Sunwoo Jung-A

Singer-songwriter Sungwoo Jung-A is an accomplished musician in her own right, proficient in a multitude of genres, while also writing songs for 2NE1 and GD&TOP among others. Her second full-length album It’s okay, dear won both Album of the Year and Best Pop Album at the Korean Music Awards in 2014, where she was nominated also for Artist of the Year. Sunwoo Jung-A’s latest release is digital single Springirls (봄처녀) from March this year. - Anna

After branching off into acting, 2NE1 member Dara has continued to pursue unique solo activities. Her latest side project took her to the indie music scene, where she teamed up with friend and singer-songwriter Sunwoo Jung-ah (Sunwoo Jeong-a) to film her music video.

Sunwoo Jung-ah is very well-known in the Korean independent music genre, and her agency Magic Strawberry Sound announced that Dara would star in the music video for the digital single “Spring Girls.”

Even though she is an indie artist, Sunwoo Jung-ah also has ties to YG Entertainment and 2NE1, with many regarding her as a hit composer. The artist has helped produce songs and albums for musicians at YG, including four tracks for Lee Hi’s album; she even wrote and composed 2NE1’s “It Hurts.”

Sunwoo Jung-ah got to know Dara through her work with YG Entertainment and personally asked her to be in the music video for “Spring Girls.” The artist plans to promote her song with concerts, including appearances at Mapo Art Center in April and the Seoul Jazz Festival in May.

To get a feel for her music, check out her video for “Korean Crow Tit.”

And if you liked that, check out her video for “The Song of Hero.”

Look forward to the release of “Spring Girls” on March 27! And after that, check out Dara’s web drama Dr. Ian which will air March 29 on Naver TV Cast!

(YouTube, Joong-ang Daily, Rhythmer, images via Magic Strawberry Sound, Daum Music) - Seoulbeats

Korean indie continues to undergo a folk music revival, and a fair amount of the indie scene’s best efforts 2013 have gone into modern folk and blues music; you’ll see that represented below. Meanwhile, we also saw standard-pop releases with potential at greatness, blending intrepid imagination and high-level performance. No matter which subgenre you looked at, pop and folk music had an answer in 2013.

Important: same as last year, the Album of the Year and Song of the Year (and their runner-ups) are not included in the genre categories. That means that, for example, there could be a pop album that isn’t being recognized on this page because it’s the album of the year. Also, note that honorable mention picks are sorted by alphabetical order of artist names.

Albums

Best Pop, Ballad and Folk Album 2013

Sunwoo Jungah – It’s Okay, Dear

There are a few striking things about It’s Okay, Dear. Its versatility is one. Even a cursory listen through the album reveals a broad musical spectrum – jazz pop is at the core, but instruments and methods from power ballad, electronic, swing, and more can also be found. Sunwoo Jungah’s vocal prowess is another. The YG Entertainment composer wears the diverse genres well, deftly leading singalong choruses, explosively curdling the ballads, and slyly injecting humor into the more relaxed tracks. The arrangements are yet another: tasteful and nuanced, they showcase both the sophistry of polished jazz as well as the accessibility of ballad. As a result, It’s Okay, Dear had some of the year’s most shocking moments – the outro to The Moment I Destroy You and literally every single thing about Purple Daddy, for starters – as well as deeply poignant ones. Often they were one and the same. - Hello KPOP

For the first time ever, Chinese indie music festival Modern Sky is set to take place in Helsinki. Alongside bands from China and the Nordic countries there will be 3 acts hailing from Korea: Kuang Program, Neon Bunny and Sunwoo Jung-A. Much more on this to be expected in later posts here on Indieful ROK. - Anna