10th Korean Music Awards Nominees : Album of the Year

The nominees for this year’s Korean Music Awards, the 10th so far, were announced last week. A day later we launched our own predictions poll, where you can pick who you think will win each category for a chance to get a price of your own. But what are the alternatives, really? That’s what will try to figure out until the real winners are announced on February 28th. Today we’re starting with a look at the nominees for Album of the Year.


 

3rd Line ButterflyDreamtalk

In September 2012, long running indie rock band 3rd Line Butterfly released fourth full-length album Dreamtalk. It had been a full eight years since the third full-length album was released, and three years since the band returned from a long hiatus with EP Nine Days Or A Million. In addition to a fair bunch of new songs, Dreamtalk gathered Korean versions of songs previously recorded in English for 3rd Line Butterfly’s international album Ice Cube released earlier in 2012.

Dreamtalk was also nominated for Best Modern Rock Album and gained 3rd Line Butterfly a nomination for Artist of the Year whereas album lead track “헤어지는 날 바로 오늘” is nominated both for Song of the Year and Best Modern Rock Song. More on that later this week and the next!

 

9 and the Numbers유예

9anthenumbers_yooye

After a strong debut with a self-titled album in 2009 (which won the Modern Rock Album category at KMA in 2011), 9 and the Numbers finally returned with EP 유예 in November last year. With a stronger emphasis on dream pop, the EP offered six “proper” songs and two live studio recordings, including an acoustic version of first album track “낮은 침대”. 유예 was produced by 3rd Line Butterfly bassist Kim Nam Yoon and well-reputed keyboardist Ko Kyung Chun (Omega 3, Kang San-eh Band) supported the band during recordings.

In addition to making the nominees for Album of the Year, 유예 is also nominated for Best Modern Rock Album with album tracks “눈물바람” and “유예” both nominated for Best Modern Rock Song. More on those songs coming up next week.

Check out the album promotion video below, starting out with a long sample of “아카시아꽃” with brief samples of other EP songs towards the end:

 

Lowdown 301

Lowdown 30 has by many been considered Korea’s best blues rock band since the release of Jaira in 2008. With the release of second full-length album 1 in March the band managed to reach a new audience while sticking to their original sound. Album track “Asphalt” was nominated for Best Rock Song already for the 9th Korean Music Awards held last year after having the song released on a digital single featuring Joosuc end of 2011.

Lowdown 30’s 1 is also nominated for Best Rock Album in this year’s KMA.

 

Jeong Cha Sik격동하는 현재사

jeongchasik2

Rainy Sun vocalist Jeong Cha Sik has been receiving plenty of critical acclaim for his solo efforts. The first solo album released under his own name was nominated for Album of the Year last year, and continuing with his eclectic and captivating style of music second full-length album 격동하는 현재사 followed suite this year. For the album, fellow Rainy Sun member Kim Tae Jin has been playing the guitar.

격동하는 현재사 is nominated for Best Rock Album and also gained Jeong Cha Sik a nomination for Artist of the Year. Album opening track “풍각쟁이” is nominated for Best Rock Song.

Here is Jeong Cha Sik performing second album track “달콤한 인생” at EBS Space:

 

PrimaryPrimary and the Messengers LP

primaryandthemessengers

In April 2011 hip hop producer Primary launched a collaborative series under the name Primary And The Messengers. The fourth and final part was released end of May 2012, and all came together alongside a full disc of new tracks under Primary And The Messengers LP by the end of October. Featuring several of Korea’s top rappers, from underground to more well established names, the songs and music videos have enjoyed plenty of popularity.

Primary And The Messengera LP is nominated also for Best Rap & Hip Hop Album whereas album tracks “독 (Poison)” and “See Through” were nominated for Best Rap & Hip Hop Song and Best R&B & Soul Song respectively.

When the full Primary And The Messenger LP was released the song “? (물음표)” had been selected lead track. It features Zion.T and Dynamic Duo‘s Choiza. Here’s the music video:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.