿 (Everybody Ssh!), I was addicted as soon as the first guitar riff blasted out of my speakers. This song is loud. No, really, combine a night club dance mix with a fast tempo pop rock song you’ll find the product sounds a lot like 모두다쉿. I really like this song; 모두다쉿 has the speed and feel of pop, but remains organic. The fault I find with most of the “pure” k-pop I hear is that there isn’t a prevalent real-life instrument in the electronic wasteland that comprises most pop songs, there isn’t a sound, or a specific timbre to relate to. Jewelry fixed this in 모두다쉿 by utilizing loud guitar riffs to hold the song together. I’ve seen this same idea implemented in a select few songs by other artists (mainly Japanese artists), but not to the level of 모두다쉿. If anything, this song is a total fusion of pop and rock into some kind of mutant genre I don’t want to think of a name for. On the one hand you can dance to this song, and on the other hand you can mosh to it to. Okay, no moshing, but both elements in the song, the pop and the rock are prominent enough to stand out, but not too overwhelming as to blot each other out. That said, I’ve already heard 모두다쉿 compared to Tell Me (the Wonder Girls smash hit that spawned an entire subculture along with it,) and while I haven’t witnessed 모두다쉿 displaying any true similarities to the Tell Me phenomenon, I wouldn’t be surprised if it started to. Check out the song, it’s worth it. ※

The fashion-sense offending music video:

쥬얼리 (Jewelry) – 모두다쉿! (Everybody Ssh!)

[Track Review] 리리밴드 (Riri Band) – 슈퍼에 갔어 (At the Supermarket)

리리밴드’s (Riri Band’s) first single, 슈퍼에 갔어 (At the Supermarket), was a bit of a viral hit thanks to the adorable manga-styled promotional video. The single stood out as a pop-rock gem in a sea of mediocrity. The song proved it had longevity after I realized that every day for two weeks after hearing it I found myself blasting it through my headphones every free moment I had. 리리밴드 is led by actress 추소영 (Choo So Yeong); for all intents and purposes her voice holds up quite nicely. She isn’t as strong as 체리필터’s (Cherry Filter’s) 조유진 (Cho Youjeen) but she holds her own. What impressed me about 추소영 is that out of the gate she showed off above average vocal talent in a fairly unforgiving genre. Pop-rock is hard to pull off, especially if your audience is primarily based in pop, but 리리밴드 manages to attract those who enjoy both genre’s thanks to the lyrics, which are just as adorable as the premise of the music video. The song is catchy and strong, and leaves me wanting more from 리리밴드 in the hopefully near future. ※

Check out the MV for yourself:

리리밴드 (Riri Band) – 슈퍼에 갔어 (At the Supermarket)

[Album Review] Pieces, Part One – Epik High

Epik High’s fifth album was easily one of the most heavily hyped releases I’ve encountered in Korean music so far. With fan expectations through the roof after the phenomenal success of Remapping the Human Soul, I was doubtful that Epik High would be able to deliver an album that surpassed those expectations, but somehow Tablo, Tukutz and Mithra pulled it off. I’ve repeatedly heard the songs in Pieces, Part One referred to as “dreamlike.” That is in essence true, but simply labeling Pieces with a blanket adjective does a disservice to the album as a whole. It masks the wealth of individuality in each song Epik High has composed.

The first song many Epik High fans heard from Pieces was One. The song is, dare I say, brilliant. My initial reaction to the song was fairly cynical, but after a few listens I found myself hooked. The lyrics resonate with you long after you take off your headphones, and I could have sworn I experienced withdrawal symptoms after a few hours without it. One’s rhythmic structure is complicated, as are the themes the song addresses. The beat is fast, and the bass-driven tempo replicates a clock ticking in the background. Immense credit goes to 지선 (Jisun) of Loveholic for her beautiful performance in One. “Time is ticking away,” so if you have yet to give this song a listen stop reading now, and go find the music video on YouTube; One’s music video is just as brilliant as the song. Both the music video and a good deal of the themes driving the song fall into line with another song by Epik High, Paris, which was released on Epik High’s third album, Swan Song. One shares Paris’s emphasis on light, dark, heartbreak, and loss. 지선 features in Paris just as she does in One with an eerily similar, ghostly, mournful tone. More conclusive perhaps is that Epik High cast themselves as saviors in both music videos, rescuing each song’s “damsel in distress.” I like to see One as Paris’s spiritual successor, showing how much Epik High has matured both in presentation and style.

The substance of the album is just as solid as One, which should come as no surprise to those familiar with Epik High’s excellent track record. Before shouting out more individual songs the smattering of short pieces scattered throughout the album deserve a mention. The most impressive of these short pieces was 서울 1시13 AM. The track is best described as surreal; a ticking clock supplies rhythm throughout the piece, over which you hear furious gusts of wind and a woman sobbing. The end of the thirty second track leads flawlessly into the beginning of One with the clock ticking away. Unlike interludes–which I feel more disrupt the flow of the album then streamline it–these short pieces lend an even greater sense of depth and flow to the songs. Slave is another short piece worth mentioning, it comes off as deep and moving while not feeling in the slightest bit pretentious. That in itself is an accomplishment.

Pieces’ songs are incredibly diverse. Each song has its own unique feeling; trite as it may sound, each song had its own soul. Off the bat a few songs song stood out from the pack, 연필깎이 (Pencil Sharpener) featuring Kebee, 우산 (Umbrella) featuring 윤하 (Younha), and Girl featuring 진보 (Jinbo). 연필깎이 is an appeal to those struggling to create, begging the poets, writers and artists to keep working. The song has spirit and depth, with a nice beat and thick driving beats. 우산 is a relaxing, slow song that starts out with a beautiful rainy ambiance and is taken away by 윤하’s soulful voice. My only complaint with 우산 is that it almost feels like the song should have had 윤하 featuring Epik High, not the other way around. 윤하 dominates this song, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I myself am a huge fan of 윤하, who was my “gateway drug” into Korean music, but I think Epik High should have stepped up their role in the song just a little. The song Girl, for me, was a slow burn. It went under my radar for quite a while before I gave it a good listen and found it just as addicting as the aforementioned songs. Girl isn’t not dominated by the featured artist, which is a plus, and is held together skillfully by Tukutz, who integrates melodic piano chords into a mellow beat to create a song that verges on masterpiece. The remaining tracks are best described as solid. Breakdown is a loud and determined response to the first track, Be, which is Breakdown’s polar opposite. Whereas Be is indecisive, Breakdown is assertive, which is a great dichotomy to start off the album with.

Pieces is a new step for Epik High. From their rap roots Epik High has evolved into something new, something deep. This album is very hard to hate. Dubbed by Epik High as their “favorite album” one wonders how they–or anyone for that matter–could set the bar higher than this. I guess we’ll have to wait until part two to find that out. ※

Album Download ~ Pieces, Part One

The brilliant music video:

Epik High – One