A Shower of Colors

January 18, 2018 by Prisanti Leave a comment

It’s the half end of January already and what would be more fitting than a recap of beautiful shots of color? One of the most interesting things about Korean music video is how craftily (and carefully) it is made. Sometimes, you can totally ignore the music and still amazed at the music videos. From the proportion to the props, from camera works to colors, here’s a list of Korean music video that is totally my style. Colorful background, matching outfits, and of course, confetti.

Mamamoo’s music is always interesting. The four-member girl group has a very distinct musicality and strong voices that is energizing. Having been famous for using different adlibs, watching Mamamoo’s live performance is always a joy. You never know what will come next and they seem to enjoy themselves on the stage. This 2017 hit song titled Yes I Am speaks about confidence and how they love their own imperfections. The music video shows glorious color block background with the heavy use of shadow.

The Introductory Guide to Korean Music and Beyond

August 3, 2017 by Prisanti Leave a comment

While I still refuse to watch Korean drama religiously, I’m not reluctant listening to Korean music. I wrote posts about my favorite Korean songs and music videos before, which mostly involve the unique color of their music videos, not taking much of the music itself. So, today I intend to write one.

It’s hard to understand completely what’s make Korean music so interesting or the very first time I’ve been drawn into it. It’s like a giant black hole that sucks your soul which only give 2 options of going forward, stay on your spot or dig deeper into it. Either way, you’re already fallen into it :))

For me, Korean music is experimental. The music is often loud and usually, combines a lot of sounds and samples that put together in a really weird way. It’s non-conservative and non-traditional way of thinking, which I think is good because they bring their own color to the table. Unlike the weird vibe of Japanese music which is not afraid to smash uncommon things together (remember Baby Metal?), Korean music is still oriented towards the trend of Western Music. It’s not a surprise that EDM and hip-hop are taking Korean music like storm nowadays.

It’s mostly true that Korean idol groups are the fabricated products from entertainment agencies. But since it’s already a long way from the start of this so called Korean Wave, an idol who composes and write his/her own song is not that rare anymore. The other reason why I said Korean music is experimental, it is because there are a lot of up and coming groups with their own ‘concept’ for time to time (you’ll lose count on how many boy band, girl band, and don’t get started on how many members are actually in their groups). Some concepts may work for few groups, but not for some others. Some idol groups may find success after their first debut, while some rocketed to the chart after two albums, after 6 years, or after a video made viral. It seems that Korean music is also in the midst of figuring out the best formula to make them stay in business.

If you noticed already, I keep using the term Korean music rather than K-Pop here. I’m trying not to degrade the very existence of the music inside. While most famous Korean music is still dominated by idol groups with flashy performance, Korean music is more than just pop genre and the dance breaks. When listening to Korean music there is one rule that I always keep, if you cannot picture the music without its music video and performance, then it would probably not that good. Because in the end, music is made to listen to.

Here are a few Korean band or song, which I recently in love with and I think worth to listen to. I’m not really a dedicated fan, so if you ask me each of the band’s member name or every track’s lyrics meaning, I might not remember it completely :)) But as I said over and over again: good music is good music, no matter what genre it is, no matter in what language it speaks.

Sentimental Colors

September 27, 2016 by Prisanti Leave a comment

Last week, I wrote how much I’m inspired by a music video from Korean girl group Red Velvet. One of the reasons why I love it is how much detail the props are. All elements are carefully put to create a kind of dreamy environment.

Recently, there’s also another music video from Korean boy group called WINNER that inspired me. For me personally, it’s hard to like a boy band especially Korean boy band. Because the beauty standard is different there :)) (it’s also hard to like someone with heavy eyeliner and earring, dancing to a so-so music). But since they produce their own music (which is rare in Korean music industry) and their music genre is ranging from blues to rock pop and hip hop to ballad, I found them really interesting to listen to. Their latest mini album called EXIT: E consists of variety music that quite distinct them from the rest of Korean boy band.

The title track called Baby Baby is a jazzy blues that open with a crisp falsetto. The song asks for help and a sense of longing, requesting a chance not to be alone before finding solace in an instant euphoria. The other title track called Sentimental is a relaxed pop-rock which told the sudden sentimental feeling and loneliness. It sounds light and drunk at some point.

But there is nothing more interesting than how the music video for Sentimental is made. I cannot stop to be amazed on how smart it is to make the camera shot from the top. I love how all the rooms are made with so many details and props. And once again, all hail for THE GLORIOUS COLORS.

Here are the color palettes I pulled out from the music video.

Have a nice week!

Pastel Craze

September 20, 2016 by Prisanti 1 Comment

A few years back, my friend Sella wrote a blog post on how she won’t be ashamed anymore to admit that she loves K-Pop music. I thought that’s not even shameful from the start. Everyone deserves what she/he loves and it’s not anybody’s business to tell you what to love and what is not. I always believe that good music is good music, no matter what genre it is, no matter in what language it speaks.

A few weeks ago, I also find this article that points out about the design of some of K-Pop Music Video and how carefully it’s crafted. In regards to K-Pop music and my current addiction of Pastel Colors, here’s what inspired me lately.

Red Velvet is the latest girl group from SM Entertainment, one of the largest Korea Entertainment Company which said to be the pioneer of Korean Wave. Having successfully debuted groups like Super Junior and Girl’s Generation, Red Velvet is their newest experiment in Korea music industry. The name Red Velvet comes from the group’s concept image which has nothing to do with Red Velvet Cake :)) According to Wikipedia, ‘Red’ signifies their vivid and bold image, whereas ‘Velvet’ reflects their classy and toned-down side. I don’t understand why this concept should exist but the group has achieved success by sweeping music chart here and there. That can only mean one thing, it works. People do accept this kind of thing, something has been right for them.

The fivesome has been around Korea music industry since 2014 and one of the thing that I love is their heavy use of colors to identify each member personality. In their debut song called Happiness, each member dyed their hair tip using the color that represents them. Though I really like the song Ice Cream Cake and has been writing it before, their latest song called Russian Roulette really catches my eyes lately. It’s upbeat tunes and catchy chorus are hard to ignore, but I badly fall in love with their music video. I can help playing Replay button all over again.

The wide shot, the composition, the complex props, the simple graphics, and THE GLORIOUS COLORS.

Even if you’re not a fan of K-Pop, this music video is too good to be missed.

I pulled out my favorite colors from the music video and made these color schemes.

Have a nice day, color lovers :3

The Sound of Youth

May 29, 2016 by Prisanti Leave a comment

[dropcap]I[/dropcap]t has been 3 years since Akdong Musician (known also as AKMU) won the K-Pop Star season 2, a global talent competition to find the next K-Pop star. The sibling has been living in Mongolia for some times and only came back to their birth country to audition for the show. While other contestant showed talents like rapping and dancing, Akdong Musician charmed the audiences by their innocent performances. Lee Chanhyuk, who is only 17 years old that time, has been composing music without even knowing guitar chord precisely and the 14 years old Lee Suhyun has been listening to her brother’s songs and remembered each song perfectly. The clear and tender voice of Suhyun adds depth to Chanhyuk’s witty lyrics. Despite their shyness and lack of confidences, the acoustic performance and the harmony of the two captured the audience’s heart by storm. The juries, which consists of the representatives of the three biggest entertainment companies in South Korea (SM Entertainment, JYP Entertainment & YG Entertainment), agreed that the siblings shined most when singing their original song instead of other singer’s songs (watch the juries stop their performances and asked them to sing their original song title Don’t Cross Your Legs during their first performance, minutes 3:44).

I only listen to their music earlier this year through my little sister’s recommendation. Turns out, I love their music so much. Akdong Musician signed with YG Entertainment after winning the competition and released their first album titled Play in Spring 2014. They kept their innocent image through their musical videos and the record company has been given freedom for the siblings to compose all music and writing all their lyrics despite their young age. The easy listening folk-pop expressed their view about youth and teenage love (check out 200% and Give Love).

Akdong Musician during the promotion of their debut album Play (2014)

After that, I started watching their performances in K-Pop Star. Akdong Musician performed several original songs, during the talent show which not only interesting in the ears but also in their lyrics and meaning. One time they performed a song titled Is It Ramyun?, which lyrically weird at first but actually has a deep view about wasting time and being lazy. Their song Crescendo (which also stands for musical dynamics to sound gradually louder) is a youth empowerment to gain confidence by talking louder.