I just wanted to let you guys know that I will not be rotating this week, instead I will be working on uploading songs that were picked for the number lottery which ends on Tuesday. There were quite a few songs picked & I'm trying to review each of them too, so it might take a while to get those up. Sorry in advance about the wait!
On another note, Alistere is having problems with her Internet which is why she didn't rotate last week. =) Also, you might have seen that we have a new contributer to the site, Cate! I am still accepting contributers to the site, so if you are interested in occasionally posting up music or reviews, feel free to contact me at tokyomonochrome@gmail.com for more information.
In the meantime, I've uploaded a couple songs for you guys that have recently been released. There's been quite a few recent releases that I've been excited about (eg. TaeGoon, Lee Seung Gi, Epik High) so I thought I'd share a few . =) Please comment or leave a rating if taking!
❖ 어떻게 니가 - ShinJae (신재)
Korean | Ballad
I wasn't too sure about him at first - seeing the cover image I was expecting upbeat, dance-style songs, but the genre said ballad. Overall, I'm glad I gave him a try - his voice is warm and rich, and has depth without being too husky. Arrangement-wise, it's a classic, uplifting strings-and-piano ballad that makes good use of dynamics, starting out softly and building up to a stronger chorus although it's slightly predictable. Not an exceptional song, but a promising one.
❖ 사랑병 - ShinJae (신재)
Korean | Ballad
사랑병 has stronger pop routes. I really love how the piano arrangement echoes the melody - it ties in with his voice very nicely, although I found it a bit overpowering in some places. A sweet, bright song - my only complaint is, as with the first track, that it was a bit bland. I think he has a lot of potential, but compositionally his songs are a bit lacklustre.
❖ 말해줘 - TaeGoon
Korean | Pop/Dance
TaeGoon is a fairly new artist, but so far I've been quite impressed with his releases. 말해줘 is from his third mini-album, and following in the style of his older releases, it's strongly electronica-influenced. It's very catchy and the rap portions remind me a bit of Big Bang (in fact, I've seen him compared to Big Bang quite a lot), but I think it'll take a few more listens to really grow on me. It just seems a bit flat and two-dimensional, I feel like it isn't as powerful as some of his previous releases.
❖ Finally - TaeGoon
Korean | Pop/Dance
A fast-paced and energetic song. At first I found the synths in this song way too overpowering, but they really suit the atmosphere of the song. The chorus is catchy and overall the song has the power that I felt was missing in 말해줘. This is also one of the few songs where I actually didn't mind/liked the use of autotune.
❖ 愛されたい (Aisaretai) - Hiromi
Japanese | R&B/Pop/Ballad
I first heard Hiromi in a song with Nao'ymt (called Recover), and I really loved her voice. It's smooth, clear, strong, and perfectly suited for R&B. Aisaretai is a pretty R&B ballad. Hiromi's seasoned vocals and powerful harmonies really add a lot of colour to the song. I love the repetitive keyboard melody in the background.
❖ 사랑이 맴돈다 - Lee Seung Gi
Korean | Ballad
I love his voice so much. <3 It's light, clear, and melodic. 사랑이 맴돈다 is a mid-tempo ballad. It seems like a blend of modern elements (as seen in percussion, synths) and the "classic" ballad with the occasional appearance of strings. I'll admit I'm probably more than a little biased towards him, but I really enjoyed this song.
❖ 사랑이란 - Lee Seung Gi (Sa Rang Ee Ran)
Korean | Ballad
Something a little brighter and more sugary from Seung Gi. 사랑이란 is cheery and poppy. Although I still prefer his ballads, it's definitely nice to see a few more upbeat songs in an album dominated by ballads. I really like the ending where he's just singing "La la la" to the melody.
❖ 선물 (ft. 박지윤/Park Ji Yoon) - Epik High
Korean | Hip-Hop
Epik High and Park Ji Yoon? Definitely an exciting collaboration. 선물 is simply lovely arrangement-wise. I love the light, rich piano and Latin-influenced bass/percussion. Ji Yoon's airy, feminine voice contrasts perfectly with the rapping.
Labels: Epik High, Hiromi, Lee Seung Gi, ShinJae, Tae Goon
Happy Canada Day, for those of you in Canada. =) The next rotation will not be up until sometime this weekend (warning: it will probably either be a little late or smaller than usual, sorry guys) but here's a few songs in the meantime.
결혼해 줄래 (feat. BIZNIZ) - Lee Seung Gi (Please Marry Me)
Korean | Pop/Ballad
I generally dislike formulaic pop ballads, but Lee Seung Gi makes everything sound better. His voice just has so much warmth, adding a genuine and rich depth to the song. The generic, predictable instrumental didn't do much for me, nor did BIZNIZ's fairly standard rap verses (which, I will admit, did break the monotony of the song quite well), but the sweet melody and overall smoothness of Please Marry Me, elevated by Lee Seung Gi's gorgeous voice, makes for an enjoyable listen with replay value.
君の声を feat. VERBAL (m-flo) - Kana Nishino
Japanese | Pop/Ballad
A very pretty mid-tempo, piano-based ballad. I only recently discovered Kana Nishino, and had some reservations, expecting stereotypical pop songs by a mediocre or poor vocalist. However, Kana Nishino's voice is quite nice. It's strong but not overpowering. She can handle venturing into the higher rangers without her voice thinning out too much or becoming shrill. The rich R&B based accompaniment is enjoyable despite being somewhat bland, and VERBAL's rapping is good as usual.
she levitates - blanc.
English | Electronica/Pop
You may not recognize the name "blanc.", but it's Maynard Plant of Monkey Majik. He's released two solo albums so far, this is from his second, entitled "canvas". He also hails from Ontario, Canada, coincidentally. "she levitates" has incredibly sweet lyrics It could be near, it could be far - It don't matter, cause I'll try real hard, complete with blanc.'s warm, slighly synthesized vocals. I'm generally not a fan of distorting vocals, but it's well handled in this song and not taken too far. I think I'm going to end up recommending the majority of these songs, haha.
Mission No. 4 (feat.Kim Hyun Joong, Kim Joon) - Son Dam Bi
Korean | Pop
Didn't have high expectations for this song, not being a big fan of Son Dam Bi. If I recall correctly, this song was for Haptic Motion. It's a plunky, synthy song with a jerky beat that is at times appealing and at times just jarring. It's a cute song that has Dam Bi showing another side from her previous more mature, "sexy" image. I wasn't overly impressed by it, but I can stand listening to it.
Romantic Freedom - RAJ
Korean | Pop
A newcomer to the k-pop scene that I thought I'd try out. A slick, confident song with synthy trumpet riffs. I quite liked the feel of it, but RAJ's voice needs a little fine-tuning. It's a bit too thin and lacks any shape, sounding reedy and slightly out of tune when he hits higher notes. Still, I'm interesting in seeing how he develops.
HOT K-POP 2009 ~ special mashup pt. I ~ - mas4
Korean | Remix
A mash-up of roughly 20 popular k-pop songs. I'm generally not a fan of mash-ups, but everything flows perfectly and smoothly. Very impressive. You can find a tracklist of all the songs used & more about mas4 at his website, masaMIXES.com.
Labels: blanc., Kana Nishino, Lee Seung Gi, mas4, RAJ, Son Dam Bi
