The Evolution of A Mad Soul Child
[So I wrote this post waaaay back but completely forgot to publish it, and only realized it after the lead singer of this group collaborated with Tablo on his comeback track, "Bad". No time to blog about that awesomeness, but check out my Twitter for my thoughts on that, and enjoy this post about a little-known (in mainstream k-pop fandom) yet completely awesome group.]
Today I'd like to share with you an awesome group that I've been listening to for a while, but never got around to writing about. Mad Soul Child are an electro-pop group made up of DJ Chanwoo, vocalist Jinsil, and music video director VJ Kwon. Their combined prowess in visual art, music production and singing makes then a serious triple threat, but what stood out about them to me was their versatility when it comes to their music.
The first single of theirs I heard was "Beautiful Day", a single released for a Calvin Klein Jeans campaign featuring three members of f(x). The song is a twangy acoustic track that I instantly fell in love with. I also like how this promo video was shot - I think the quirkiness of the shoot and the song match up pretty well.
You can find the full song on Grooveshark along with the English version, "Get Out".
After listening to this, I went back to see what else they had done. I found their OST track for the hit Won Bin movie, Ajusshi (The Man From Nowhere) which is very different from "Beautiful Day". Jinsil's voice is mournful and plaintive, very different from the more cynical tone she sang with in the last track. It starts out with a sad piano, and then gets accompanied by guitar and drums, making it a wonderfully melancholy rock ballad.
Finally, I came to their own album, Lalala, released in 2009. I was definitely not expecting them to be an electro pop group, but I was excited: I had been looking for more Korean electro groups since Clazziquai have been on hiatus. Their style is very different from Clazziquai's, but equally amazing and just as dancey. Check out the video for "VIP Girl" below, which showcases their visual and musical style:
I gotta say, I absolutely love Jinsil. Her voice is very distinctive, but she makes it work for every sound they throw at her. My favorite track of theirs is "Ask" which sees her taking on the more melancholy sound seen in "Dear" with an awesomely spacey instrumental:
They've made a name for themselves not only in the Korean indie scene, but also abroad: They were among the first Korean bands invited to play at New York's CMJ Music Festival, and toured the US with Seoulsonic in 2010. MTV Iggy even named them one of the 25 Best New Bands In The World for 2010. Now all we have to do is wait until they drop some more awesomeness on us - hopefully soon.
If you're looking for more electronic music from Korea outside of staples like Clazziquai, then I highly recommend Idiotape, who were part of this year's Seoulsonic tour (check out this awesome clip of them from the tour); EE, who are primarily audio-visual artists and have done some really cool work; and Telepathy, who are kind of electro-rock.
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| Source: MTV Iggy |
Today I'd like to share with you an awesome group that I've been listening to for a while, but never got around to writing about. Mad Soul Child are an electro-pop group made up of DJ Chanwoo, vocalist Jinsil, and music video director VJ Kwon. Their combined prowess in visual art, music production and singing makes then a serious triple threat, but what stood out about them to me was their versatility when it comes to their music.
The first single of theirs I heard was "Beautiful Day", a single released for a Calvin Klein Jeans campaign featuring three members of f(x). The song is a twangy acoustic track that I instantly fell in love with. I also like how this promo video was shot - I think the quirkiness of the shoot and the song match up pretty well.
You can find the full song on Grooveshark along with the English version, "Get Out".
After listening to this, I went back to see what else they had done. I found their OST track for the hit Won Bin movie, Ajusshi (The Man From Nowhere) which is very different from "Beautiful Day". Jinsil's voice is mournful and plaintive, very different from the more cynical tone she sang with in the last track. It starts out with a sad piano, and then gets accompanied by guitar and drums, making it a wonderfully melancholy rock ballad.
Finally, I came to their own album, Lalala, released in 2009. I was definitely not expecting them to be an electro pop group, but I was excited: I had been looking for more Korean electro groups since Clazziquai have been on hiatus. Their style is very different from Clazziquai's, but equally amazing and just as dancey. Check out the video for "VIP Girl" below, which showcases their visual and musical style:
I gotta say, I absolutely love Jinsil. Her voice is very distinctive, but she makes it work for every sound they throw at her. My favorite track of theirs is "Ask" which sees her taking on the more melancholy sound seen in "Dear" with an awesomely spacey instrumental:
They've made a name for themselves not only in the Korean indie scene, but also abroad: They were among the first Korean bands invited to play at New York's CMJ Music Festival, and toured the US with Seoulsonic in 2010. MTV Iggy even named them one of the 25 Best New Bands In The World for 2010. Now all we have to do is wait until they drop some more awesomeness on us - hopefully soon.
If you're looking for more electronic music from Korea outside of staples like Clazziquai, then I highly recommend Idiotape, who were part of this year's Seoulsonic tour (check out this awesome clip of them from the tour); EE, who are primarily audio-visual artists and have done some really cool work; and Telepathy, who are kind of electro-rock.
they're a gem definitely. have you heart their recent track for the ost for "ten"? it's a phenomenal song, you should check it out!!
ReplyDeleteI've heard of them, but never really listened to them, but I adore them now thanks to this post. I really love the quirky sound they have going on especially for the Calvin Klein commercial; it fits so well.
ReplyDeleteGreetings from Kuala Lumpur! I absolutely adore Jinsil & Mad Soul Child but it's so hard to find anything written about them! Glad I found this post. :)
ReplyDeleteAre they not active now? Can't get any update of them..
ReplyDelete@mortukampothik Hi! So it looks like they were last active in August 2012, when Jinsil collaborated with Double K on a track for Show Me the Money called "Home". Can't find anything on them since then.
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