Currently holding the No.1 spot at Bugs indie chart while also at No.2 on the rock chart, 검정치마 – or The Black Skirts – have already come far even though their debut album, 201, has only been out for a month. The master mind behind the catchy success track 좋아해줘 was kind enough to answer a few questions for Indieful ROK:
Who are The Black Skirts?
Castel Prayon with live band members is The Black Skirts A.K.A 검정치마. (We are using the name The Black Skirts for the purpose of international promo only) I personally prefer to be called 검정치마. The band is a vehicle for me to present the castel prayon songs to a korean audience without coming off as a lo-fi american indie band.
What can you tell us about your music, and what has made it such a success?
well i don’t know if this album is a “success”. but yes, it has been doing better than i thought it would. the album is more of a sampler/compilation of my songs due to the fact that it was written over the span of 2 years and i am very easily influenced by what i hear at the time. so as far as genres are concerned, it’s very schizophrenic. if i were to put that in a nicer way, i’d say that it’s a collection of singles from power-pop, garage, blues rock, reggae, 60’s rock and shoe-gaze bands. i don’t want to sound like an asshole but i really don’t know how else to put it.
You spent an awful lot of years as Castel Prayon. How did you decide to proceed with a band under a new name?
With this album i made a conscious effort to come across more poppy than i usually like to be. the songs are more calculated and have prominent hooks. Where as with castel prayon i am only worried about capturing the raw emotions as quickly as possible in the first few takes (hence the shitty sound quality and minimal rrangements). like i said, 검정치마 is a vehicle for poppier castel prayon songs in korean context. i’ve always been castel prayon and always will be although the only fans i have are my friends. i am planning on releasing a collection of demo songs under the name castel prayon though.
I heard you’re currently busy doing clubs in Hongdae, but how about the US? Do you plan on heading back any time soon and do you intend to do a few gigs there too to gather a bigger following?
i am from new jersey and seriously, home away from home ain’t home. so i think i will be back by next year. i don’t have any plans to play shows in the US yet. mostly because i am not big on live shows. here in korea i have no choice because of the label and i have nothing else to do.
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Remember that samples for all album tracks are available at Hyang. And now there’s also a The Black Skirts MySpace were some of the tracks can be sampled in full.
Great interview!! You two covered a lot of info in just 4 questions :) Very cool, and Castel Prayon is almost the best name ever!! :P