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Dynamic Duo Grand Carnival cover photo

Exclusive Interview with Dynamic Duo – Grand Carnival North American Tour 2016

On March 27, Amoeba Culture‘s Dynamic Duo and DJ Friz performed at The Vogue Theatre in Vancouver as part of their Grand Carnival North American Tour 2016.  A special thanks to TR Canada and KpopMe! for making this possible.  Check out our article to watch the exclusive interview with Dynamic Duo!

Exclusive Interview


Please introduce yourselves to your North American fans!
Choiza: Hello, we are Dynamic Duo.  Back in South Korea, we have been active under the name “Dynamic Duo” for about 10 years.  Up until now, we were unable to visit our North American fans.  [Since this is our first North American tour] we feel like a brand new group *laughs* We are Dynamic Duo!


How was your “Grand Carnival” Tour experience so far?
Gaeko: We’ve stopped by a few [North American] cities in the past, but this is our first tour to perform in seven cities.  Before we started this tour, we were both excited and thrilled.  Looking back, each and every show was enjoyable and definitely exceeded our expectations.  I think we will be returning to Korea inspired and with great memories.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BCfdLgpsSmD/?taken-by=djfriz


This Vancouver show wraps up the North American Tour.  Which city was most memorable?
Choiza: We hope that Vancouver will be the most memorable city of our tour.  That being said, each city was unique and fun in their own way.  Our audience from each city gave us different vibes, and each venue had a different atmosphere.  We appreciated the unique sceneries and neighborhoods from each city.  As Vancouver is the last stop of our North American tour, we will pour our remaining energy into this show tonight.  We hope that our show will become a memory to our audience tonight!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BDG2JPDLiiV/?taken-by=gaekogeem


How did you find the audience in North America compared to those in South Korea?
Gaeko: I don’t think the two audiences are different in terms of how they listen to our music.  Instead, I think there is a slight difference in the way the two audiences enjoy our music live.  In Korea, our audience focus their energy towards the stage, singing and jumping along with us for the entirety of the concert.  Our North American audience—with their group of friends or significant other—seem to enjoy the show in a more casual fashion.  For example, the audience would sometimes enjoy the show while drinking an alcoholic beverage, and other times they would sing and dance along with us).  The audience focused on how they wanted to enjoy our show.  That was very interesting to us.


Back in July of 2014, you collaborated with American producer DJ Premier on the single [A Giant Step].  How was it to collaborate with him?
Choiza: Working with DJ Premier was truly an honor for us.  He is a pioneer of hiphop and is someone we looked up to ever since we started listening to hiphop music.  [Collaborating with DJ Premier] was an enjoyable experience.  Moreover, we were fortunate to work with DJ Premier in Korea, where we filmed videos and performed on television shows.  In particular, one of our favorite memories is introducing him to Korean food.  Thanks to our great relationship, DJ Premier hand-selected our collaborative track ‘AEAO’ to be featured on the game NBA 2K16.  The thought of people being able to enjoy our music while playing the game makes us happy.  It was truly a blessing.


In the track ‘Oksang (옥상에서)’ Gaeko mentions Nas and Biggie’s rap.  Can you comment on your biggest hiphop influences?

Gaeko: It would be difficult to single out an artist as our biggest hiphop influence.  I would say that our biggest influence would be the artists we listened to back in the 90s while we were still in school.  There are a lot of new artists nowadays; I enjoy and often get inspired from listening to the latest hiphop tracks.


Any closing remarks for your North American fans?
Gaeko: Vancouver marks the end of the Grand Carnival tour with DJ Friz.  This tour was truly a positive experience for us.  We plan to take this energy back to Korea and continue making music – because we want to come back here.  In the future, we plan to promote our music beyond the borders of South Korea and continue to be musically active here in North America.  Through a positive experience at our show, we hope that our fans in North America will help promote our music.

Choiza: Initially, we had concerns about whether or not we will be able to perform in the seven cities successfully… “What if we don’t have enough audience?  Do we have enough fans in these cities?”  Fortunately, through this experience, we realized that there is most certainly enough interest in North America required for a successful tour.  This tour has motivated us to continue working hard to make music.  We hope to see you guys often!


Gaeko: [icon type=”instagram”] [icon type=”twitter”] [icon type=”facebook”]

Choiza: 
[icon type=”instagram”] [icon type=”facebook”]
DJ Friz: [icon type=”instagram”]
TRCanada: [icon type=”instagram”] [icon type=”twitter”] [icon type=”facebook”]
KpopMe: [icon type=”instagram”] [icon type=”twitter”] [icon type=”facebook”]

 

Okasian & B-Free - London concert poster

[Review] Currency Exchange Show #1: Okasian and B-Free

On Tuesday, November 17, the global city of London was the place to be for European fans of Korean hiphop. Hi-Lite Records’ Okasian and B-Free had come for a visit, joined by a “Very Special Guest” in their quest to “spread peace and love,” as B-Free put it.
Read on for a detailed review of the Currency Exchange Show #1 organized by Cult of Ya which I attended as part of the press.

Evo - Green Life (cover)

Review of Evo’s latest album ‘Green Life’

As a big fan of Evo’s, I was excited to hear his new album ‘Green Life’ the moment it came out. Read my review on it below! ^^

[x_custom_headline type=”left” level=”h1″ looks_like=”h2″]Artist[/x_custom_headline]

I’ve been a fan of Evo’s music for several years and has always wondered why his brilliant music wasn’t as recognized as much as I thought it should have been. His lyricism can be playful and deep (and sometimes with some innuendo), raw but somehow with positive vibes also. Musically, there’s always a chill and or groove beat to boot.

[x_custom_headline type=”left” level=”h1″ looks_like=”h2″]Album Title and Cover[/x_custom_headline]
On October 1st, Evo released his 2nd full length album, [Green Life] ((about a year and a half after his 1st album [Beautiful Mind])). Green Life refers to, you guessed it, green bottles of alcohol ((soju)), and each song contains content about alcohol. That isn’t to say that the album contains the meaningless ramblings of an alcoholic at all as each of its 8 songs has it’s own unique flavor, story, and message behind it.

evo - green life

The cover was designed by Natist. (( check out his instagram @na_tist)). You can already get a taste of what’s in the album from just the cover. With a green background to match the title “Green Life”, a drawn portrait of Evo and handwritten scribbles of lyrics, song titles, and drawings that are all contents within the album.

[x_custom_headline type=”left” level=”h1″ looks_like=”h2″]Tracklist[/x_custom_headline]

Click on the titles to read my description of each track.

[accordion] [accordion_item title=”1.초록색여행”]

Perfect as the 1st track of the album, “Green Trip” is a classic Evo track, Evo discusses the highs and lows of being drunk until you blackout. Of all the tracks, I’d say this track has my favorite raps in terms of flow. A sneak peek at some lyrics:“My brain is spinning because I’m drunk so I observe everything deeply.”(뇌는 회전해 취기 때문에 더 깊게 관찰해 everything) “Sometimes my mood is up, sometimes my mood is down and shabby(가끔 기분이 업 가끔 기분 다운 떨어 궁상) Of course, you can’t leave out the catchy hook “Let’s go on a trip x3 I’m saying” that are normally characteristic to Evo’s songs. Lastly, this track has an interesting MV to add onto it, see how you interpret it along with the lyrics. ((Translations up soon, no spoilers here!))

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[accordion_item title=”2.Sound Track”]

‘Sound Track’ is straight up raw track from Evo, that you rarely will hear from him, a gem in my personal opinion. Without much melodical lines, no hook, straight up rap, and no “title” or “subject”, this track is a sharp rap track with Evo’s straightforward thoughts and feelings poured into it.  [/accordion_item]
[accordion_item title=”3.완전히 뻔해”]

Produced by B.A.D. ((Evo & Soulfish)), you’ll find yourself bobbing your head to the beat before you realize it. As far as lyricism goes, I’d personally say this track is my favorite. Throughout the song Evo lists out people and situations he finds shameless/obvious ((as a lover of alcohol)) but ultimately points out how changing your perspective can change a lot of things. You can check out the lyrics ((translations will be up soon)) I’d say this is my favorite track along with  밤하늘과 위스키. [/accordion_item]
[accordion_item title=”4.밤하늘과 위스키”]

Another track I’d say is classic Evo, with a somewhat R&B feel to it. Although the title suggests ‘Night sky and Whisky’, the lyrics aren’t about an alcoholic life, but more so reminiscing about the memories of everything Evo has been through to get to where he is now in his career (with said girl).[/accordion_item]
[accordion_item title=”5.I am Happy Because I’m Happy”]

Pre-released in September, ‘I Am Happy Because I’m Happy’ is a track with a groovy beat that you just want to jam to with of a course a positive message also. Evo discusses how some good and bad things happen but he’s still going to be happy and look at things positively and encourages the listener to do so also. :) So this is like an Evo version of Pharrell’s ‘Happy’? [/accordion_item]
[accordion_item title=”6.Green Bottle”]

Green Bottle is the “party” song of the album, an overall fun song with a catchy beat and fun lyrics about drinking till you’re wasted.”Another round, till I fucking drown”,“Sky is the limit, and I know I’m going to drink this till I’m gone”. Basically, this track shows that drinking is just part of who Evo is. [/accordion_item]
[accordion_item title=”7.건배PYDU”]

“건배” meaning cheers, PYDU meaning ‘put your drinks up’. This track is also about drinking and cheers! However instead of a focus on getting drunk, this song reflects on what Evo has accomplished through those around him and is a song that is to celebrate everything. Example from the lyrics, “I’m wasted and I still made it and that’s amazing”. [/accordion_item]
[accordion_item title=”8.Today & Tomorrow”]

This track was released several months before the full album, as some people may have heard and Lena has already translated the lyrics but how can I not talk about this track? With a soft piano melody, Evo talks about the people who have made an impact his life ((mostly Hi-Lite members ^^)) and some negative things that have happened but he has a positive outlook on his life and will hold his head up high tomorrow and continue on his life journey. [/accordion_item]

[x_custom_headline type=”left” level=”h1″ looks_like=”h2″]Overall Review[/x_custom_headline]

Overall, Green Life is a solid album from Evo that went beyond my expectations. I’ll admit I was pretty worried with the recent label switch((from Hi-Lite Records to 2lson Company)) & album title, but Evo did not disappoint. Definitely an album worth listening to, and I’m sure you will find yourself bobbing your head along soon enough. Oh, and don’t forget to purchase the album if you can!

 

Related links:
Evo’s Instagram
2LSON Company’s Website