As I’ve mentioned before in my periodic reviews of my wesbite’s statistics, celebrities are a big generator of traffic. Lee Sabi continues to be the most searched-for celeb which results in my site being hit, and the Celebs category seems to be the most popular. Readers will have gathered that, yes, every once in a … [Read More]
Music (page 85)
Sumi Jo and Dong Suk Kang at Cadogan Hall
While Western classical music is outside my self-imposed remit, I thought I’d pass on news of an upcoming recital at the Cadogan Hall (5 Sloane Terrace, London, SW1X 9DQ) on 14 December featuring soprano mega-star Jo Sumi with violinist Kang Dong-suk and two pianists, Pascal Devoyon and Vincenzo Scalera. Details on the Cadogan Hall website. … [Read More]
Think Korea: the Finale
Details of the closing events of Think Korea 2006 Korean Traditional Performance 11 December 2006 7:30pm Manchester, Bruntwood Theatre, Royal Northern College of Music 13 December 20067:30pm Croydon, The Fairfield Hall Introduction The National Center for Korean Traditional Performing Arts is an organization which began more than 1400 years ago. Its forerunners can be traced … [Read More]
Freestyle #3
(July 2004) Primarily for rap-lovers. Strangely, 5 out of the 14 tracks have no musical content whatsoever, being recordings of one end of a phone conversation. Not understanding Korean, I don’t know whether there is any deep significance in these tracks. The first four tracks I can happily live without. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, … [Read More]
BoA #5: Girls on top
(2005) BoA’s 5th Korean album is leagues ahead of her 2nd, (No 1). Since then, she’s worked on her voice, and her managers have hired some decent songwriters and pushed the music in a more international direction. Let’s get the final track, 가을 편지, out of the way first, as it’s atypical. It comes as … [Read More]
BoA #2: No.1
(January 2002) With the emphasis on electronic sounds rather than compositional inspiration, this is not a recommendable album. The robotic drum machine, brainless key shifts and silly noises do not make for engaging listening. BoA’s voice is nothing remarkable, a bit nasal – though not unpleasant. Perhaps the video is worth watching, but I’m not … [Read More]
Loveholic #3: Nice Dream
(Fluxus / Seoul Records, April 2006) Loveholic’s 3rd is another great CD, full of good tunes, well arranged, and well sung by the excellent Ji-sun. She has a pleasing, breathy top end to her voice, a nice casual mid-range, but she is also capable of some ballsy rock chick bottom notes. The band that Loveholic … [Read More]
Rollercoaster # 4: Sunsick
(March 2004) A glorious mix of acid jazz, funk, fusion and latin. The latin element is new to this album. The fact that Tyle Brule, the FT’s dude in the fast lane, has it on his iPod, adds to its street cred. Brule’s been living with the album since the end of 2004 and still … [Read More]
Humming Urban Stereo: Purple Drop
Humming Urban Stereo combine acid jazz and lounge music, with some Latin / bossa nova rhythms. The sound is largely electronic – rhythms are programmed, and there are lots of fun synthesized effects. The music is written, arranged and programmed by the band’s leader, Lee Jeereen. It’s slick, polished and in the end a little … [Read More]
Shinhwa: My Choice
(January 2002) My choice is a compilation of the highlights from Shinhwa’s first four albums, and so is a good place to start for those unfamiliar with one of Korea’s popular and longest-lived boy bands. One of the more peculiar numbers is T.O.P. (Twinkling of Paradise), a reinterpretation of a famous Tchaikovsky melody, together with … [Read More]
Rain #1: Bad Guy
Rain’s first album displays his vocal qualities (it’s a good voice), and the range of stuff he’s prepared to sing. There’s a problem though. The music isn’t really distinctive. The ballads he sings are the sort of ballads which lots of K-pop stars are singing. The same key-shifts, the same use of that infuriating tingly … [Read More]
THe ThE Band: 4th album
Highly listenable-to guitar-based pop / rock. Both electric and acoustic guitars. THe The Band write all their own stuff, so it’s music that suits them. And they have also decided that the first of the H’s in their name should be capitlised. Not that I’m a great expert, but the sound of the band seems … [Read More]
Rollercoaster # 2: Il Sang Da Ban Sa
(July 2000) One of those annoying albums where it’s hard to say which track is your favourite. You listen to one and think it’s the best; and then the next track comes along and you change your mind. Probably my least favourite is the repetitive and slightly twee title track which closes the album. Mr … [Read More]
Loveholic #1: F.L.O.R.I.S.T
(Fluxus / YBM Seoul Records, April 2003) Loveholic’s debut album is a huge success. Intelligent, tuneful, and varied. Their style is shows a number of influences, including some from the 60s and 70s – I detect hints of Simon & Garfunkel’s 59th Street Bridge Song in the 8th track Come to Visit, some ELO in … [Read More]
Bada #2: Aurora
(Released: September 2004) A ridiculously good album. Pop perfection. This is the sort of unpretentious music which has me bopping around the kitchen as I cook. If I were to have a criticism, there’s rather too much synthesizer and computer-generated beats – particularly in the numbers produced by the Japanese team – and not enough … [Read More]
Clazziquai Project #1: Instant Pig
(May 2004) A combination of Acid Jazz, electronica and chill-out lounge, with sometimes a flavour of Latin (the fifth track, novabossa, could almost come from an Astrud Gilberto album). The instrumental emphasis is very much on electronic sounds, though some tracks benefit from acoustic guitar. The vocals are always pleasant and relaxed. There’s nothing terribly … [Read More]