Ok-Pop’s first era is usually referenced as the muse for the business we get pleasure from now, however there aren’t sufficient good English-language sources that give its music the main focus 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 of 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 timeframe, give or take a number of years on both aspect.

It was a time of bonkers track constructions, wild trend, slamming techno beats, unhealthy reggae impressions, flagrant use (theft?) of American hip-hop samples, hearty energy ballads, foul language, the growliest rapper tones you may think about and an anything-goes scrappiness that’s not possible to pigeonhole. To borrow the identify of a well-liked second-gen act, these years have been the “massive bang” of an rising musical powerhouse, nonetheless discovering its footing and throwing every little thing on the wall.

There’s a sure sort of hyper-dramatic, rock opera meets rap meets dance hybrid that we most frequently affiliate with SM Leisure’s SMP fashion and particularly with producer Yoo Younger-Jin. Whereas Younger-Jin was starting to discover this territory with H.O.T and Shinhwa (who will each be featured prominently on this collection) within the late 90’s, there have been many contemporaries mining the identical sound and generally doing it even higher.

Boy group NRG went by way of a number of sonic iterations, from Eurobeat to funk to R&B and again once more. A few of this transition might need been in response to member Kim Hwansung’s sudden dying within the 12 months 2000 at simply 19 years previous. I think about it’s exhausting to be bopping alongside to excessive power Eurobeat while you’ve suffered such surprising tragedy on the peak of your recognition. Face comes from their third album, and Hwansung’s final with the group. It’s my favourite NRG observe, although the group will probably be spotlighted right here once more as a result of they’ve a wealth of fine materials.

So many constructing blocks of contemporary Ok-pop are current on this relentless banger. We’ve acquired the ever-changing track construction, heavy steel guitar riffs and rapid-fire rap. As a lot as these early Younger-jin productions, Face seems like a predecessor to world hits like TVXQ’s Rising Solar. Just like that track, Face is anchored by a dramatic refrain that units its sights on being as bombastically excessive as attainable. NRG are leaving nothing on the desk right here. You’re getting your cash’s price!

Grade: A