As I’ve mentioned on my last post, my next blog would be about my favorite K-rock band ever, Nell.
There is no denying that K-Pop is a hit in the country today and I admit I also appreciate this genre. Then, I started to wonder if there is such thing as K-Rock since I’m fond of listening to rock music and J-Rock stuff. I researched and my instinct is right, K-Rock does exist. According to my research, there are only few K-Rock bands in Korea because K-pop and ballad are the ones dominating their airwaves. I researched further and I stumbled upon a K-Rock band called Nell. I listened to one of their songs which is A.S., and I immediately fell in love with their music.
Okay, for some backgrounder, the band’s name was taken from Jodie Foster’s 1994 film of the same title. Nell started out in 1999 as an indie rock band and was composed of Kim Jong-Wan on vocals, guitar and keyboard, Lee Jae-Kyung on lead guitar, Lee Jung-Hoon on bass guitar and Jung Jae-Won on drums. They were discovered by the famous Korean musician, Soo Tai-Ji while performing in a club in Hongdae. In 2002, they were signed in Goesoo Indegene and in 2006, WOOLLIM Entertainment. They made a total of nine albums and their recent one is The Trace which was released in late 2008.
Fortunately, I was able to download all of their albums as well as their collaborations and covers. As I listened to their every song, I witnessed how their music progressed from one album to another. I noticed that in their first album, the tracks sounded a bit of pop-rock (and a sort of electro pop if you may) while others have upbeat tracks.
I think their best album is Separation Anxiety (2008) which also landed on the number one spot in Korea’s album charts. One of my favorite songs is Gieogeul Geotneun Sigan a.k.a.Time Spent Walking in Memories (actually, there are a lot of English translations out there but I settled for this one). Though it’s quite a sad song, I can listen to it to the nth time!
I also enjoyed their covers and collaborations with Epik High, a Korean hip hop indie group. Although their genres are different, it’s surprising that they are able to meet halfway. Thanks to Kim Jong-wan’s unique vocal prowess, they made such a lovely music. I really love their rendition of I’ll be missing you, (originally done by The Police). I think it’s one of the best covers that I heard. I also watched their music videos and one music video that I super adore is Stay. I like the eerie feel it gives and it has an interesting concept too.
Nell is such a jewel though I’m not sure if they were already disbanded, I hope not because they make such enticing music. I’m really looking forward for their next album if there is one and I want to be optimistic about it.
As of the moment, I’m still researching on other Korean bands. I’m sure there are others that are worth listening to just like Nell.
2 comments:
You said you liked the video for stay right? I watched it but I was a little confused with the end. What happens?? Do you get it?
You said you liked the video for stay right? I watched it but I was a little confused with the end. What happens?? Do you get it?
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