It’s been a while. This unplanned hiatus started with me enjoying a good few weeks in Korea, then continued with a few months back in Sweden with a focus on work and rest. I’ll be working throughout the summer, as I usually do, but have hopes that I’ll be able to manage my workload better and with that also regain control over my free time. Although I haven’t really kept up with what goes on in music lately I have too much to write, so better just get started and hope that I can keep it up.
Recent Listening
During this hiatus I haven’t really been listening to any new music. Rather I’ve been playing the same music over again, returning to old favorites of non-Korean origin. Or not listened to any music at all, as I’ve also spent plenty of time during mornings and evenings peacefully strolling through the nature preserve between my apartment and the office.
I did listen to some new music though. When Record Store Day came along in April I happened to be visiting Riga with a group of friends, passing by this independent record store, Randoms, I first visited 10 years ago. Whenever I travel I like to pick up some local music at random, and I’ve been unusually successful in my picks of Latvian music at this particular store. This time all I got was Instrumenti‘s 2014 album Iekams but it turned out to be an excellent choice offering a cohesive sound yet plenty of variety in the realm of atmospheric electro pop. My favorite track varies, but the song that more often pops up in my head is “A Letter to Joselyn”:
Till next time I’ll see about also listening to at least a few of the albums I brought home from Korea a couple of months ago…
Random News
Most of what I heard that could be categorized as music news while in Korea is outdated by now, but there might anyway be some that’d be happy to hear that both Vidulgi OoyoO and Apollo 18 are still (as of 2 months ago) planning to reveal some new material this year. The March release of Jambinai‘s next album, as was announced end of last year, has however been postponed till next year as the band focuses on touring this year.
Bulssazo‘s second full-length album, 너희가 재앙을 만날 때에 내가 웃을 것이며 너희에게 두려움이 임할 때에 내가 비웃으리라, has been hailed as a masterpiece with second-hand prices of the 2006 CD issue reflecting that assessment. The band has long insisted that there will be nothing more to it, but after successfully pairing up with Beatball Records for a vinyl edition of the band’s 3rd album fans can look forward to a vinyl edition also of the 2nd album. The release has been planned for August, but further details have yet to become official. You can be sure that I will return to this topic as soon as I’m allowed.
On the topic of vinyls, the annual Seoul Record Fair is coming up end of this month and this year the number of titles getting the special vinyl edition treatment for the occasion is higher than any previous year. Kim Sawol X Kim Haewon‘s excellent debut EP {비밀} has been remastered by Kim Haewon himself for a 1LP release limited to 350 copies; Noizegarden‘s self-titled debut album will get a 2LP release limited to 500 copies, remastered by the same engineer that mastered it for its original 1996 release; Sister’s Barbershop‘s 4th full-length 순간을 믿어요 and MOT‘s album debut 비선형 (non-linear) will get re-issued on 1LP (600 copies) and 2LP (500 copies) editions respectively, however as the original sources have been lost since the releases in 2004 the mastering will be the same as on the respective CDs; new indie darlings hyukoh‘s Panda Bear single from the beginning of the year will get a physical release on a 7″ picture disc, limited to 500 copies.
Additionally it seems there will be a special Bulnabang Star Sausage Club package with a 140g white vinyl version of the band’s only full-length album 질적 신파 and a yellow 7″ vinyl of the band’s 2010 EP 석연치 않은 결말, limited to 500 copies.
Blog Related
In addition to getting some more contents on the blog, this summer I’ll look into changing to a new theme for the site. I’m usually not too fond of responsive themes myself as my phone has a fairly big screen and I’ve found that the “mobile” themes commonly hide some contents and navigation in a way that doesn’t quite agree with me, but it’s about time I anyway move in a more modern direction. Hopefully that’ll also make some of the annoying, improper behavior from The Event Calendar caused by conflicts stop so that I’ll be more keen on keeping that one updated–seems extra important with so many Korean bands scheduled to come over to Europe in the next couple of months.