(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]
Music (page 99)
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
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 some rapping … [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
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 Kwang describes … [Read More]
Loveholic #1: F.L.O.R.I.S.T
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 the background vocals of other tracks (particularly … [Read More]
Bada #2: Aurora
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 human intervention. But … [Read More]
Clazziquai Project #1: Instant Pig
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 profound here, … [Read More]
Kangta #3: Persona
(March 2005) This album is a winner. Some might dismiss it as pure kitsch, standard Korean ballad / R&B fayre, but it’s always just within the bounds of good taste. For those unfamiliar with K-pop stars, Kangta is a solo act which spun off from the now defunct boy band H.O.T. (Highfive of Teenagers) and … [Read More]
Another internet concept which almost works. But doesn’t.
Browsing aimlessly (trying to find reviews of Korean popular music CDs) recently I came across Last.fm, an internet radio station. It claims to have a huge playlist, and what’s played to you is determined by what styles you select and the sort of stuff your buddies are listening to. It seems very promising, with all … [Read More]
Lee Soo Young #6: The Colors of my Life
A great ballad album. From the big ballad 휠릴리 (track 4) via the more intimate 너도 그런지.. and Sam Lee’s funk-inspired “You want me” (featuring Eric) to a more R&B 겁쟁이 (track 7), Lee Soo Young shows how it should be done. She has a good team of song-writers — showing that you don’t have … [Read More]
Think Korea 2006 – the Jae-Eun Park Ensemble
Details of an unusual event as part of Think Korea 2006: Jae-Eun Park Ensemble with City of London Sinfonia Date : 27 – 29 October 2006 Venue : SOAS & St Giles Cripplegate Programme October 27, 7:30 pm The Harmony within East & West City of London Sinfonia Dominic Wheeler, Conductor Transformation for Orchestra by … [Read More]
The versatile Uhm Jung-hwa (엄정화)
A rather silly item in the Chosun Ilbo (entitled Singer’s Hotpants Inflame Cyberspace) has alerted me to an actress that I hadn’t really focused on before. She’s been in films that I’ve seen and vaguely registered as quite interesting, or films that I’ve missed and am eager to see. I haven’t heard her sing, and … [Read More]
Chuseok celebrations at Asia House
The Chuseok celebrations at Asia House on 12 October, though a couple of days late for the festival itself, were warmly received by a capacity audience. Dr Keith Howard from SOAS gave a useful introduction to the meaning of Chuseok, and also explained the genesis of one of the instruments being played that evening — … [Read More]
Sunwook Kim triumphs at Leeds piano competition
Thanks to Aidan Foster-Carter for the following: It was a notable night for Korea at the finals of the Leeds International Pianoforte Competition 2006. Held triennially, this is one of the world’s leading prizes. Past winners include Radu Lupu, Murray Perahia, Dmitri Alexeev, and Artur Pizarro. To those illustrious names, add Sunwook Kim (above): at … [Read More]