Brown Eyed Soul releases digital single to mark 10th anniversary

The four-member R&B ensemble Brown Eyed Soul released a digital EP, “Thank Your Soul,” on Thursday, marking the 10th anniversary of their debut. The album consisting of three songs, “You Are So Beautiful,” “Philly Love Song,” and “Neoreul (You),” ranges from ’70s-style soul and disco to romantic R&B ballads. An electronic-remix of “Philly Love Song” is also on the album. All the songs will be included in the group’s fourth regular album due next April. Male supermodel Kim Young-kwang and rising

Dec. 19, 2013

Sixteen acts to represent Korean music at 2014 SXSW showcase

Of the 50 Korean acts that applied, 16 bands have been selected to represent themselves and the Korean music industry at the next South by Southwest music showcase in Austin, Texas. The handful of bands ― five more acts than this year ― that have been selected to perform at the upcoming music festival in March will participate as the Korean lineup for the annual 2014 SXSW’s “K-pop Night Out” showcase, which was first established at last year’s event by event director James Minor to highlight Kor

Dec. 18, 2013

Stars pose to encourage adoption

Star photographer Cho Sei-hon’s annual exhibition featuring celebrities to encourage domestic adoption is back at the Insa Art Center in central Seoul from Wednesday through Dec. 23. In the 11th “Letter from Angels,” members of K-pop groups including 2PM, 2AM, Sistar, ZE:A, Girls’ Generation―TTS, KARA, 4Minute, B1A4, BTOB, A Pink and BTS pose alongside babies or children with physical disabilities. “The babies did fine. While the members of 2PM tried to cuddle Hyeong-gyu, a boy, he never frowned

Dec. 17, 2013

Live piano music meets poignant narrative

In his essay “I Am Melody,” pianist Kwak Yoon-chan says jazz is the music of the less privileged. “Jazz emphasizes the unstressed beat, instead of the stressed.”And the musician certainly empathizes with his pianist character in the on-going play “Novecento,” Italian playwright Alessandro Baricco’s most famous work. The unique character, named Novecento in honor of the 20th century ― it means 900 in Italian ― was born in 1900 on the transatlantic ship the Virginian. His parents abandoned him by

Dec. 17, 2013

Rome goes back to the 1970s to celebrate art heyday

ROME (AFP) ― The heady years of artistic experimentation and cosmopolitan life in Rome in the 1970s are the subject of a new exhibition that opens in the Italian capital on Tuesday.Two hundreds works by some of the most famous artists of the time, including Alberto Burri, Cy Twombly, Jannis Kounellis and Sol Lewitt are on show at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni.The main artistic currents of the time are represented, including Arta Povera and Transavanguardia, as well as the lesser known “Anarchite

Dec. 17, 2013

Beyonce sells 617,000 albums in 3 days of iTunes release

NEW YORK (AP) ― Beyonce’s surprise album has sold surprisingly well: Her fifth solo effort sold more than 600,000 units in its first three days, setting a record for first-week domestic digital sales.Beyonce’s self-titled album was released early Friday morning exclusively on iTunes unbeknownst to the public. Apple said Monday that the album sold 617,213 in its U.S. iTunes Store. It sold 828,773 internationally.“You have to be innovative. The Internet has changed the game. You’ve got to look at

Dec. 17, 2013

Girls’ Generation takes the top spot on Oricon weekly

Girls’ Generation’s latest full Japanese studio album titled “Love & Peace” released on Dec. 11 not only topped the Oricon Daily Album Chart upon its release, but has ranked No. 1 on this week’s Oricon’s Weekly Album Chart, making the group the first Korean girl group to have two albums top the weekly chart. SNSD had previously topped the Oricon ― Japan’s leading music ranking chart ― Weekly Album Chart two years ago with their eponymous album. “Love & Peace” marks the third Japanese studio albu

Dec. 17, 2013

Rock ’N’ Roll Radio lands SXSW invitation, to embark on U.S. tour

Less than two months after the release of their debut studio album “Shut Up and Dance,” the musicians of Rock ’N’ Roll Radio Kim Jin-kyu (guitar), Kim Nae-hyun (lead vocals and guitar), Choi Min-kyu (drums) and Lee Min-woo (bass) have already achieved more than they ever thought they would. The band’s 14-track debut album was released on Oct. 21, and not only has the group already nabbed a number of newcomer awards including the EBS 2014 Hello Rookie Award last month, but they have also landed t

Dec. 16, 2013

Park Bom and Lee Hi form a new unit

YG Entertainment announced on Monday that Park Bom of 2NE1 and K-pop starlet Lee Hi will be releasing a digital Christmas single on Tuesday, the first of a series of a collaborative projects dubbed “YG x SAMSUNG MUSIC.”The agency said the special unit “BOM&HI” will release a new interpretation of Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You” at midnight on Tuesday. “Samsung Music” service, launched in May 2012, will own the exclusive rights to the song for the first three days, before it beco

Dec. 16, 2013

Busker Busker’s Jang to get married

Jang Beom-jun, vocalist and guitarist in South Korean band Busker Busker, is to get married next spring, his agency said Monday.“We deliver news of Busker Busker member Jang Beom-jun’s marriage with great joy,” Chungchun Music said via its official Twitter page. The company said Jang had been planning to fulfill his mandatory military service, but the unexpected pregnancy of his girlfriend, actress Song Ji-su, led him to get married first.The agency said that Busker Busker decided to suspend the

Dec. 16, 2013

Traveling far in search of inspiration

A residency program at Arts Council Korea has been dispatching artists to some of the most remote places in the world. Expeditions visit places such as the Gobi Desert in Mongolia, Lake Baikal in Siberian Russia and Antarctica. Starting in 2008, the residency program has sent out more than 100 artists, giving them time to find inspiration while being immersed in a new environment and culture. On Monday, four artists will depart for Antarctica on a mission to explore new ways to practice their ar

Dec. 15, 2013

Rapper lost time, found inspiration

This is the 19th article in a series on producers, MCs, DJs and artists working in the Korean underground hip-hop scene. ― Ed.For hip-hop artist Kebee, this latest album has been a long time coming. 　It is his first in four years. During that time, his label, Soul Company, disbanded in 2011 and he completed mandatory military service. The 30-year-old said he hoped to prove with “Lost and Found,” which dropped on Dec. 12, that he still has what it takes to be a hip-hop artist.“In a way, I’m reent

Dec. 15, 2013