Welcome back to Fan Chant, a weekly column for K-pop fans, followers, and newbies. Today, production and songwriting duo GroovyRoom chat about their new music. And PS: if you love reading Fan Chant, you can do it. subscribe Head over to my complimentary newsletter to get it delivered straight to your inbox each week!
Production and songwriting duo GroovyRoom (Park Gyu-jung and Lee Hwi-min) have carved out their own space in the South Korean music scene; They put out hip-hop hits like it's what they were born to do. And while their musical sensibilities are clear, there's one more extremely important skill woven into their sound: GroovyRoom chooses excellent collaborators.
The duo's 2017 project, EVERYWHEREIt was a defining moment, packed with South Korean K-pop and R&B names like Jay Park, Sik-K, SURAN and pH-1. “Because of our debut album, EVERYWHERE, was so successful that we felt a lot of pressure while working on our second album,” the duo share via email. “We spent a lot of time thinking and experimenting with different styles, but once we found our direction, we started running. We want to publish this as soon as possible.”
So far, GroovyRoom has only provided a glimpse into the mysterious project with a new single, titled “Yes or No,” which features LE SSERAFIM’s HUH YUNJIN and Crush. YUNJIN has become something of a collaboration queen lately: in addition to her appearance on the song GroovyRoom, she recently teamed up with MAX for a single titled “STUPID IN LOVE” and is rumored to be one of the names in the new announcement BTS' j-hope six-track project.
“We met YUNJIN through a mutual friend of ours; “He heard the song and luckily he liked it and decided to collaborate with us,” GroovyRoom shares. “We had never worked with Crush before, but he was the artist that came to mind when we decided to include a male vocal.” The duo notes their newly debuted youtube series narrating the making of the album with images of them together in the studio.
“In most cases, we feed back the first version and go from there,” they remember. “But YUNJIN took the initiative to record her verse again before we could respond. Her attention to detail and her extra effort translate to her.”
The rest of the project is still under wraps, but GroovyRoom felt confident leading with “Yes or No” as the first test. “It was a very new collaboration and we wanted to set the right tone,” he explains. “In some of the comments about the original K-pop song we tested (“LOVE” by Brown Eyed Girls), people are now mentioning that our song, “Yes or No,” took them there to hear the original. “It was a very proud moment and we are happy to be able to pay tribute to a classic.”
Listen to “Yes or No” below and stay tuned for more details on GroovyRoom’s upcoming EP.
ICYMI: Happy birthday, j-hope.
j-hope, photo courtesy of BIGHIT MUSIC
Over the weekend, BTS's j-hope turned 30 years old. To celebrate, I've rounded up just ten of the many great songs he's created over the last decade. Check out the list here: It's never too late to celebrate a BTS birthday.
Recording song of the week:
It's no secret that I've been loving IU's releases lately, but the fact that none other than DPR Ian directed the music video really seals the deal on this latest song.
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