Swept by the wave...

Hola a todos, disculpen por haber estado tan ausente del blog, espero que hayan tenido un excelente inicio de año y les deseo lo mejor para el 2013. Hoy regreso con algo distinto y es que de un tiempo para acá he adquirido un gusto muy particular por la música coreana; una mezcla de increíble baile, excelentes canciones y un para nada desapercibido estilo han causado que muchas de estas bandas comiencen a tener presencia fuera de sus fronteras (también conocido esto como el Hallyu Wave). Siempre he creído que la música no tiene barreras y que el idioma es solo eso pues lo que hace sentir es lo que realmente la vuelve global. He estado investigando un poco sobre estos grupos y me he dado cuenta que el proceso de formación de una banda no es nada sencillo y que muchos cuyas primeras audiciones fueron exitosas han llegado a estar en entrenamiento por un periodo hasta de cuatro años (y en los cuales deben pasar varias audiciones más). A continuación he puesto los vídeos más nuevos, o los que me gustan más jeje, de mis tres bandas favoritas junto con sus respectivos subtitulos en ingles (también pueden buscarlos en español) espero les guste y que los incentiva a averiguar y escuchar un poco más sobre el Hallyu Wave.

Hello everyone, sorry for being so absent from the blog, I hope you had a great start of the year and my best wishes for 2013. Today I return with something different and this is because since some time now I have acquired a very particular taste for Korean music, a mixture of incredible dancing, great songs and a not at all unnoticed style have caused many of these bands to start having presence outside its borders (also known as the Hallyu Wave). I have always believed that music has no language barriers and that what makes you feel is really what turns it global. I've been doing some research on these groups and I realized that the process of forming a band is not easy and many of which their first auditions were successful at the beggninig can be in training for a period up to four years (having to pass several more auditions along the way). So to get you started, or at least those of you who aren´t aware, I´ve put the newer videos, or the ones I like more lol, of my three favorite bands along with their respective English subtitles (you also can find them in Spanish) I hope you like them and that this encourages you them to find out and hear more on the Hallyu Wave.

SHINee

The youngest band in this set, and my absolute favourite. Their style has a very pop feel to it with beautiful and enganging ballads, also with more fast paced tracks. They are also very well known for having a very unique fashion style, even winning awards for it. They´ve played in places such as Tokyo, Paris and London.

Suggested tracks: A.Mi.Go., Hello, Quasimodo, Lucifer, Replay, A-yo, Love like oxygen, Stranger.



Super Junior

One of the most successfull bands in the business, considered by many the Kings of K-pop. Better known for their fast pop/dance/hip tracks this group used to have thirteen members, now they have eleven, which you´ll rarely often see complete because they all gradually go to their mandatory military service (they all must do this and it lasts for a period of 23 months..except for some cases which are not requiered to do this for various reasons). I am still having a hard time learning who each one is...but I am getting there haha.

Suggested tracks: Mr. Simple, Bonamana, Sorry, Sorry; Don´t Don, A-Cha, It´s you, S.P.Y., Opera, Super Man.



Shinhwa

Last but not least, the veterans. They hold the record of being the longest running band in the business with 14 years together (this is because when they began Idol Groups, that´s what pop bands are called over there, usually won´t last longer than five years before disbanding). As a band they have gone through a huge change of music style, and dresssing style as well, ranging from bubblegum pop, alternative rock, pop to dance music. They are also the first band to have their own music label having already worked with two records labels since their beggining; they have also stated they are together not because of any contract but because they want it and feel its their destiny to be there as a group even after they all have children...and I think that is quite beautiful. They made their comeback last year after been in a hiatus where all of the member went to mandatory military service at the same time.

Suggested tracks: Perfect Man, Young Gunz, Welcome, I Want, On the Road, Wild Eyes, Brand New, Breathin.


BONUS....Just because I totally LOVE this song and they sing it so beautiful live.

hugs, Andru.