Ok-Pop’s first technology is usually 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 unbroken flashback collection, spotlighting private highlights from the period – each iconic and obscure.

The period in query is usually thought-about to run from the debut of Web optimization Taiji & Boys in 1992 to the emergence of TVXQ in late 2003. The music featured on this collection will largely match inside that time-frame, give or take a number of years on both aspect.

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

Try different “Again to Ok-pop’s First Era” evaluations right here.

I already wrote about this music on one other characteristic earlier this 12 months however I wish to revisit it for this characteristic as a result of to me Lee Jung Hyun is among the premiere artists of the period and Peace is her masterpiece. Actually, since I’ve been swimming round Ok-pop’s first gen this 12 months, I’m desperate to bump its ranking up a number of notches to “legendary” standing.

Lee Jung Hyun really debuted as an actress earlier than breaking by as a singer. She turned to music with an idiosyncratic imaginative and prescient, marrying the burgeoning techno development 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 all the time felt like she descended from one other planet and I recognize that barely alien nature very a lot. Actually, this was her precise idea for a time. I’ll most likely get round to writing about a number of of her different highlights, however Peace is simply 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 Ok-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 music’s aggressive sound. Second-gen followers who go loopy for tracks like EXO’s Mama will discover a lot to like right here.

Additional enjoyable reality: TVXQ’s Yunho acquired into SM Leisure by dancing to this music!

Grade: A+