Park Mi Kyung's CD
Jipchak (Obsession)
FREE MP3 &
RealAudio Downloads
My new Park Mi Kyung CD, Jipchak (Obsession), is seeing a lot of time in my CD carousel. Produced by Kim Chang Hwan (Line Productions) and Jae Chong (Juice Entertainment), this is Park Mi Kyung's fourth album and interesting things happen on it. This album took two years to complete. According to her production company, she spent those two years in the U.S. refining her voice under the tutelage of Scott Riggs.
The most notable accomplishment on this album is Park Mi Kyung's mastery of the salsa style, as is evidenced by her big summer hit Jipchak (Obsession) [RealAudio]. This is a hot samba tune with an authentic Latin sound.
Interestingly enough, her accent evident on the English words in the second track, Eonjenganun (Someday), sounds more Spanish than Korean. This is a funky, slightly disco song that demonstrates the maturity her voice has reached. This vocal strength is also apparent in Shapyol (Separation by Death). She avoids the breathy, frail quality so prevalent with in today's adolescent, female gasu. This ballad has some nice synthesized percussion as well.
Nanara (I know) [MP3] is another groovy, funky song with a decent synthesizer. This is more techno than disco, and again, it is Park Mi Kyung's voice that adds the spirit to the piece. I love the rhythm piano that sound like a funk guitar line.
Park Mi Kyung gets three cheers for having the courage to do an entire song in English. Do That To Me One More Time [MP3] is a remake of a very recognizable song, which makes it even more an act of bravery. Usually English is reserved for incomprehensible rapping and cursing, and although Mi Kyung has a slight problem with the letter "R," she could certainly hold her own against Celine Dion.
You can listen to an excerpt of Namgyujin Aphum [WAV], which is probably the weakest song on the album. This is another disco-enriched song that I tend to tune out when it is playing. However, the chorus is pretty.
Shijagboda Kkuti Arumdaul Sarang (A Love That is More Beautiful at the End) [MP3] is a light duet with Lee Seung Chul. It is not as strong as Shapyol, only because I'm not sure their voices blend as well as they might. I think both vocalists might want to stick to solo singing. Hunjah Mandun Ipyol (Self-made Separation) is the final ballad on the album. As a drummer, I prefer more complex rhythms than those found in these ballads.
The tight soca rhythm of Doichajun Sarang (Recaptured Love) [MP3] really rocks. I'm completely into Caribbean music and would love to see Park Mi Kyung work her way in that direction. This song sounds more disco than soca in the end, but the vocals are still strong and it's still fun.
Kamyon (Mask) doesn't fall into any identifiable genre, so I will call it "pop." It's full of synthesizers but has a chorus line in some passages. If Park Mi Kyung got herself a live band to give the music behind her some depth; she'd be unstoppable on the charts. She has good vocal skills and versatility, now all she needs is a good backup band.
By Denise Ahn
Would you like to Comment on this article or send it to a friend? You can do either one just below where you see:
Submit Comments on this Article: or
Mail this article to a friend?
If you want to read more articles from this author just enter their last name in the "Site Search" box (located at top right of this screen) and press your "enter" key.
|
|
