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What makes the ‘PUREFLOW’, Pt. 1 era a fitting tribute to the group’s essence View the Substack version of this piece here! The trailer for LE SSERAFIM’s ‘PUREFLOW’, Pt. 1 era has five chapters, when counting the opening scenes as chapter one instead of a prologue. It begins and ends with montages of memories, the first montage being from childhood and the second one being of recent friendship moments. Between the montages representing the past and present are scenes that speak to the group’s desire to be together far into the future. By treating their shared and separate memories with equal validity, LE SSERAFIM’s strong senses of selfhood and sisterhood bolster one another. They wouldn’t have such a solid, sustainable united front were it not for their individual colors, and taken together, each facet of the ‘PUREFLOW’, Pt. 1 era helps reveal this rainbow.
In what will be called chapter one here, despite really being “chapter zero” in the trailer, the members go bowling while wearing rain ponchos in different colors. They then run outside in front of a bright pink sky, where they jump and freeze mid-air as if posing for a movie poster. In their similar yet different outfits, they look euphoric in a shared sense of unity and victory — despite having exhibited very different bowling skill levels! They all behave like the game’s winner, and to them, the grand prize is the knowledge they have each other’s backs, rain or shine.
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The group talks about merging the past, present, and future in their sound and style.  Photo courtesy of BLUEBROWN RECORDS Please introduce yourselves and talk about the special charms or talents each of you bring to the group! Jihyun: Hi, I'm Jihyun, the leader and main dancer of HEART OF WOMAN. I like staying at the center of our performances and making sure our energy and mood come across clearly on stage. All five of us have really distinct charms, and I think that's exactly why we create such strong synergy when we're together. Chaei: Hi, I'm Chaei. More than anything, I love connecting with our fans through music and performances. The moment I step on the stage is when I feel most like myself and most alive. I pay attention to every little detail when preparing for a stage, and I think that sincerity adds richness to our team's color. I bring confident energy and an intense mood, but offstage, I like to meet fans with a bright side of me. Ayne: Hello, I'm Ayne, the main vocalist of HEART OF WOMAN. I trained in classical vocal music for a long time, which gave me a solid foundation and a deep understanding of how to interpret a song. That's why I try to bring out a different tone and rich expression in every part, so each track shows a different side of me. Offstage, I have a rookie-like innocence and a quirky, playful streak — catching people off-guard and making them laugh is kind of my specialty! I want to keep being the main vocalist you can trust onstage and the member who brings bright energy and fun offstage. Liri: Hi, I'm Liri. Onstage, I love showing energetic movements and a range of expressions while staying fully locked in to the performance, and I put my heart into singing, dancing, and rapping all the same. I pay attention to small details only I would notice, so I talk things through with the members a lot to raise our overall level. Offstage, I'm usually the one lifting the mood, and I think that positive energy is good for the team! Liuyin: Hi, I'm Liuyin. I'm the lead rapper and sub-vocalist. I was born and raised in Italy, so I bring a different kind of charm to HEART OF WOMAN through my Italian rap. I also speak six languages, so I feel like I help connect the members with fans and staff from all over the world. How would you introduce yourselves to people who haven't listened to your music yet? We'd like to introduce ourselves through the meaning behind our name. Instead of simply following a set path, it captures the idea of constantly asking ourselves “HOW” we want to move forward and find our own way. HEART OF WOMAN's music doesn't follow a fixed answer; we're always creating our own new musical flow.  Photo courtesy of BLUEBROWN RECORDS
A preview of the immersive audiovisual experience! View the Substack version of this piece and video from the exhibit here! From July 24 to August 14, Arte Museum New York will host a visual exhibition set to songs from BTS’s album ARIRANG! This overlaps with BTS’s August 1 and 2 New York tour dates. During the exhibition period, the Arte Museum’s “GARDEN” zone will be renamed the “ARIRANG GARDEN” and feature five media art pieces that represent five songs from ARIRANG: “No. 29,” “Body to Body,” “SWIM,” “2.0,” and “Into the Sun.” The BTS art and activities will span other sections of the museum, too, from the “Live Sketchbook” space to the “ARIRANG CAFE.”   The duo details the emotions, efforts, and experiences that shaped their new album. View the Substack version of this piece here!  Photo courtesy of Melody & Christine What three words or phrases best describe your new album, Tides?
“Energy,” “Love,” and “Hope.” What three words or phrases best describe the process of making Tides? “Teamwork,” “Authenticity,” and “Perseverance.” How different is the final version of Tides compared to your original concept for it? Do you think the last few years greatly changed the album? Yes, definitely. One example is “Forever Young,” a song inspired by our families and the experiences we've shared over the years. If we had written it earlier, it would have carried a completely different meaning. There were also several songs and sections that we ultimately decided not to include because they no longer fit the overall concept of Tides. If we released this album earlier, we probably would have released every song we had created as [one] collection. This time, we wanted the album to feel like a carefully-curated journey, where every track contributed to a cohesive story and emotional flow. When in the album-making process did you decide on the album title? The title came naturally after we finished the song “Tides.” Although the track doesn't have any lyrics, its melodic progression tells a story of transformation. It begins with a feeling of hope, then it goes darker, with more introspective elements in a minor key, and gradually evolves into an uplifting piano melody filled with hope again. We feel that life follows a similar rhythm. We all experience difficult seasons, but there's always hope waiting on the other side. When we listened to the completed album from beginning to end, “Tides” perfectly captured the spirit of the entire project, making it the obvious choice for the title track. The band just surprise-released “babo” from their upcoming album. The South Korean indie rock band wave to earth just surprise-released “babo”! The video was directed by Song Taejong, who also worked on TAEYANG’s QUINTESSENCE visual film and aespa’s “WDA (feat. G-DRAGON)” music video. “babo” hid in plain sight, first appearing in a mid-June image that announced the band’s next album!
The new tech accessories inspired by the hit movie are available worldwide! View the Substack version of this piece here!  CASETiFY’s latest collection theme is one of its most exciting yet: KPop Demon Hunters! Designed with both playfulness and functionality in mind, the merchandise collection celebrates key aspects of the movie’s beloved characters and lore! There’s the HUNTR/X line…    The SAJA BOYS line…
The one-man band talks about significant moments in his career.  Photo courtesy of 1415 For those who have not heard your music before, how would you describe it to them? How would you finish the sentence “1415 is ___” or “1415’s music is ___”?
“The music of 1415 is the four seasons.” Who or what first inspired you to pursue a music career? There was a time when all I did was sing. After spending about ten years singing other people’s songs, I was suddenly overcome by the fear that my musical career might end just like that. How have your personal music tastes evolved over the years? Until a few years ago, I used to seek out and listen to a lot of R&B artists. Lately, I’ve been enjoying listening to alternative rock bands. What career would you be pursuing today if it could not be music-related? I think I'd probably be a hairdresser. The artist reflects on past singles, touring North America, being on The Voice of Korea, and more!  Photo credit: Instagram For those who have not heard your music before, how would you describe it to them? How would you finish the sentence “GSoul is ___” or “GSoul’s music is ___”?
“[GSoul’s music is] soulful in all genres”: dance, house music, alternative rock, whatever. How have your music tastes changed throughout your life and influenced your own music? I listen[ed] to a lot of gospel music — The Clark Sisters, Kim Burrell, Fred Hammond — to study, really. [I’ve also been influenced by] ‘90s R&B for sure. Mariah Carey still plays this huge role as the greatest singer/songwriter. [And] Mary J. Blige, for her style, soulfulness, and rawness. [And] Brandy, as she’s called “The Vocal Bible.” I definitely studied her spontaneous and out-of-the box approach to her ad-libs and vocal arrangements. Right now, I love Jazmine Sullivan and Lucky Daye. Please describe one of your latest singles, “Symphony.” I started working on this song two to three years ago with the legendary composer Kim Hyung Suk. I did not know what to do with the song for a while, [then] it all just came together. I think I was just being me, like, “Nah, I’m already sad and always going through stuff. Maybe not this melancholy vibe.” But he really gave me time to grow into the song. Now it is one of my favorites, haha!  Photo courtesy of Nex HYBE has a new partnership with Nex, the company behind the motion-capture gaming cube Nex Playground! A BTS-themed experience is coming to Nex Playground later this year, and it will be the first-ever co-branded edition of the rhythm game Starri!
Here’s what Nex President Tom Kang said about the collaboration: “Music has always been one of the most powerful ways to bring people together, and BTS have built a global community through that shared connection… Our partnership with HYBE creates a unique experience that celebrates the energy, creativity, and cultural impact of BTS while bringing all ages together through Starri, one of our most popular games. This collaboration marks an important milestone in the evolution of Starri as a franchise and demonstrates the potential for music and active play to connect audiences around the world.” Reviews of new releases from Korean, Japanese, and Chinese artists! View the Substack version of this piece here! Check out part one here!
#10: Jinyoung (aka PARK JINYOUNG), Said & Done Said & Done has visuals and songs that ought to be analyzed as a package deal, with connections between components that send the same deliberate message yet also share a just-as-deliberate open-endedness. The album trailer features a square room suspended in pitch-black space, so it resembles a levitating box. It is implied that Jinyoung is spending ages in this room, making it a compact time capsule with clear end points and a finite number of symbolic items. However, that room also includes hints of chapters still unwritten. For example, text on the screen throughout the trailer appears typewritten, but the sentences are assigned footnotes; the body paragraphs of Jinyoung’s past are also treated like the “bonus contents” for those who still want to read more. Another example comes from pops of color, like the yellow album copy that sits on black-and-white shelves, and the light-green envelope amid his mail. That envelope is stamped with “RETURN NOT ACCEPTED,” includes a sticker indicating it is a birthday card, comes with a potential birthday cake topping, and is marked as coming from Jinyoung’s former boss! The birthday card and cake topping represent a special occasion that comes and goes in a finite length of time: just 24 hours that cannot be “RETURNED.” However, Jinyoung keeps his cake slice and most of the bag of nuts near him as the days go by, prolonging the “birthday party.” He does not treat the past as purely the past; he treats tokens from it as living documents that keep the good feelings from the past alive. The cake and topping offer a tangible reminder of someone thinking about him. Jinyoung also wants others to be reminded of times that others showed care for them, so in the “EVERLOVE” video, he facilitates strangers’ acts of sharing and kindness. These start out as split-screen scenes but turn into ones where the strangers are in the same physical space. Jinyoung brings people together in the present by drawing on a lesson from his past: that love is the most enduring force. As the final message on the screen says during the album trailer, “When all is said and done, only love remains.” |
