Jeong Cha Sik

Voted by music critics of one of Korea's most important/influential music blog sites as the #6 Korean Album of the Year. - MusicY (12.30.2012)

Voted by music critics of one of Korea's most important/influential daily newspapers as the #2 Korean Artist of the Year (behind #1 Psy) - Hankyoreh News (12.16.2012)

Voted by music critics of one of Korea's most important/influential daily newspapers as the #2 Korean Album of the Year. - Hankyoreh News (12.16.2012)

ALBUM OF THE YEAR RUNNER-UP

Jung Cha-sik – 'Turbulent Modern Times'

If there was still any point to trying to classify Jung Cha-sik’s music into a clean genre after last year’s 'Precarious Man', it disappears completely with Turbulent Modern Times. The Rainy Sun vocalist has perhaps surpassed his own band’s achievements – in fact, the achievements of most of the K-pop scene put together – with these two solo albums. Jung Cha-sik embraces the darker, sadder side of human desire this time, taking more extensive cues from non-rock genres. Booming and grooving accordions and brass are both staples, Korean-traditional and trot motifs define much of the rhythm, and full-on electronica sound sets sometimes appear alongside funk guitar and church gospel. Improvisational devices and flat-out weird accompaniments abound. These sounds are used to construct moody but paradoxically passionate tracks, in a style wholly unique to Jung in the Korean scene right now.

These ominous and dragging arrangements add a layer of extra depravity as the artist gives voice to a man’s basest instincts – the search for pleasure, sex, competition, companionship, meaning, and purpose, to list a few. Jung Cha-sik has three voices that he flips between: a dry and cracking low swoon, a messy and grating falsetto, and an abrasive belt. With just these and no other tricks, he completes the hopelessly romanticized personae of macho guys who all desire something or other. The resultant album is perhaps 2012's most purely creative release, in that (as admitted by the artist) there is no reference and no resemblance to any body’s past works. Turbulent Modern Times won’t appeal to everyone – this is for certain. But if it does resonate with you, the album provides a soul-shaking ride. - HelloKPop.com (12.30.2012)

In 1996, just about ten years after the crest of the Gothic rock scene in the West, there were ripples of Goth beginning to show in the South Korean music sea.

Some of the first bands were O.H.N. ("Our Hot Dog Nation") and Rainy Sun, whose "gothesque" outfits (O.H.N.'s drummer personally designed/created the band's ensemble) and dark mood progressions in their music set in motion what would become the Korean Goth Wave.

What inspired this deviation from the then norm of the Korean alternative scene? Rainy Sun's vocalist Jung Cha-shik told Groove Korea, "We just got fed up with the overbearing pop scene and the boring, un-creative so-called 'alternative' music being made at the time."

What is Gothic rock? In general, the music arose out of the post-punk scene in England and the first time "gothic" was applied to the music (as it is usually believed) was 1981. Gothic rock is guitar-based with dark lyrics that tend to be introverted, personal, with elements that can be traced back to much older literary movements like "Gothic horror" and "Romanticism." The first groups labeled as such were Siouxsie and the Banshees and Joy Division. It wasn't long before the Gothic rock sound and style started to have an impact. The band Sisters of Mercy is considered by most to be the epitome of it.

"We wanted to take the piss out of the music we were forced to hear at the time," said Andrew Eldritch, founder/vocalist/songwriter of the Sisters of Mercy. Translate the British slang term Eldritch uses and it's not so different than Jung's motivation.

What is the appeal of the Goth sound and attitude to Koreans? A more recent addition to Korea's growing Goth pantheon Ophelia provided an answer. Ophelia's quietly compelling lead vocal Yui explained it this way to Groove Korea: "The essence of the music resonates with our Korean soul, 'H'an'."

H'an has been described as an amorphous idea, like love or hate - it's intensely personal, yet carried inside by Koreans as a whole. In a way, it's suffering tempered by a sense of resiliency.

Oathean, created in 1997, is the quintessential Korean Goth band and the most influential one concerning the creation of the Korean Goth Wave. There are several things that make Oathean stand out from fellow Goth bands. The band, once death metalish, now plays symphonic death rock that incorporates traditional Korean instruments (one of the first Korean rock bands to do so) which embodies their lyrics of sadness and depression.

In 2005, Oathean's album, "Fading Away Into The Grave Of Nothingness," became the first Korean Goth record issued outside of their homeland (they are signed to the American label The End Records) and it was well received by the world Goth music community. "There is no reason why this 'Goth' thing has to be a Western musical motif," Oathean's founder Kim Do-su explained to Groove with his brother Kim Min-su at his side.

Kim Do-su took his love of the music and its rising Korean musical/cultural scene to the next level. He gathered some of the finest Korean Goth bands and created Jusin Productions, which has become Korea's largest record label for Gothic rock acts, including Ophelia. This past May, the Jusin Fest was held at the respected music venue Rolling Hall and it presented such bands as Hunter's Moon, Diesel Sneakers, Sacrifice, Ishtar and many more. This line-up went on to play such popular music sites as F.F. and Sapiens 7. The Korean Goth community has made it clear, thanks in part to Kim's tireless efforts, that it is no longer a sub-level section of the alternative music establishment.

However, there is one notable Goth band who finally established "Korean Gothic rock." The band is Dark Mirror Ov Tragedy (name refers to the mirror used by Nostrodamus "to see the dark, cursed future.") and they first appeared in 2003. Just as British Goth developed out of their post punk period, many Korean Goth bands, such as Dark Mirror, got their start in the Korean Black/Death metal scene.

"The Koreanizing of our band's music helped set us apart from numerous other death metal groups...we did it by combining the Western based music with traditional Korean music ... we, sort of, morphed into a gothic one," Dark Mirror vocalist Material Pneuma said in an interview.

Pneuma described the band's outlook: "Our music has a cathartic essence to it, rather than making the listeners delve further into depression." Recently, Dark Mirror Ov Tragedy's music received an appreciative response in England.

Today, the Goth sound and style have even entered Korea's pop world. One of its top diva girl acts, 2NE1, recorded a visually Gothic video and the song itself is Goth-pop ala the Korean glam-Goth group Eve. There is a German Goth band, Krypteria, whose lead singer is Korean, Cho Ji-in. There is even a Swedish Goth band called Korea. A cursed future? It isn't for Gothic rock fans because whenever Korean Goth groups are exposed to the rest of the world, they are - Groove Korea (11.09.2011)

Interview with Jeong Cha Sik talking about his first album. - Channel Yes (01.04.2012)

An in-depth profile of critically acclaimed Korean rock act, Jeong Cha Sik.
- Union Press (12.11.2011)

Interview with Jeong Cha Sik and a profile of his music. - Union Press (12.13.2011)

Album reviews of JeongChasik's first and second album. - Daum Music (03.09.2012)

Interview with Jeong Cha Sik, winner of Album of the Year at 2012 Imagene Awards. - Daum Music (09.18.2012)

With the end of 2011, it is the time that we all are supposed to write about our favorite releases of the year. Except that both Anna and myself are a bit out of the loop at the moment and do not really have a big list for the year.

But just because I’ve been lazy, doesn’t mean everyone else has. For example, here is the music website Weiv‘s list of the top-18 releases from 2011:

14. Jeong Cha-sik – The Empty

Kim Jongyoun of Scatterbrain, another very good music website:

4. Jeong Cha-sik – The Empty - KoreanIndie.com (01.13.2012)

Rewarding artists that came out with new releases from December through February, the winners of the Olleh Music Indie Awards March 2012 have been announced:

ALBUM NOMINEES : Jeong Cha Sik (#2 in Voting with 12%) - KoreanIndie.com (03.11.2012)

The winners of the 9th Korean Music Awards will be announced next week. In our Korean Music Awards Prediction Poll post we said that we’d try to provide a bit of background on the nominated albums and songs for the various genres, but that never really happened. There’s just been too much new music coming out lately, but that in itself is a good thing so lets not dwell over that. Chris has done an excellent job reviewing many of the nominated releases. I instead offer you my predictions as to who will win the various awards at KMA 2012. And just to be clear, before we get started I should say that my guesses do not necessarily reflect who I think should win but are rather based on my anticipations on how the people that do have a say in the outcome have voted.
Album of the Year

All are solid candidates, but I would have to go with either Jeong Cha Sik or Chang Kiha & The Faces though I have yet to listen to any of them. “A Twosome” have gotten Chang Kiha & The Faces even more popular than they were when they first rose to fame with “Cheap Coffee” and “Living the Nothing Special Life”. Jeong Cha Sik on the other hand is brilliant in everything he does and I’m guessing he’s got slightly more cred in critics circles so I’ll have to go with his 'The Empty'. - KoreanIndie.com (02.20.2012)

Today, the nominees for the 2012 Korean Music Awards were announced. Out of all the awards in Korea, it is considered the most prestigious among musicians and a majority of the nominees are indie artists rather than idols. The winners of the awards will be presented on February 29th, 2012.

Jeong Cha Sik is nominated for Rock Album of the Year and Rock Song of the Year.

http://www.koreanmusicawards.com/2012/artists/nomi2.html - KoreanIndie.com (01.18.2012)

Rainy Sun vocalist Jeong Cha Sik‘s first full-length album released last year has been very well received. On January 31st time will have come for the follow-up–???? ???. Unlike the primarily instrumental pieces from his 2010 tango alias [Ten]Go, Jeong Cha Sik under his own name makes good use of his characteristic vocals to an intriguing mix of musical styles.

With such an esteemed musician releasing a solo album of course there will be plenty of familiar names involved in the making. Rainy Sun guitarist Kim Tae Jin has been playing the guitar for the new album, with 2nd Moon guitarist Kim Hyun Bo doing the same for “??? ??”. 2nd Moon and Alice In Neverland violinist Jo Yun Jung has played the violin throughout, and Crying Nut‘s Kim In Soo is playing the accordion on “??”.

An example of Jeong Cha Sik’s solo offerings is provided by the music video to first album track 'Forgiveness'

- KoreanIndie.com (01.28.2012)

In 1996, just about ten years after the crest of the Gothic rock scene in the West, there were ripples of Goth beginning to show in the South Korean music sea.

Some of the first bands were O.H.N. ("Our Hot Dog Nation") and Rainy Sun, whose "gothesque" outfits (O.H.N.'s drummer personally designed/created the band's ensemble) and dark mood progressions in their music set in motion what would become the Korean Goth Wave.

What inspired this deviation from the then norm of the Korean alternative scene? Rainy Sun's vocalist Jung Cha-shik told Groove Korea, "We just got fed up with the overbearing pop scene and the boring, un-creative so-called 'alternative' music being made at the time."

What is Gothic rock? In general, the music arose out of the post-punk scene in England and the first time "gothic" was applied to the music (as it is usually believed) was 1981. Gothic rock is guitar-based with dark lyrics that tend to be introverted, personal, with elements that can be traced back to much older literary movements like "Gothic horror" and "Romanticism." The first groups labeled as such were Siouxsie and the Banshees and Joy Division. It wasn't long before the Gothic rock sound and style started to have an impact. The band Sisters of Mercy is considered by most to be the epitome of it.

"We wanted to take the piss out of the music we were forced to hear at the time," said Andrew Eldritch, founder/vocalist/songwriter of the Sisters of Mercy. Translate the British slang term Eldritch uses and it's not so different than Jung's motivation.

What is the appeal of the Goth sound and attitude to Koreans? A more recent addition to Korea's growing Goth pantheon Ophelia provided an answer. Ophelia's quietly compelling lead vocal Yui explained it this way to Groove Korea: "The essence of the music resonates with our Korean soul, 'H'an'."

H'an has been described as an amorphous idea, like love or hate - it's intensely personal, yet carried inside by Koreans as a whole. In a way, it's suffering tempered by a sense of resiliency.

Oathean, created in 1997, is the quintessential Korean Goth band and the most influential one concerning the creation of the Korean Goth Wave. There are several things that make Oathean stand out from fellow Goth bands. The band, once death metalish, now plays symphonic death rock that incorporates traditional Korean instruments (one of the first Korean rock bands to do so) which embodies their lyrics of sadness and depression.

In 2005, Oathean's album, "Fading Away Into The Grave Of Nothingness," became the first Korean Goth record issued outside of their homeland (they are signed to the American label The End Records) and it was well received by the world Goth music community. "There is no reason why this 'Goth' thing has to be a Western musical motif," Oathean's founder Kim Do-su explained to Groove with his brother Kim Min-su at his side.

Kim Do-su took his love of the music and its rising Korean musical/cultural scene to the next level. He gathered some of the finest Korean Goth bands and created Jusin Productions, which has become Korea's largest record label for Gothic rock acts, including Ophelia. This past May, the Jusin Fest was held at the respected music venue Rolling Hall and it presented such bands as Hunter's Moon, Diesel Sneakers, Sacrifice, Ishtar and many more. This line-up went on to play such popular music sites as F.F. and Sapiens 7. The Korean Goth community has made it clear, thanks in part to Kim's tireless efforts, that it is no longer a sub-level section of the alternative music establishment.

However, there is one notable Goth band who finally established "Korean Gothic rock." The band is Dark Mirror Ov Tragedy (name refers to the mirror used by Nostrodamus "to see the dark, cursed future.") and they first appeared in 2003. Just as British Goth developed out of their post punk period, many Korean Goth bands, such as Dark Mirror, got their start in the Korean Black/Death metal scene.

"The Koreanizing of our band's music helped set us apart from numerous other death metal groups...we did it by combining the Western based music with traditional Korean music ... we, sort of, morphed into a gothic one," Dark Mirror vocalist Material Pneuma said in an interview.

Pneuma described the band's outlook: "Our music has a cathartic essence to it, rather than making the listeners delve further into depression." Recently, Dark Mirror Ov Tragedy's music received an appreciative response in England.

Today, the Goth sound and style have even entered Korea's pop world. One of its top diva girl acts, 2NE1, recorded a visually Gothic video and the song itself is Goth-pop ala the Korean glam-Goth group Eve. There is a German Goth band, Krypteria, whose lead singer is Korean, Cho Ji-in. There is even a Swedish Goth band called Korea. A cursed future? It isn't for Gothic rock fans because whenever Korean Goth groups are exposed to the rest of the world, they are - Groove Korea (Nov 9th 2011)

The incredible music that cannot be appeared in Korea came out.
To say it a little bit deeper, Korean Rock, Metal…
Jeong ChaSik the lead singer of the band Rainysun which gave Korean indie scene a shock with its distinctive music that had earned its nickname ‘ghost’s wail metal’ during 1990's.
In 2011, Jeong ChaSik began to do artistic work as solo artist.
Especially, he released his solo debut album [??? ?? The Precipitous Guy] called ‘the best controversial work’ for the half-year and angled for compliments, ” The musical level that reached through the habitual skepticism”.
[??? ?? The Precipitous Guy] is not only a display stand showing his true color that has been hidden or left by himself , but also a brochure that can let us peep into what he lost and what he learned with age.
He succeeded in bringing many kinds of genres from tango, pop and waltz to fusion trot into his album and the word ,’success’ means that such dredged songs are put in one basket by unique sensitivity and weird songs. This album shows many ingredients and tastes and ‘musical humors’ besides, it tells us the reason Jeong ChaShik is a great vocalist.
After releasing his first album, he released his second album [???? ??? The Turbulent Current History] in six months. This album shows confessions of himself just like his previous album, his insanity that he has excavated for a long time, and he dredged up men’s desire by mixing electronic music with third- world music.
The principal point of his second album, [???? ??? The Turbulent Current History] is turbulent beat and rhythm.
Like this, a controversial musician, Jeong ChaSik who has captivated critics and music fans is getting a lot of attention as an artist who completes almost all the artistic works from composition, words, vocal, arrangement to recording, mixing, playing the instruments, computer programming etc..
Finally, someone commented about Jeong ChaSik on the internet: ” If you listen to Jeong ChaShik‘s album, you’ll get the feeling you’re facing with condensing Korean Rock.”. - Magic Strawberry Sound