Who doesn’t love indie? I know I do. Indie is love. Indie is life. Especially Korean indie. Look hard enough and you’ll find your own gems. I know I’ve found my favorites. Through years of listening I’ve weeded out some of what I consider the best bands/artists, and I’ll share them here with you, our lovely Officially KMusic readers.
I listen to a lot of indie, so this list was no easy feat. At all. Shuffling through all my indie was a torture in and of itself. I hope you enjoy this list, it’s in no particular order.
#1 Jung In
First introduced to me via EYK’s K-Krunch Indie segment with her single, “Rainy Season,” Jung In has a sweet, raspy voice that is reminiscent of Macy Gray. Her voice is a breath of fresh air, and her music is just…it gives me chills.
This is her latest single, “Bicycle,” with Gary of LeeSang. They’ve been collaborating quite a lot lately, with her album, “Geuni,” on “Let’s Walk,” and their two latest singles together, “Your Scent,” as well as “Bicycle.”
#2 From The Airport
This duo is simply amazing, and and debuted in 2012 with “Colors.” They reside under Fluxus with names such as Urban Zakapa and Yi Sung Yol. Back in February, they released their first mini album, “Chemical Love.”
I’d like to share “Timelines,” not only because I find that it’s a great song, but because member Zee has also stated that it is his favorite from the album.
#3 WHOwho
I’ve already proclaimed my love for them, God knows how many times. WHOwho are my favorite band, and I am so stoked for their impending comeback. But while I’m waiting on that, let’s focus on my favorite song, “Her.”
They debuted in 2013 with “Down Below,” on the GREENPLUGGED Omnibus album, and are under Soundholic Entertainment.
This band too got the EYK treatment on their K-Krunch Indie playlist, with the video for “Her,” where the band display their raw talent in a studio setting.
#4 Thornapple
Thornapple is a pretty amazing band, and quite underrated, at least from an international fan’s point of view. They have this J-rock vibe that I’ve always loved, and the angst! This is an amazing song and it’s from their second album, “이상기후” which was released back in June.
This group is from Happy Robot Records, they too debuted in 2013 with their first album, “난 자꾸 말을 더듬고 잠드는 법도 잊었네[해피로봇 에디션].”
This song is titled, “낯선 열대.”
#5 Neon Bunny
Holy mother of goodness!~ “Oh My Prince” was amazing, but her latest track, “It’s You,” is just so wonderful, and as an added bonus, the actor from 2NE1‘s “Come Back Home” features in this video.
She debuted in 2012 under Doggy Rich with “Seoulight.”
#6 Look and Listen
Heard of them a while back, and I have to say, they rock my socks. They are a punk rock band, and are located in Hongdae, Seoul Korea. My favorite song is “Run” from their 2013 album, “Ready to Go.”
Recently, they released a cover album, “The Very Best of Punk World Hit.” Check it out!
#7 Tell and Listen
Not to be confused with the band above, these two bands are worlds apart when it comes to sound.
They debuted in 2013 with “Night Train,” and have continued on with the release of their latest single, “Goodbye.”
#8 Lucia
I found her with her video for “Will You Love Me For One Season, Like A Flower?“This song is a collaboration with label mate, Epitone Project. This is from her single, “Sakura Moment,” which was released back in 2011.
As of late, she has recently released her 2nd album, “Light & Shade” back in May.
#9 Besweet
I found this video last year, and was very thrilled to find such a smooth, light song that is very relaxing to listen to. This single,”Can’t Stop” was a collaboration between Pastel Music and Kim Ha Neul, who starred in the music video called. The collaboration was titled, “Sky” and featured other Pastel artists as well.
She debuted in 2009 under Pastel Music, and her latest album, “New Folder” was released in September of last year.
#10 YAYA
YAYA, who is considered “a jack of all trades” seeing as how she not only writes, composes and sings her own music, but she also is a producer, illustrator, graphic designer, web designer, fashion stylist, photographer, art director, and columnist. With such a lengthy list of talents, flawlessly covering classics simply needed to be checked off.
A while back, she released an acoustic cover of Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No Sunshine,” which is the song I’ve chosen to showcase for you.
If you’d like something more recent from YAYA, check out her album, “Cruel Picture,” released last year.
#11 The Swimmin’ Fish
Sadly, this band doesn’t exist. And by ‘exist’ I mean after ten years of making music together, this group has disbanded as of last year.
Last year they released their final album, “Goodbye,” which is also their lead single’s title. It’s a beautiful song, and rather than be mournful, the music video and the song are rather uplifting.
#12 Fromm
Fromm is a soloist that debuted in 2013 with her album, “Arrival.” Her latest video, “A Spring Day Out” was released on a single titled, “Under The Daylight Moon.”
She recently released another single titled, “In Her Sea of Happiness.”
#13 Urban Zakapa
And no indie list would be complete without Urban Zakapa, one of the biggest acts from Fluxus. Urban Zakapa is a co-ed band that debuted in 2009 with nine members (most being instrumentalists), but due to differences, have gone down to three vocalists.
Back in May, they released their latest single, “Like A Bird,” and the music video starred actress Lee Yul Eum. However, I’ve chosen to showcase a song from their debut album, “Coffee,” which is mostly know to international audiences by “Cafe Latte,” and is also my favorite song.
Like these artists? Who are YOUR favorite K-Indie artists? Comment below!
Edited by: LeighDarling
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