June 2003 Archives
o. "2 Jeok" by LEE Jeok
He's been out of the scene for a while. I really liked his project work "Carnival" with KIM DongRyul. LEE Jeok has a very distinctive and dramatic voice and style. I've always thought that his style might suit very well with stage musicals (rock musicals, that is). I remember he having mentioned it actually. It would be interesting to see how this develops.
For this album, KIM YunA (from JaURiM) and KIM JinPyo (an old collaborator from the days of Panic) were featured on some of the tracks.
o. "ProSumer 2003" by ProSumer
Well, I thought I might give it a try even with a bit cheesy and strange name. They are CHO JinSu (vocal, most of the songwriting), YUN SangGyun (guitars), YU Jun (bass), and Mowgli (drums).
They might have been a great session team, but their music/orchestration and, especially, the vocal sounds very archaic and "cheesy". I don't think the recording/mixing helped either. As I said, I am not discounting their musical talents. It's just that their music would have a very limited, if any, marketability. Anyway, that was that.
o. "Chococream Rolls" by Chococream Rolls
Their page says it's a project group from JaURim. I guess they are doing different things. They are LEE SeonGyu (guitar, vocal), KIM JinMan (bass, vocal) (both from JaURim), and LEE SeungBok (drums, vocal, programming) (of Funny Powder). From their page, they say Chococream Rolls was the name of the LEE SeonGyu and KIM JinMan's former band. I guess they are doing something in-between.
Maybe it's because of the lack of female voice, but their music sounds a bit "heavier" than their more famous gig's, with heavier distorted rhythm guitars. Not bad, but it does sound muddled, without anything to contrast against it to balance it out.
o. "MaeIl GgumEul GguNaYo..." by Raina
As soon as I heard her voice on the first track, I thought of SO ChanHwi. It was definitely mostly about her vocal quality and singing style. But there was also other elements that helped me make the connection such as the fact that she doesn't write songs and doesn't play anything. I guess it's okay as long as she sings well. Actually, she rather sings well (although most of the songs weren't particularly straining). But her voice is not exactly something that neither is comfortable to listen to (just like a bright set of speakers) nor has any specific enchanting qualities (at least, to me).
o. "JP4" by KIM JinPyo
His continuing his style of rap, but this time it's getting a bit more mellow. And to soften the overall feel, he brought in a lot of other vocalists. They include BMK, SHIN YeWon, HaRim, Lena PARK JeongHyeon, T (a.k.a. Tasha), As One, DJ Wreckx, JoPD, and Ash. I guess it became more of a R&B-ish-pop-with-some-rap album. At least, he seems to know what works (although I am not quite fond of his style of rap, frankly).
o. "AnNyeong, MARY POPPINS" by No Brain
I don't know much about punk rocks, but I like them. They play simpler, but very fun type of music, IMHO. This is their third album, and strangely (maybe not) none of the songs seem to have anything to do with "Mary Poppins" (one of my favorite movies). No Brain are LEE SeongWu (vocal), KIM MinSeop (guitar), JEONG JaeHwan (bass), and HWANG HyeonSeong (drums).
