Breaking through the cheerful rhythm and xylophone beats, her husky voice rings in brilliance, taking us into an ephemeral haze.
“수상한 밤들이 계속되던 날
when mysterious nights continued
언젠가부터 나는 좀 달라졌다
suddenly, i began to change
빛 바래간 내 웃음이 눈치 없이 삐져나올 때
when my faded bright smile left me without a hint”
A surreality of sounds opens the door into a long dream, a dream never-ending, just a mesh of desires and confusion. I imagine the clearest bluest sky I can ever envision. I imagine pitch darkness of a forest with rainbow lights flashing through the branches. I imagine birds walking through lucid dreams, strumming guitars and drums.
“푸른 바람이 그쳐 잠잠한 날
when calmness after the blue wind ceased
언젠가부터 나는 좀 달라졌다
suddenly, i began to change
내 안에 숨은 마음이 너를 조금씩 궁금해할 때
when my hidden heart began to be curious about you”
Emerged from 황소윤 Hwang So Yoon‘s mundane wondering in the summer of 2015, the song is a long dream that you know will end soon but keeps going and going. Joining hands with drummer 강토 Kangto, 새소년 brought this song to life in Hongdae music clubs, gaining a new momentum when bassist 문팬시 Moon Pency joined the band a year later, which followed an official release of the single in 2017.
I’ve never been so attracted to someone’s voice before, let alone a rock band vocalist. The ambiguous huskiness echoing against the instruments. I can vouch she has one of the most unique voices in the Korean music scene.
“I want to shoot a movie with you
Hold your hand and walk, run, fly with you
Why am I blooming when I look at you
I can change the world to be with you
So take my hand and walk, run, fly with you”
This song can’t be discussed without its music video. Created by Berlin-based Japanese animator Hoji Tsuchiya, the video takes us through a version of a long dream – through collages of geometric shapes and moving people, of quirky patterns and clashing colours, all in a continuous journey, nothing ever ceasing, nothing ever ending – just a long winding dream.
“거짓말 같은 하루를 흘려내고
Letting the unbelievable day pass
너를 내게로 끌어 안을 때면
The moment I pull you closer to me
참 이상해 난 조금 더 시간을 잡아두고 싶어
It’s so strange, I want to hold onto the time a little bit more”
The story goes that 새소년 discovered Tsuchiya and contacted him without any previous encounter or network. The animator greeted the commission (and the song) with enthusiasm, but due to the long process of creation, the song release was extended four months later from its initial date. A worthwhile time for a perfect collaboration. Because it’s pretty rare to find both the song and accompanying visuals to be simultaneously so great that they’re so amazing together.
A “new boy*” in town, 새소년 is definitely a band to look forward to in 2018 (many popular artists like Yoo Heeyeol and IU can agree with me, plus they recently got awarded as the best new artist of the year). Each member is incredibly talented – note instrumental solos – so it comes at no surprise that the band reached public attention within a year. And 황소윤 is an extremely attractive guitarist (cue this solo) and will forever be my goals in the new world.
* “새소년” translates to “new boy.”
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