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heaven-delight · 6 years

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Red Velvet’s ‘The Red’ Review & An Introduction to 808 Bass

‘Girl Group Chaos...’ I think that would be the best word to describe the K-POP industry right now. A countless number of girl groups are appearing and disappearing as we speak.

On the summer of 2014, SM Entertainment announced that a five-member girl group named Red Velvet (They had four members when they first debuted though!) following the footsteps of SNSD and f(x) will be debuting. If anybody asked me who had the most unique music out of all the K-POP girl groups, I would answer without a doubt as Red Velvet. These girls have been releasing witty singles after debuting, but on 2015/09/09, they released their first full album, ‘The Red,’ and came back with ‘Dumb Dumb!’ Through this post, I’ll talk about what the 808 bass used in ‘Dumb Dumb’ is!

First, let me briefly introduce you to Red Velvet. In the summer of 2014, a four-member girl group consisted of Irene, Seulgi, Wendy and Joy debuted from SM Entertainment. Their concept was going to be a mix of SNSD and f(x), according to SM.

It had been five years since a girl group had debuted from SM when Red Velvet debuted. After adding Yeri onto the team on March 2015, Red Velvet became the Red Velvet they are today.

You can get the gist of Red Velvet’s concept from their name. Their name shows their aspirations of performing between two concepts, the intense and alluring concept ‘Red,’ and the soft and sensual ‘Velvet.’ You can see what this means by looking at their discography. ‘Happiness,’ ‘Ice Cream Cake,’ and ‘Dumb Dumb’ are ‘Red,’ while ‘Be Natural,’ ‘Automatic,’ and ‘One of These Nights,’ are ‘Velvet.’ Red Velvet’s concept has a very deep story that if I were to continue talking about it, I might run out of room. And, since that’s not the point of this review, I’ll wrap up Red Velvet’s introduction about now and start talking about ‘The Red.’

‘The Red’ is made up of both ‘Red’ and ‘Velvet.’ You guys can guess what this album’s concept is from its name, right? As the album name suggests, this album is mostly ‘Red.’ Now, we’ll take a look at the producers of the ten songs making up this album. It’s worthy to note that, as SM Entertainment has done before, hitmakers from both Korea and overseas, such as Kenzie, LDN Noise and Daniel ‘Obi’ Klein have come together for this album.

Then now, I’ll start reviewing the songs one by one.

The first song of ‘The Red’ is also the title song of the album and also the song that we’re going to use to learn about the 808 bassㅡ ‘Dumb Dumb.’ It’s an unforgettable pop dance song with an addictive hook and 808 bass drums.

Then now, I’ll talk about what kind of sound the 808 bass has. Like the overseas music trends, in K-POP, genres such as trap and future bass are also becoming very popular right now. A lot of those songs use the 808 bass because it has a clear sound. The 808 bass’ history goes back to the TR-808, a drum machine that Roland released in the 80s. Currently, the said machine isn’t manufactured anymore, so usually, samples of the 808 bass are being used in songwriting.

Anyway, if you listen to the pop music of the 80s, you can hear the 808 bass in most of them. Then now, I’ll introduce a song from the 80s. Afrika Bambaataa, a musician from the 80s, gained lots of attention after incorporating the TR-808 into hiphop. If you listen to ‘Planet Rock,’ a collaboration between Afrika Bambaataa and Soul Sonic Force, you can hear the 80s sound of the 808 bass. Out of the music released in the 2000s, I would like to recommend ‘Love Lockdown,’ a song from Kanye West’s ‘808s & Heartbreak’ album. You can see how heavily the 808 influenced this album even from its name. Roland’s TR-808 was used to make all the songs on the said album.

Then now, I’ll go back to Red Velvet’s ‘The Red.’ The second track in the album, called ‘Huff n Puff’ is a pop dance song with a dubstep sound. Like the title suggests, the lyrics of the song are about how the girls return to reality after they dream about huffing and puffing while playing with their friends.

The song after that is a pop R&B song named ‘Campfire.’ It’s about having a campfire with a loved one and wanting to have a deeper relationship with the other through this opportunity. The fourth track in ‘The Red,’ which is called ‘Red Dress,’ seems to show the identity of this album. The lyrics sing about how the girls are wearing a red dress because they want to look more mature to a person who keeps treating them like a little kid. The addictive trap beat and hook of this song are very impressive.

The fifth track, ‘Oh Boy,’ is the song that left the deepest impression on me. It’s a pop R&B song that showcases the members’ vocals very well. The piano loop is unforgettable. The lyrics, which were inspired by ‘Sleeping Beauty,’ describe the feeling of being reborn after meeting a lover! Each member of Red Velvet has stunning vocals, but I’d like to turn your attention to Wendy. Wendy was once praised highly for her performance on the ‘King of Mask Singers’ as ‘Space Beauty Maetel.’ She sang Bobo’s ‘Late Regret.’

The next and sixth track of the album is ‘Lady’s Room.’ Considering how young Red Velvet is right now, I think this is the song that suits them the best. This is a pop song with roots in R&B. You can feel the girls’ friendship through this song.

I think the next song, ‘Time Slip,’ is the one closest to R&B. It has a unique atmosphere that comes from its minimal sound, but the lyrics talk about how hard it is to get up in the morning. If you guys think of your mornings as you listen to this song, I’m sure you’ll think the song describes the situation well.

The eighth track is called ‘Don’t U Wait No More.’ The hook, which repeats the title of the song, is hard to forget. The amazing Dwayne Abernathy Jr. (Dem Jointz) has participated in producing this song. He’s gaining a lot of attention in America and has worked with famous pop stars such as Christina Aguilera, Chris Brown and Rihanna before. I think this kind of pop song is the most popular style in the industry these days. Red Velvet’s talent and charm can be heard in this song.

The next track is called ‘Day 1.’ It’s a song that describes the feelings of a girl who has just started to go out with someone. I think this is the song that suits Red Velvet the most, because they’re so young!

Last, but not the least, the final track of ‘The Red’ is ‘Cool World.’ It’s a synth-pop song that shows the sounds of the 80s in a very classy manner. I want to introduce Daniel ‘Obi’ Klein who wrote this song before I go. He also wrote the sixth track, ‘Lady’s Room’ and the seventh track, ‘Time Slip,’ by the way. Being one of the biggest fans of K-hiphop, I’m a big fan of Korea’s greatest rapper, E-SENS. Although he’s paying the price for his misdeeds right now, I would like to point out that Obi participated in producing ‘The Anecdote,’ E-SENS’ most recent album, and the album that I think will last in the history of K-hiphop. Isn’t it amazing how the same person wrote extremely raw songs for E-SENS and bright songs for Red Velvet?

Now, I’ll wrap up my post, which started with Red Velvet, progressed to the 808 bass and ended with E-SENS. We can see that the albums that SM Entertainment produce contain a wide variety of songs and that they work hard to produce such high-quality songs. That’s probably why they were able to become one of the top entertainment agencies in Korea.

#red velvet #rv #red velvet translation #rv translation #rv trans #red velvet trans #heaven-delight #m:mention #e:thered #t:review

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smokeybrandreviews · 5 years

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Anticipation

Tokyo Comic con is underway and it’s dropping gems left and right, specifically stuff about Godzilla: King of Monsters. There are some designs from the Figuarts designs and, holy sh*t! My hype is real! Dat Mothra! Dem concept arts. But dat Ghidorah, tho! I can’t wait until next year! Which kind of made me realize that next year is 30 days away. Like, this year is almost over. An entire year of movies, has come and gone. There were some surprises and some let-downs but, overall, i had a great time. So, with my little kaiju fanboy heart a flutter, i want to look forward to next year and all the films i plan to check out then.

1. Glass

F*cking Glass, man! Look, Unbreakable was my favorite Shamalamamanlan film until Spit happened. To find out that they are part of the same universe and The Beats will square of against Dunn due to the machination of Mr. Glass? Are you f*cking serious? I also adore the fact that Sarah Paulson is in this thing. I genuinely just love Sarah Paulson. My hype for this movie is at maximum and it is easily my most anticipated film of next year.

2. Godzilla: King of the Monsters

I am massive Godzilla fan. I have been since i was a youngster. Godzilla, Spider-Man, and Transformers are the holy trinity of my childhood and, as a an adult, i still worship at the alter of Kaiju. After seeing those Figurarts leaks from Tokyo Comic Con, i cannot wait for this flick to drop! I’ve heard mixed reviews from the rough cut screening but i don’t even care! Ghidorah looks fan-f*cking-tastic!

3. Spider-Man: Far From Home

As mentioned above, Spider-Man is one of the tent poles of my childhood. I love Pete and try to consume any media he happens to grace. Generally speaking, i always have a great time with it. I particularly enjoyed last year’s Homecoming. I think Tom Holland captures the spirit of Peter Parker perfectly and i look forward to his next adventure with batted breath.

4. IT: Chapter Two

Yo, i did not expect IT to be that good! Easily one of my favorite films from last year. Bill Skarsgard was f*cking horrifying but the chemistry the kids had is what really sold that film. The adult cast for Part II is a f*cking masterpiece and there are whispers the kids are coming back, too. This thing should be dope. I hope it’s dope. God, i hope it’s dope...

5. Avengers: Endgame

It’s rare that films keep me on my toes. Ive seen enough of them to know the tropes and cliches. Infinity War destroyed all of that. It destroyed me. I have no idea where we go from here and i am going into this next phase of Marvel, completely blind.

6. Under The Silver Lake

My requisite A24 outing. I don’t know much about this flick but my favorite studio never slacks so my confidence this flick will be amazing is pretty high.

7. John Wick 3: Parabellum

John Wick has been a real surprise. I passed on the first in theaters but rectified that folly with Chapter 2. These films have been f*cking incredible and i look forward to, not only Chapter 3, but the expanded universe, too. The Continental series is just SO enticing! Almost as enticing as the final chapter in John Wick’s story.

8. Captain Marvel

Carol Danvers is my chick! She’s my fifth favorite Marvel character after Spider-Man, Doctor Doom, Illyanna Rasputin, and Venom. Brie Larson is one of my favorite actresses working. Plus, anything with Sam Jackson is gold in my book. Still, i am little worried about this thing’s reception with the masses. While Carol is Marvel’s nuclear option, her mythos is a little lax. I don’t know that Captain Marvel has enough to carry a full movie but i trust Feige. Dude knows what he’s doing.

9. Pet Sematary

I didn’t particularly care for the first Pet Sematary. I thought it was corny. But that trailer for this new one? Man, f*ck that thing! That sh*t looks genuinely terrifying. It looks like someone took a lesson from IT and made a proper Stephen King adaption. This one might be a sleeper hit for me.

10. Jacob’s Ladder

I’m a huge fan of the original Jacob’s Ladder. Tim Robbins was spectacular in that flick and the imagery was intense. So intense, in fact, it was a major inspiration for the Silent Hill franchise. Those games are crazy f*cked up, particularly the first four, so seeing what they can do with modern tech is more than interest piquing.

11. Terminator 6

I’m a sucker for a terminator movie. I am. I’ve seen all of them, even that cinematic abortion, Genisys. With the return of Arnold, Linda, and Cameron, i have expectations for this thing. They’re not high but i’m confident it won’t suck crazy hard.

12. Zombieland Too

I didn’t even know this was coming out next year. I heard there was a sequel but i had no idea it was ready to drop so soon. I adored the first Zombieland. I don’t really know where you go from there but i look forward to finding out.

13. Pokemon Detective Pikachu

This is on the list strictly for the Deadpool 3 fodder. That sh*t is about to be amazing!

14. Captive State

I saw a preview for this in front of some Youtube video and was kind of enthralled. Admittedly, i looks real Battle: Los Angeles, but the premise kind of speaks to me. I’m a sucker for that science fiction life so i think this might work out in the end. r it’ll be as sh*tty as Kin. This one is my gamble. I hope i don’t crap out.

15. Alita: Battle Angel

Last year, this was my most anticipated film. Since it got pushed back, it slipped down the line a bit. After the first trailer, all the way back to the top. after that last trailer, all the way to the bottom. Look, i adore GUNNM tremendously. Gally’s adventures have had a special place in my heart since those old-timey OVAs. While i’m confident that this thing won’t crash and burn like Ghost in the Shell, i’m still a little apprehensive about where this thing can land.

This thing ended up longer than last year, mostly because i couldn’t stop at just ten. There’s just so much coming out next year. Hell, i even have a pretty healthy list of honorable mentions: Episode IX, Joker, Dark Phoenix, New Mutants, What Men Want, Charlie’s Angels, Sonic the Hedgehog, Artemis Fowl, Kingsman: The Great Game, Hellboy, Shazam!, MIB, Happy Death Day 2U, and Eli. I’m crazy excited to see what surprises pop up. Suspiria came out of left field this year and took top honors in my top-ten list. Next year is looking pretty chunky in cinema!

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smokeybrand · 5 years