BACK TO Okay-POP’S FIRST GENERATION: Lee Jung Hyun – Peace

Okay-Pop’s first technology is commonly referenced as the muse for the business we take pleasure in now, however there aren’t sufficient good English-language sources that give its music the main target it deserves. I’m hoping to alter that with a seamless flashback sequence, spotlighting private highlights from the period – each iconic and obscure.

The period in query is commonly thought-about to run from the debut of Website positioning Taiji & Boys in 1992 to the emergence of TVXQ in late 2003. The music featured on this sequence will largely match inside that timeframe, give or take a couple of years on both facet.

It was a time of bonkers track buildings, wild style, slamming techno beats, dangerous reggae impressions, flagrant use (theft?) of American hip-hop samples, hearty energy ballads, foul language, the growliest rapper tones you’ll be able to think about and an anything-goes scrappiness that’s unimaginable to pigeonhole. To borrow the title of a preferred second-gen act, these years have been the “huge bang” of an rising musical powerhouse, nonetheless discovering its footing and throwing all the pieces on the wall.

Try different “Again to Okay-pop’s First Technology” opinions right here.

I already wrote about this track on one other function earlier this yr however I need to revisit it for this function as a result of to me Lee Jung Hyun is among the premiere artists of the period and Peace is her masterpiece. In truth, since I’ve been swimming round Okay-pop’s first gen this yr, I’m desperate to bump its score up a couple of notches to “legendary” standing.

Lee Jung Hyun truly debuted as an actress earlier than breaking by way of as a singer. She turned to music with an idiosyncratic imaginative and prescient, marrying the burgeoning techno pattern of the time (which she was partially accountable for popularizing) to experimental sounds and buildings. Her debut album is downright bizarre. To me, it’s at all times felt like she descended from one other planet and I respect that barely alien nature very a lot. In truth, this was her precise idea for a time. I’ll in all probability get round to writing about a couple of of her different highlights, however Peace is just too immense to not lead the pack of Jung Hyun hits.

This was the fourth (!) single from her second album and operates on a larger-than-life scale. From the cinematic music video (filmed in Russia) to the bombastic instrumental, that is Okay-pop at its most theatrical and unyielding. I’ve been obsessive about its angular beat for years. The Jackson-esque percussion and electrical guitar forge a sledgehammer depth that’s greater than matched by Jung Hyun’s ferocious efficiency. The addition of military-style backing vocals provides additional weight, enhancing the track’s aggressive sound. Second-gen followers who go loopy for tracks like EXO’s Mama will discover lots to like right here.

Further enjoyable truth: TVXQ’s Yunho acquired into SM Leisure by dancing to this track!

Grade: A+