KultScene is happy to announce that, in celebration of our third anniversary, we are beginning a collaboration with K-Pop Unmuted, a podcast dedicated to delving deep into K-pop.
In the 18th episode of K-Pop Unmuted, Stephen and Joe discussed releases in May 2017 from Solbi, Kim Lip, TWICE, B1A4, Triple H, and April.
Let us know what your favorite songs of May were in the comment section below and be sure to subscribe to the site and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr to keep up with all of our posts.
https://kultscene.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/18987694_10209567041197807_1530876637_o.jpg15001500KultScenehttp://kultscene.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/KULTSCENE-LOGO-2018-TRANSPARENT-RED.pngKultScene2017-06-07 16:50:502017-06-09 12:34:08KultScene’s K-Pop Unmuted: May Recap
The final week of May 2017 saw a lot of musical releases in South Korea, ranging from rap to pop to ballads. We picked some of our favorite new songs, including music from Tarin, San E, Bolbbalgan4, and LOOΠΔ’s Kim Lip.
“Mohae” by San E featuring Bolbbalgan4 (Released May 23)
After a “Season of suffering” (title of his last album), summer brings us a softer San E. “Mohae” is a light hip hop song with R&B and trap traits, featuring indie pop group Bolbbagan4. It was a matter of time until Bolbbagan4 became a feature in a rap song, a field in which female vocals and indie groups often are featured and bring balance to the rappers’ strong vibes. In “Mohae”, however, both San E and Bolbaggan4 seem to vibe in the same wavelength, while they rap/sing about a boy messaging a girl.
Say what you want about melancholic ballad drivel, but I’m a huge fan of Korea’s coffee house music and Tarin’s “Coffee Ending” was the perfect fix when I heard it midway through the week. Tarin’s mellow vocals and the song’s gentle, jazzy melody aren’t probably for everyone, but they were the perfect mix of sweet and bitter, just like the perfect cup o’ joe.
The Loona girls are paving a curious path since we can’t yet really sense homogeneity between the songs they’ve been releasing, but “Eclipse” is the most intriguing step of the journey so far – and also the best. Both the song and MV are more sensual than we’d expect from a young artist who will debut in a girl group, but whatever is the company’s intention, I can only congratulate them for this track. “Eclipse” is a smooth jam with a mature vibe that at first made me think Monotree Music (Sohee’s “Spotlight”; Ladies Code’s “The rain”) wrote and produced it. My guess wasn’t completely wrong: the song is produced by Daniel Obi Klein and Charli Taft (same duo that did Red Velvet’s “Automatic”, just as sexy as “Eclipse”), but Monotree’s lyricists Park Jiyeon and Hyun Hwang wrote the fancy lyrics, which works even more perfectly with Kim Lip’s soft and sultry vocals.
— Ana Clara
What was your favorite K-pop release of the week? Tell us what you think in the comment section below and be sure to subscribe to the site and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr to keep up with all of our posts.
https://kultscene.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/K-POP-14.jpg7681024KultScenehttp://kultscene.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/KULTSCENE-LOGO-2018-TRANSPARENT-RED.pngKultScene2017-05-29 14:04:142017-05-29 14:04:14Weekly K-pop faves: May 22-28
As summer looms closer, K-pop has started to pick up the pace. This week saw lots of different releases, from soloists to idols to rappers; the game is on. And like every week, we took on the task of selecting our absolute faves, so here they are.
In all honesty, I clicked on “Spotlight” once it showed up on YouTube because I assumed that it was the former Wonder Girl member Sohee. I was wrong, but definitely not disappointed. K-Pop Star 6 finalist Kim Sohee’s single is a trendy R&B-tinged dance track that immediately made me think the queen of solo K-pop dance, BoA. And from other reviews I’ve seen, I’m not the only one thinking this. Sohee’s performance in the video is no joke, and her light pop vocals hooked me immediately. For a debut song, “Spotlight” is pretty impressive and I’m really excited to see what Sohee does next.
“Hyung (feat. Dok2, Simon Dominic, Tiger JK)” by Dumbfounded (Released May 16)
Korean-American rapper Dumbfounded dropped his first official Korean release and enlisted a roster of K-rap A-listers to feature on it. Dok2 and Simon Dominica bounce verses off of Dumbfounded, while Tiger JK addresses them shortly at the beginning (and maybe the chorus? Not sure). Essentially, the track can be summarized by the line: “Show me respect, I’ll show it back, that’s the code of conduct.” It talks about earning respect rather than being given to automatically on the basis of being a hyung, an older male. The music video stays true to Dumbfoundead’s funny aesthetic and uses lots of Korean culture references to emphasize that this is a Korean single. In short, “Hyung” is a bop.
— Alexis
What do you think of these songs? Let us know what your favorite song of the week was in the comment section below and be sure to subscribe to the site and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr to keep up with all of our posts.
https://kultscene.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Untitled-design-12-1.png7681024KultScenehttp://kultscene.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/KULTSCENE-LOGO-2018-TRANSPARENT-RED.pngKultScene2017-05-21 21:03:192017-05-21 21:03:19Weekly K-pop faves: May 15-21
Each week, some of our KultScene contributors pick songs that excited them over the past seven days. In the second week of May, we enjoyed songs by Day6, Moon Myung Jin, and Hitchhiker’s new song with NCT’s Taeyong.
“Dance Dance” by DAY6 (Released May 8)
Five months and ten songs into their monthly 2017 release project, DAY6 is still going strong in terms of coming up with extraordinarily catchy tracks that match perfectly with their identity as a band yet are unique enough to show their growing musicality with each release. Adorable music video aside, I think that I may have just found my favourite DAY6 release of the year. “Dance Dance” is a perfect musical representation of how much this band truly loves making music as well as how good they actually are at doing so. Their burning passion and enjoyment is evident right from the onset with maknae drummer Dowoon’s memorable first lines (he’s never had lines in other DAY6 songs before) and Jae’s playful pause toward the end of the song. The music video also shows scenes of the members creating songs or jamming in their natural habitat (the practice room) which gives off a much more comfortable vibe than any of their previous videos and really showcases the brotherly relationship this group shares. We still have seven months and 14 more releases to look forward to, so here’s hoping that DAY6 will continue to outdo themselves and reach the height of popularity they deserve.
Hitchhiker is a difficult producer to work with in terms of sound for any vocalist, since he takes centre. His latest track “Around” is a frenetic mix of sitar-like sounds and Major Lazer-esque dancehall. It pulses with unstoppable energy leaving a lot of work for NCT member Taeyong to not fall behind. The idol does not falter for a second though as his trademark deep drawl drags the song into his own. He rasps and bites as the song takes off around the halfway mark. It’s a clear sign that Taeyong is as good a rapper as people say, even for an SM idol.
“Lie Down (feat. Reddy)” by Moon Myung Jin (Released May 13)
Sometimes when K-pop is slow and unamusing, I have to go on YouTube to find cool releases on my own. This was precisely the case this week, which brought me to singer Moon Myung Jin’s “Lie Down” featuring Reddy. And while I don’t know the first, I certainly know the latter, leading me to click on the song without a second guess. “Lie Down” has that The Weeknd dreamy, baby-making soundscape, although it weaves in iconic East Asian sounds and chants that give the song a fresh take. Moreover, Reddy’s signature laid-back rap was meant to feature on “Lie Down” given that it’s a pretty chill song.
— Alexis
What do you think of our takes on these songs? Let us know what your favorite song of the week was in the comment section below and be sure to subscribe to the site and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr to keep up with all of our posts.
https://kultscene.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/K-POP-13.jpg7681024KultScenehttp://kultscene.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/KULTSCENE-LOGO-2018-TRANSPARENT-RED.pngKultScene2017-05-14 20:02:092017-05-14 20:02:09Weekly K-pop faves: May 8-14
