#t:Review

[forleejehoon]

If you're a recent Lee Jehoon fan and feel like his acting is one of a kind, I urge you to watch his full-length movie debut in a piece called Bleak Night back from 2011 if you haven't already! I can assure, it will make you fall for his acting even more.

This movie is defined as a coming-of-age drama and has an overall indie feel to it. It's a story of a group of highschool friends – more precisely, the storyline follows along Gitae's (Lee Jehoon) dad who tries to understand why his son took his own life. Bit by bit, the events leading up to the incident are revealed to the viewers, too. It makes you constantly question "who's to blame?" and I feel like this question is the driving force of the story.

In general sense, this movie is about boyhood. Director Yoon Sunghyun, whose debut work was actually Bleak Night itself, expands on intricacies of relationships between guy friends and masterfully reveals the subtleties of boyhood as a stage of life using long shots, face close-ups and hand-held shaky camera work; it all feels very raw. It's strong, it's bitter, it hurts, yet it also leaves your heart open and warm for some unidentifiable reason.

Jehoon starred in Bleak Night together with Park Jeongmin (first from right in the picture; another genius actor, he does mostly movies though) and the piece is considered to have kicked off both of their acting careers since they showed truly captivating performances.

This movie is a masterpiece in the way it captures nuance and emotion, especially since it talks about feelings of young men who are just entering adulthood – a topic that's still considered rather taboo in this day and age. It's one of those movies you definitely have to watch at least once in a lifetime.

Bleak Night trailer with English subtitles

Fun fact: Jehoon happened to pass out from smoking too much while filming for this project. He said it was because before he didn't smoke at all but suddenly had to learn it for his character.

[heaven-delight]

[ REVIEW ] TRANS : Melon Special - 2018 Idols Review

Red Velvet ‘Bad Boy’ (Na Won-Yeong)

Red Velvet has always chased after the trendiest music in idol pop. Similarly, in the repackage album ‘The Perfect Red Velvet,’ you can hear how much pride they have in their music-which only they can perform-and in being the perfect Red Velvet. Their confidence can be heard in ‘Bad Boy’ also.

Red Velvet has taken on countless concepts ever since their debut. The iconic confidence that they have shown in their previous releases-’The Perfect Velvet’ and ‘Peek-A-Boo’-can be seen in even more diverse layers in ‘Bad Boy.’

Red Velvet’s unique sound in ‘Bad Boy’ is notable. In ‘Bad Boy,’ they re-discovered the hidden components of their Velvet concept, actively incorporated a heavy bass and trap sounds, both which they have never given a real shot at before. Red Velvet also amplified their captivating charm better than ever by using flawless vocals, harmonies and modern synth sounds. This clean sound, which was created by a group of composers lead by The Stereotypes, is the newest result of SM’s long-running A&R team and song camps.

‘Bad Boy’s confidence-which comes from the fact that it’s well-built as a song-can be seen in its lyrics and choreography. In the lyrics, Red Velvet actively ‘bet’ and ‘play hard to get’ with the listener, and even say they’re quite confident themselves. The choreography also supports the lyrics by visually expressing the chic tone and the unique groove of ‘Bad Boy.’

On top of that, ‘Bad Boy’s music video references ‘Peek-A-Boo’s horror movie concept and amplifies the strange atmosphere that Red Velvet has been expressing from before, in various ways.

‘Bad Boy’ unabashedly shows Red Velvet’s full potential in perfect form. The reason why ‘Bad Boy’s promotion feel like they could have been done better is because through ‘Bad Boy,’ Red Velvet has reached their apex, and because of that, is expected to continue being perfect.

Seulgi, Chungha, SinB, Soyeon ‘Wow Thing’ (Jeong Gu-Won)

To me, being ‘perfect’ doesn’t mean being full of good things, but being irreplaceable, whether it is in terms of visuals or audio. It’s hard to find something as perfect as this in K-Pop-which sometimes tries too hard-but, ‘Wow Thing’ is a song that has everything in the right place.

‘Wow Thing’s 90s R&B sound-which has hints of brass sprinkled on top-resembles Ariana Grande’s first songs. The jiggy beat harmonizes the dull texture and fast composition of the song. Seulgi smoothly slides against and plays with the syncopation. SinB and Chungha show off how deft they’re at controlling their voices. Last but not the least, Soyeon’s rap, despite being short, is intense and leaves a lasting impression inside the listeners.

I could go on all day to list ‘Wow Thing’s good points, but what’s important is that ‘Wow Thing’ doesn’t waste any of its resources and energizes the listeners. In K-Pop, where ‘adding’ has become a norm, ‘Wow Thing’ shows that perfectness can be achieved from by showing the solid charms of each component.

[heaven-delight]

[REVIEW] TRANS: Bugs - As Expected, A Back-to-Back Homerun!

First off, even the title song is something. Like ‘Red Flavor,’ it utilizes various contraptions that resemble chip tunes while using as little beats as possible. On top of that, the vocals fill the song completely. The song’s organic composition reduces boredom to the minimum and secures an unexpected tension. I believe this is the driving force that holds the listeners down tight. 

The main melody of ‘Power Up,’ in order to lower the entry barriers, uses a similar tactic that Red Velvet’s previous songs have used. But, what’s characteristic about ‘Power Up’ is that it constantly supplies the seasonal feelings and stories that are unique to ‘seasonal songs.’ 

However, I think many people will pick the ‘chanting hook’ㅡalso known as the ‘Ba-na-na-na~’ partㅡ as the essence of this song. In my previous reviews, I was negative about the meaningless repetitions in the chorus. But I want to make ‘Power Up’ an exception. I think, without this part, the whole song would have been quite bland. In other words, the chorus that significant in leading the whole song.

The b-sides in this album were also extremely charming. Of course, I was a bit disappointed that the songs in this album weren’t as organically connected as the previous summer album, but I think the fact that this album also uses various genres while incorporating unpredictable melodies and developments deserves high praise. I think the songs where this can be seen the best is ‘Mr. E’ and ‘With You.’ ‘Mr. E’s’ melody line changed constantly throughout the whole song, while ‘With You’ managed to stay firm in the midst of the characteristics of R&B and moombahton. But, if I were to choose some tracks that I had the most fun listening to, it would be ‘Mosquito’ and ‘Hit that Drum.’ ‘Mosquito’ succeeded in linking the topic of ‘mosquitoes’ on to summer and the storyline. On top of that, the ample harmonies and the booming percussion sounds stimulate your ear. All in all, I felt like ‘Mosquito’s idea flowed organically inside the song. Also, ‘Hit That Drum’ is worthy of praise in that it harmoniously connected samba’s unique rhythm with big drums, the chorus line, and bass line. All of these came together to stimulate the unique upbeat energy of seasonal songs.

Because I wrote this as soon as the album came out, it might be a bit rough around the edges. To sum everything up in one sentence, I would say that Red Velvet hit a back-to-back home run with this album without a doubt. If, for the last album, Red Velvet was able to clearly explain what ‘Velvet’ was through music, this album had a more elegant structure than ‘Red Flavor,’ which clearly took the direction of a seasonal song. 'Summer Magic,’ without a doubt, has good music, but on top of that, it’s worth noting that it substantially lowered the entry barrier against the general public. This album acts as concrete evidence of how much of an influence Red Velvet has in the current music industry. This album was as good as I expected.

[heaven-delight]

1. Red Velvet : Perfect Velvet (SM Entertainment)

JGW: It’s hard to explain what SM Entertainment’s sound is like because SM Entertainment has experimented with countless styles of music, such as SMP, which contains an intense beat and a powerfulㅡno, radical performance, progressive electronic pop which can be best seen with f(x)’s music or SNSD’s ‘I Got a Boy,’ dancehall music, and future bass, which is the style that SM’s music is flowing towards these days. Maybe, that’s the fate of a mainstream entertainment agency, who has to continuously search for the newest and trendiest music. However, out of all the entertainment agencies, SM’s sound has always been the most cutting-edge, always one step ahead of the others, almost obsessively. 

‘Red Velvet’s sound’ is also something that’s hard to explain. This could be because it goes back and forth between two extremities, the ‘Red’ and the ‘Velvet.’ In a microscopic point of view, Red Velvet’s sound can look like it’s chasing after the trends. But, in reality, they’re showing us music that doesn’t fit perfectly into any genre. 

However, from some point, we’ve all known what ‘Red Velvet’s electronic pop’ sounds like, and what we should expect from that sound, even though no one explained it to us clearly. That’s because their music doesn’t fit into the frame of genres but into the frame of instinct. 

In their second full album, which was ambitiously named the ‘Perfect Velvet,’ Red Velvet showed every inch of their identity. It’s like Red Velvet, it’s experimental, and it feels complete. Red Velvet’s methodology of capturing a balanced sound based on electronic music doesn’t apply to one song anymore but to the whole album. In this album, they incorporate a wide variety of genres, such as house, future bass and hiphop, but they all fit into the identity that Red Velvet has built over the years. The arrangement of the rhythm and melody is dynamic yet harmonious, and the texture of the sound induce the highest level of pleasure that pop music can give. The organically arranged solo parts and ensemble parts don’t show off their vocal skills, but instead, prove that the human voice can melt into a song as an instrument.

This album, which seems to be a collection of the purest elements of pop music, ironically prove its history. Of course, pop music has a history of its own, but in the process of going after the latest and trendiest music, pop music, from time to time has tried to break away from its past legacies. ‘Perfect Velvet’ doesn’t walk on that usual path. ‘Peek-A-Boo’ embraces the compulsive beat that ‘Dumb Dumb’ had once more. You can feel the elegant echoes of ‘Automatic’ from ‘Kingdom Come.’ The hint of sadness that ‘Moonlight Melody’ has contrast with the sadness of ‘One of These Nights.’ ‘Perfect Velvet’ doesn’t only illustrate the history of Red Velvet as a group.The history and experience of the latest pop sound that SM had pursued all these years are engraved into every piece of ‘Perfect Velvet’s’ sound. While having the latest sounds, it also contains the deepest history. This is an album that wouldn’t be allowed to anybody else other than Red Velvet. This is a masterpiece that’s only allowed to those who have built their own history. This is the most perfect achievement.

[heaven-delight]

Special / Idols whose Solo Debut is Anticipated! [webzine weiv] 

Now, it’s common for members of idol groups to debut as a solo singer after their groups’ career has been built up. It’s natural for idol members to balance their solo career with their group career even if the group is still active, or still promoting. These kinds of opportunities provide the members with a new kind of musical motivation, and with also a chance to show a new side of themselves to the public, one that they might have not been able to express as a member of an idol group.  

So, today, this article is going to be about four idol group members whose solo debut is being looked forward to, members who have the potential to show a different charm compared to the performance that their group takes on. Will we be able to see these idols’ solo debuts within this year?

Written by | lacelet (Editor-in-chief of webzine weiv)

# Continuing the tradition of SM Vocalists / Red Velvet WENDY

Like how SNSD has Taeyeon and f(x) has Luna, Red Velvet has Wendy. Like any other idol group, SM has a tendency to push the member that serves as the vocal core of a group musically. Likewise, Wendy has also followed that path, by releasing a solo song within Red Velvet’s album (Last Love), and also collaborating with various artists such as Eric Nam, Kangta, and Baek A-Yeon through the SM STATION releases. Through these kinds of opportunities, Wendy has showcased her own, unique voice.

Of course, opportunities like those wouldn’t have been possible if Wendy wasn’t capable of pulling them off. But Wendy’s voice has already proved that it’s capable of standing alone, for it already has performed the chorus and killing parts of countless Red Velvet songs according to the group’s concept and color, and also has delivered the raw emotions of a wide spectrum of songsㅡfrom heartbreaking ballads to a bubbly acoustic guitar pop song. Although Wendy’s solo projects are mostly focused on orthodox ballads as of now, when she debuts as a solo singer in the future, I hope she comes back with a unique and cool concept, just like Taeyeon and Luna did.

[heaven-delight]

1st Listen : 2nd Half of November 2017 Red Velvet / Perfect Velvet / SM Entertainment / 2017/11/17

Randy This beautifully crafted album also is concentrated with the SM A&R Team’s excellence. Starting from the title song ‘Peek-A-Boo,’ it’s amazing how the harmonies are constructed. They laid the members’ pretty and neat vocals colorfully on top of each other. If before, SM had tried to produce groups for popularity and groups for artistry separately, now, it seems like they’re trying to make Red Velvet do both. That could be why there was ‘Red’ and ‘Velvet.’ Maybe this is a sign that SM is no longer going to produce groups like f(x), whose discography is more targeted toward artistry.

Mimyo : ★RECOMMENDED★ Most people will like this album regardless of ‘musical taste.’ Through this album, Red Velvet vicariously experiences the pop music of the 1980s and 1990s and makes the dreams of people in their thirties and fortiesㅡwho have been waiting for an album like thisㅡcome true through K-POP technology. On top of that, ‘Perfect Velvet’ even goes further. ‘Kingdom Come’ proves this, through its old-school beat and classical bridge. SM’s unique way of handling vocal harmonies shine brightly on top of the alternative R&B structure that ‘Kingdom Come’ had reconstructed in a contemporary way. ‘Peek-A-Boo,’ whose story becomes complete with the music video, and ‘I Just’, which depicts a young girl as a protagonist setting off on an adventure, show alternative ways that the bland K-POP girl group market can take. The last song of the album, ‘Moonlight Melody,’ warmly relieves the tension of the album. I think that this song played it too safe, compared to the past collaborations that MonoTree and Red Velvet had. Don’t forget to enjoy the drowsy, elegant and sexy feeling that ‘Perfect 10′ leaves behind.

Shim-Dyang  The tracklist plays a game of hide-and-seek like the title song. Because of the album’s unpredictable mood that can change between songs, or between a few seconds within one song, it’s hard to keep your guard down and blindly enjoy the sweetness of the album. Red Velvet has played a new card this time, unlike the last album (‘The Red Summer’) which was a festival of ‘Red.’ However, it’s hard to be called the same as the previous velvet album (‘The Velvet’) because ‘The Perfect Velvet’ is much sharper and complicated. Is this the ‘Perfect Velvet’ that they had wanted to show as ‘Red Velvet?’ Through this album, Red Velvet has come up with an even brighter and stronger image and has stolen many hearts with it. Although I have many questions unanswered, still, I think the album came out at the right time, when it was needed the most. 

Oyo: ★RECOMMENDED★ It’s a unique girl group sound in many aspects. On top of the greatly amplified sub-bass, Red Velvet doesn’t show off their cuteness nor high notes. Musicㅡthat are as sophisticated as they can getㅡjust continue to play. Genres that are hard to coexist inside one album, such as future bass, hip-hop and ballad, seamlessly continue, but Red Velvet continues to perform these songs in a uniform ‘K-POP tone.’ Of course, it is because of that this album is able to be called as an excellent ‘K-POP’ album, but I still think that this album could have been done better. However, the fact that this is the most impressive out of all the albums released during the second half of 2017 is irrefutable.

Hamchwa: ★RECOMMENDED★ I can’t help but to be amazed at the fact that SM was able to plan a title song with such a different image from ‘Red Flavor,’ which they released this summer. On top of that, I’m blown away by the fact that Red Velvet was capable enough to take on such an image. Other than ‘Peek-A-Boo,’ this album is filled with songs such as  ‘Look’ and ‘Kingdom Come,’ which are more than qualified enough to be title songs themselves, and between those two songs, tracks like ‘My Second Date,’ and ‘Attaboy’ which possess completely different colors exist. This album contains all the potential that Red Velvet has, and also is the most impressive album of the second half of 2017. All of the songs in the album are recommended.

[heaven-delight]

An album that goes well with the season of flying petals

The season where flower buds start to sprout on every tree has returned. Soon, those petals will fly in the wind, and the streets will be lined with pink, white and yellow carpets. Songs like ‘Cherry Blossom Ending’ that sing of walking the spring streets with ‘you’ will soon start to be heard in the streets. But, not all people are happy and excited because spring is here.

Some people might watch the petals fluttering in the wind and think of someone they miss. Some people might tear up seeing a petal fall. This album is a good companion for those whose hearts ache a bit after seeing flowers fall gently.

The title song, ‘One of These Nights’ is a song that misses someone that’s gone now. The line, ‘Let’s meet again, even if it’s in my dreams.’ makes my heart ache. It sings of wanting to meet someone that has left so earnestly that people are saying that this could be a tribute song. It pains me to hear the beautiful voices of Red Velvet sing such a heartbreaking song.

‘Rose Scent Breeze,’ which is one of the side tracks, is a remake of the same song released by Lee Soo-Man in 1989. It’s a gem-like song that mixes Wendy, Seulgi and Joy’s voice with the beautiful lyrics. Their voices are pretty, of course, but the lyrics are so beautiful that they remind me of flower petals flying in the air. Red Velvet sings that the wind seems to be stronger now, now that they have no one next to them, and that the mysterious rose scent breeze even makes them hold on to the memories of the past even harder. The futility of past love can be felt through the empty space and the weightless breeze. 

‘The Velvet’ㅡwhose album jacket is even flower-like, being soft pinkㅡis consisted of poetic lyrics and melody. It’s an album that can help you when spring doesn’t make you feel all that happy. It can help you find the thick rose scent breeze hidden in the wind when a hurricane is ripping through your heart. When you’re with this album in those times when the flowers are astonishingly brilliant but you’re feeling lonely, I think that loneliness will be able to transform into something beautiful.

[heaven-delight]

Red Velvet has returned with a fascinating album!

‘Ice Cream Cake’ was chosen as the album of the month for April 2015. After failing to catch the attention of the public with four members, Red Velvet has added a new member. The path that they have chosen to take as five members isn’t as unconventional as f(x) nor as pretty as that of SNSD. It’s dangerous to predict what kind of path Red Velvet will take since they’ve only released one mini album so far. But the position that they have chosen to take between f(x) and SNSD has created an album that’s worth giving a listen.

The six songs in the album, which include ‘Ice Cream Cake,’ㅡwhich, even though it’s just one song, has a lot of different flowsㅡ‘Automatic’ㅡwhich mixed R&B with electronicsㅡand ‘Somethin’ Kinda Crazy’ㅡwhich best depicts the image that the group pursueㅡall are tightly packed. Rather than picking a ‘best track,’ I think it’ll be better to give a ‘well-done’ sticker to the whole album.

Red Velvet, however, has a problem that all entertainment agencies have faced at least once: their vocals don’t stand out from the rest of the girl groups in the industry yet. But the potential of the producers that have participated in this album is noteworthy.

[heaven-delight]

The Five Bubbly Girls’ Sweet Game of Wits

I still remember clearly how Red Velvet first debuted. Seeing the four girlsㅡwhose hair was all dyed flamboyantlyㅡperform intense choreography with wide smiles won me over. The girls walked on a path that was similar but also different from f(x). With music that had mass appeal and that differed from the traditional SM style musicㅡsounding hectic on first listen but having people hooked on to it when they listen to it the next timeㅡthe girls had a lot of points that the public and the fans could fall in love with.

Personally, I think the title song for this album, ‘Russian Roulette,’ is a monumental song for Red Velvet, because it fits into SM’s musical style, but also has mass appeal. It has addictive lyrics, an exciting melody, and an easy choreography. Also, I think the stylists put a lot of work into this album. Even the styling is done appropriately according to the individual characteristics of the members, and even the music video was aesthetically pleasing, proving that the flawless beauty of the members.

I personally like ‘Sunny Afternoon’ and ‘Fool.’

‘Sunny Afternoon’ is a song that describes a sunny afternoon and a girl that is so excited and happy to have the person she loves next to her. The reason why I recommend this song is because while the melody is a bit similar to ‘Automatic,’ the atmosphere it has is completely different: bright and lovely. But on top of that, when you close your eyes and listen to this song, you can picture the blue sky, and feel like the person you love is next to you. I really like songs that I can imagine its atmosphere as I listen to it, and this song fits that bill. 

My favorite line from this song is “You don’t need to go far, yeah / If you close your eyes and just feel / Because of the blue sky and the cool wind / I feel like the happiest person in the world.” I like this part because when I listen to it, it relays the emotions that I feel when I get to enjoy the cool wind against my face while riding a bike on a cool summer day.

‘Fool’ is a song that adorably describes a girl that has fallen in love as a fool. It’s a song that honestly expresses the emotions that can be felt after falling in love, so when you listen to this song after falling in love, you might find yourself thinking, “Hey, this song is talking about what I’m feeling right now!” 

The atmosphere of this song is a bit like a girl living in the Alps or in a rural village in America. I don’t know how to explain that exactly, but you’ll know what I’m talking about once you listen to the song. The lyrics themselves have a poetic feel, so rather than being pretty, I feel like they’re being honest. I think the lyrics are splendid because they carry the emotions that can only be felt at that moment very well. If you’re in love right now, or you want to feel the excitement of love, I highly recommend this song to you!

Red Velvet is famous for performing two concepts, the intense Red and the soft Velvet. I like songs that express soft emotions like Velvet, but I also like Red songs too, where the girls can show off their own atmosphere. I don’t know what they’ll show off when they come back next time, but this album is as electrifying as Russian roulette. 

[heaven-delight]

A vibrant festival of colorful, firecracker like vocals

I think SM Entertainment’s idol groupsㅡsuch as TVXQ, SHINee and Red Velvetㅡ have great vocal balance. Red Velvet is made up of Wendy and Seulgi’s powerful voices, Joy’s feminine voice and Irene and Yeri’s cute voices. I’m reminded of a bouquet of flowers or a batch of firecrackers whenever I listen to Red Velvet’s songs. Each one of the flowers and firecrackers catches your eye because they each have their own pretty color and shape, but if you look at them all at once, their vibrant colors make you speechless. Similarly, the mix of Red Velvet’s voice in their songs leave me speechless. Personally, I think this album, ‘The Red’ is like a flower bouquet in full blossom. I liked the songs in the previous albums also, but I like this album especially because the members’ voices were overlapped a lot to create harmonies. I don’t know if this is because this album has a fairytale-like concept, but I had a fun time listening to this album because each voice stands out and blends in with each other at the same time.

I think ‘Don’t U Wait No More’ is a song that you can hear Red Velvet’s harmony the best. Really, as if firecrackers are being lit up back to back, the members’ voices overlap with each other and create beautiful music. 

Another song that I would like to recommend is ‘Time Slip.’ I like the unique melody and the lyrics which everybody can relate to. The dreamlike sound and lyrics go well together and makes me feel like I’m about to slip into another world, or into my dreams. I think each song of ‘The Red’ is a story of another time and place. The album cover and Red Velvet’s voices all help build up that kind of atmosphere. It’s an album that really captured the liveliness of the girls well! If you listen to the album from start to finish, I think you’ll have fun feeling like you’ve been to a variety of places.

[heaven-delight]

I wasn’t this sweet when I was young

Red Velvet came back with their fifth mini album, ‘The Red Summer,’ which has five songs that are aimed at this summer. The bright and light melody of ‘Red Flavor’ along with its sweet lyrics that unfold into a painting, make the listeners feel like they’re on summer vacation when listening to the fruity title song. On top of that, there’s also the music video with a background that washes the heat away. The fruit interviews that pop up in the music video are worth noting.

Red Velvet’s music is like a clear candy with fruit syrup in it. Before you take a bite of it, you can’t know what it tastes like. Only Red Velvet can express the emotions you feel once you bite into the candy and the sweetness starts to spread on the tip of your tongue. I think that starting from this album, Red Velvet will soon become one of those groups that people think of when summer comes.

‘Red Flavor’ - The song has captured the loveliness of a girl who has fallen in love on a summer day to the fullest. It’s addicting and it has fantastic lyrics, so I want to listen to it again next summer.

‘Hear The Sea’ - ‘When air is moderately humid and there’s a memory like a long shadow…1’ This is a song that I want to hear with my lover as I walk along the shore with them on an afternoon when the sun has died down a bit.

1 The writer quoted the original lyrics from the song

[heaven-delight]

 Red Velvet’s ‘The Red’ Review & An Introduction to 808 Bass

‘Girl Group Chaos...’ I think that would be the best word to describe the K-POP industry right now. A countless number of girl groups are appearing and disappearing as we speak.

On the summer of 2014, SM Entertainment announced that a five-member girl group named Red Velvet (They had four members when they first debuted though!) following the footsteps of SNSD and f(x) will be debuting. If anybody asked me who had the most unique music out of all the K-POP girl groups, I would answer without a doubt as Red Velvet. These girls have been releasing witty singles after debuting, but on 2015/09/09, they released their first full album, ‘The Red,’ and came back with ‘Dumb Dumb!’ Through this post, I’ll talk about what the 808 bass used in ‘Dumb Dumb’ is!

First, let me briefly introduce you to Red Velvet. In the summer of 2014, a four-member girl group consisted of Irene, Seulgi, Wendy and Joy debuted from SM Entertainment. Their concept was going to be a mix of SNSD and f(x), according to SM.

It had been five years since a girl group had debuted from SM when Red Velvet debuted. After adding Yeri onto the team on March 2015, Red Velvet became the Red Velvet they are today.

You can get the gist of Red Velvet’s concept from their name. Their name shows their aspirations of performing between two concepts, the intense and alluring concept ‘Red,’ and the soft and sensual ‘Velvet.’ You can see what this means by looking at their discography. ‘Happiness,’ ‘Ice Cream Cake,’ and ‘Dumb Dumb’ are ‘Red,’ while ‘Be Natural,’ ‘Automatic,’ and ‘One of These Nights,’ are ‘Velvet.’ Red Velvet’s concept has a very deep story that if I were to continue talking about it, I might run out of room. And, since that’s not the point of this review, I’ll wrap up Red Velvet’s introduction about now and start talking about ‘The Red.’

‘The Red’ is made up of both ‘Red’ and ‘Velvet.’ You guys can guess what this album’s concept is from its name, right? As the album name suggests, this album is mostly ‘Red.’ Now, we’ll take a look at the producers of the ten songs making up this album. It’s worthy to note that, as SM Entertainment has done before, hitmakers from both Korea and overseas, such as Kenzie, LDN Noise and Daniel ‘Obi’ Klein have come together for this album.

Then now, I’ll start reviewing the songs one by one.

The first song of ‘The Red’ is also the title song of the album and also the song that we’re going to use to learn about the 808 bassㅡ ‘Dumb Dumb.’ It’s an unforgettable pop dance song with an addictive hook and 808 bass drums.

Then now, I’ll talk about what kind of sound the 808 bass has. Like the overseas music trends, in K-POP, genres such as trap and future bass are also becoming very popular right now. A lot of those songs use the 808 bass because it has a clear sound. The 808 bass’ history goes back to the TR-808, a drum machine that Roland released in the 80s. Currently, the said machine isn’t manufactured anymore, so usually, samples of the 808 bass are being used in songwriting.

Anyway, if you listen to the pop music of the 80s, you can hear the 808 bass in most of them. Then now, I’ll introduce a song from the 80s. Afrika Bambaataa, a musician from the 80s, gained lots of attention after incorporating the TR-808 into hiphop. If you listen to ‘Planet Rock,’ a collaboration between Afrika Bambaataa and Soul Sonic Force, you can hear the 80s sound of the 808 bass. Out of the music released in the 2000s, I would like to recommend ‘Love Lockdown,’ a song from Kanye West’s ‘808s & Heartbreak’ album. You can see how heavily the 808 influenced this album even from its name. Roland’s TR-808 was used to make all the songs on the said album.

Then now, I’ll go back to Red Velvet’s ‘The Red.’ The second track in the album, called ‘Huff n Puff’ is a pop dance song with a dubstep sound. Like the title suggests, the lyrics of the song are about how the girls return to reality after they dream about huffing and puffing while playing with their friends.

The song after that is a pop R&B song named ‘Campfire.’ It’s about having a campfire with a loved one and wanting to have a deeper relationship with the other through this opportunity. The fourth track in ‘The Red,’ which is called ‘Red Dress,’ seems to show the identity of this album. The lyrics sing about how the girls are wearing a red dress because they want to look more mature to a person who keeps treating them like a little kid. The addictive trap beat and hook of this song are very impressive.

The fifth track, ‘Oh Boy,’ is the song that left the deepest impression on me. It’s a pop R&B song that showcases the members’ vocals very well. The piano loop is unforgettable. The lyrics, which were inspired by ‘Sleeping Beauty,’ describe the feeling of being reborn after meeting a lover! Each member of Red Velvet has stunning vocals, but I’d like to turn your attention to Wendy. Wendy was once praised highly for her performance on the ‘King of Mask Singers’ as ‘Space Beauty Maetel.’ She sang Bobo’s ‘Late Regret.’ 

The next and sixth track of the album is ‘Lady’s Room.’ Considering how young Red Velvet is right now, I think this is the song that suits them the best. This is a pop song with roots in R&B. You can feel the girls’ friendship through this song.

I think the next song, ‘Time Slip,’ is the one closest to R&B. It has a unique atmosphere that comes from its minimal sound, but the lyrics talk about how hard it is to get up in the morning. If you guys think of your mornings as you listen to this song, I’m sure you’ll think the song describes the situation well.

The eighth track is called ‘Don’t U Wait No More.’ The hook, which repeats the title of the song, is hard to forget. The amazing Dwayne Abernathy Jr. (Dem Jointz) has participated in producing this song. He’s gaining a lot of attention in America and has worked with famous pop stars such as Christina Aguilera, Chris Brown and Rihanna before. I think this kind of pop song is the most popular style in the industry these days. Red Velvet’s talent and charm can be heard in this song.

The next track is called ‘Day 1.’ It’s a song that describes the feelings of a girl who has just started to go out with someone. I think this is the song that suits Red Velvet the most, because they’re so young!

Last, but not the least, the final track of ‘The Red’ is ‘Cool World.’ It’s a synth-pop song that shows the sounds of the 80s in a very classy manner. I want to introduce Daniel ‘Obi’ Klein who wrote this song before I go. He also wrote the sixth track, ‘Lady’s Room’ and the seventh track, ‘Time Slip,’ by the way. Being one of the biggest fans of K-hiphop, I’m a big fan of Korea’s greatest rapper, E-SENS. Although he’s paying the price for his misdeeds right now, I would like to point out that Obi participated in producing ‘The Anecdote,’ E-SENS’ most recent album, and the album that I think will last in the history of K-hiphop. Isn’t it amazing how the same person wrote extremely raw songs for E-SENS and bright songs for Red Velvet?

Now, I’ll wrap up my post, which started with Red Velvet, progressed to the 808 bass and ended with E-SENS. We can see that the albums that SM Entertainment produce contain a wide variety of songs and that they work hard to produce such high-quality songs. That’s probably why they were able to become one of the top entertainment agencies in Korea.

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