My Korean-Indie slot of the week

equalsql

In my efforts to spread the word of just how creative and damn good the Korean indie music scene is I present this week:

'A Dream Moment' by Part Time Traveller. Enjoy..

equalsql

This week I present Park Ji Yoon. She was a popstar on the Korean scene in the late 90s early 00s but has recently returned to music on the K-Indie scene. Her voice is considered as having one of the most pure tones of any Asian singer as is demonstrated in this live performance of her beautiful song 'Afternoon'.

equalsql

equalsql

This week I present the  Korean indie duo: No Reply. This song is called: "Just fine I see you". The production on this track is lovely..lots of Fender Rhodes, warm string sections, brass arrangements with some jazzy guitar.
As with many other Korean indie videos this one has a wonderful dreamy quality to it..so sit back, put your feet up and enjoy..

equalsql

This weeks session is by Korean Indie singer-songwriter "Rossy Punky Perfume", normally shortened to "RossyPP" 
She is well known on the Seoul indie scene and has collaborated with other well known Seoul based artists such as Lucite Tokki.
A simple relaxed and perfect performance.

equalsql

This weeks performance is by Seoul based 3 piece group called Sweet Salt.
This showcases some really nice acoustic guitar work and the percussionist's cajone and symbol combination work to great effect as the rhythm builds up. 
This track is titled: "5 minutes before parting"

equalsql

This week I present a singer-songwriter-guitarist called Thomas Cook - 토마스 쿡 (actually pronounced Toh mah sue cuke : 토 (Toh) 마 (mah) 스 (sue)  쿡 (cuke) 

He has started to make a name for himself on the Korean Indie music scene and his acoustic guitar and vocal skills have allowed him to guest on other upcoming Indie stars work such as Park Sae Byul (박새별)

This song is called "I'm Nothing At All"

equalsql

This week's video is by a former songwriter for other artists called Siaena - 시애나  ( pronunced 시 Sih 애 ae 나  nah ) who has decided to have a stab at performing her own material. This song is called 'Winter Is Coming' and again the HD video has a dreamy quality that reflects the delicate nature of her vocals.
The song just shows how effective the spareness of just a voice and guitar can be.

 

equalsql

This week's video is a live performance by a another Seoul based indie singer/songwriter called 'DOT' 도트 (pronounced 도 Doh 트 Tuh).
She is a fine tunesmith  and the video shows not only her vocal and writing talents but also that being a drummer in South Korea is not just a reserve for the lads.

This song is called 'Song Of Starlight" 

equalsql

As a bonus because I missed posting last week I've included this extra track by an excellent Seoul based indie rock band called Eastern Sidekick 이스턴 사이드킥  pronounced:  이 (i [as in it]) 스 (sue)  턴 (tuun) 사 (sah) 이  (i [as in it])  드 (duh) 킥 (kik),

A great unusual beat and some terrific guitar playing too.. enjoy

ICBM

Ah! Now that one is good.

Since no-one else has commented so far, I was going to post just to say that there is actually someone listening . I have to admit that the rest of them do nothing for me at all - I did try, and not understanding a word of what they're singing about probably doesn't help! - they all come across as nice but almost painfully bland… for all I know they could be hugely emotional songs, but they don't come across that way.

Eastern Sidekick on the other hand - excellent. Quite an Arctic Monkeys/Kasabian vibe, but a bit different.

equalsql

Thanks to ICBMs comments I have decided to keep with the electric guitar feell so this week I present an K-Indie blues/rock band called Lowdown 30 - 로다운30
(pronounced :  로 Loe  다 Dae   운 Unn 30)

They are starting to create quite a name for themselves across South Korea.
This is a live studio performance of their song: Right Where We Started

ICBM

Interesting… not what I was expecting from the shaved/bearded singer!

Lighter and more melodic - a bit of a 90s Brit-Rock/Oasis sound to them. Not really my thing but they do a pretty good job of it.

Also in keeping with my usual grumpy negativity I have to say the guitar tone is appalling . The bass is great though.

equalsql

Yep, As both a guitarist and bass player I like the bass playing too and that sky-blue Jazz bass is gorgeous 

ChrisMusic

Hey equalsql, just thought I'd let you (and ICBM) know - you're not alone.

I have been following these videos, songs and the descriptive text since you started.

I just didn't want to spoil the lovely clean presentation of a wall of videos, till now, so I'm showing my support too.

I have really been enjoying this whole thread as something a bit different.

I think the emotion comes through and in some ways makes the actual words less important and helped me listen to the voice as an instrument and the subtle nuances, rather than the more blatant and limited words which tie things to finite interpretation.

The language barrier for me has lifted that.  Made me look a music in a way I never did before, so thanks, and keep it coming.

equalsql

Thanks ChrisMusic.
As it's nice to find a a fan of the softer more acoustic material I have been posting, which I personally really enjoy, I'll top off this weeks contribution with a performance from a great girl duo called J.Rabbit who are part of Seoul based musical collective called Friendz.net. Dawoon Jung is an amazing multi-instrumentalist and with vocalist Hyesung Jung they are  starting to see some real success. These two girls hooked up at music college and have a great friendship that always shows when you see their videos. 

ICBM

ChrisMusic said:

I have really been enjoying this whole thread as something a bit different.

I think the emotion comes through and in some ways makes the actual words less important and helped me listen to the voice as an instrument and the subtle nuances, rather than the more blatant and limited words which tie things to finite interpretation.

The language barrier for me has lifted that.  Made me look a music in a way I never did before, so thanks, and keep it coming.

I see where you're coming from actually - I just can't quite hear enough that grabs me. I'm certainly not averse to gentler music - I'm far from a rock purist even though I liked the loud stuff here much more.

equalsql said:

As it's nice to find a a fan of the softer more acoustic material I have been posting, which I personally really enjoy, I'll top off this weeks contribution with a performance from a great girl duo called J.Rabbit who are part of Seoul based musical collective called Friendz.net. Dawoon Jung is an amazing multi-instrumentalist and with vocalist Hyesung Jung they are  starting to see some real success. These two girls hooked up at music college and have a great friendship that always shows when you see their videos. 

And yet I really enjoyed this! I'm not sure why - I think it may be the humour and the quite rough-and-ready approach which is nice, and refreshing. I like this kind of thing where people take their music seriously without taking themselves too seriously, if you see what I mean .

Very good.

ChrisMusic

equalsql

This weeks outing is from another member of the Friendz.net indie-music collective called LeeSA 리싸  (actually pronounced 리 Lih  싸 Sah where the consonant ㅆ 'S' is tense or sharp compared to the normal softer Korean S: ㅅ ). 

LeeSA has started to gain quite a  following and even appeared as herself  (as session singer)  in a recent Korean drama/comedy called: 'I Need Romance'  so her star is on the rise.

I did showcase a couple of her performances on the old MR forum but this is her first time shown here:
The following song is called: "Could You Stop That Smile"
The chorus of this song is sung in English with the rest in Korean. This seems to be becoming popular amongst many Korean artists as they attempt to widen their audience... which is a sad in the sense that their own language is beautiful and unique in structure, being considered by many to be a 'language isolate' .
Anyway enough musing from me...   B-)

  

ChrisMusic

equalsql

This week I present a Korean Indie duo called Acoustic Collabo (어쿠스틱 콜라보)
(pronounced:  어 Ah  쿠 Coh   스 Suh   틱 Tick   콜 Col   라 Lah   보 boh)

The band consists of guitarist Kim Seung Jae (김승재) and An Da Eun (안다은). They have been together since 2010 and have carved out a niche for themselves in the OST market for Korean popular  (Ha-llyu) dramas. They have also released a couple of mini albums that have been popular.
This song is called: Waiting For U