Love + Addiction = Loveholic

Loveholic

L-R: Jae-hak Lee, Ji-seon, Hyeon-min Kang

Who are they?

     In April of 2002, guitarist Hyeon-min Kang and bassist Jae-hak Lee joined together to form the Korean indie-rock band Loveholic.  The duo later held an audition for a lead vocalist and eventually recruited Ji-seon as their front woman.

     Unfortunately, there isn’t much information on each single member, unless you have a solid comprehension of Hangul (which I don’t).  From what I could find, guitarist Hyeon-min Kang is the composer for the band and is also the ‘second’ vocalist.  He used to part of a, now defunct, male duo called Ilgiyebo (which means weather forecast).  Back in 2001, he attempted a solo album.  Outside of Loveholic, Hyeon-min Kang has produced music for various K-pop artists.  He has also lent his musical expertise for many film scores. 

     And it seems like writing film scores is a popular pastime in Loveholic.  Bassist Jae-hak Lee is the main songwriter and used to be part of a band called The Elephant.  He has also composed many songs for movie soundtracks such as the 2009 film "National Team" aka "Take-Off". 

     Regrettably, I could not find much information on Ji-seon.  She had been singing at clubs in Hongdae, Seoul before joining Loveholic.

     Since then, Loveholic has come to produce four full lengths albums.  Many of their songs have been included in the “official soundtracks of many popular dramas and movies, including Boys Over Flowers, 200 Pounds of Beauty, Coffee Prince, My Name Is Kim Sam Soon, and Spring Waltz with the song ”One Love”.  Lead singer, Ji-seon, has also been featured in the songs of many other artists including Epik High.

     Unfortunately, Loveholic came to an end in 2007 when the lead singer, Ji-seon, parted ways with the band.  Since then, Ji-seon has pursued her own solo career while the guitar duo has decided to keep the Loveholic project alive.  The band has since remained a duo and has been renamed to Loveholics.  They released their first full length album, In the Air, under the Loveholics name in September 2009.

The Music

Loveholic’s music covers a wide range of styles "from the fun and easy going to the serious, and lyrically emotional". It's not hard to see why Loveholic was a popular band, despite being in the indie scene. Hyun-min and Jae-hak are exceptional guitarists with a great talent for music composition and Ji Sun’s voice is "well toned and powerful at times–her vocals compliment the smooth musical compositions of the much of Loveholic’s work". 

     This song is called Superstar.  It's a very mellow yet cheery song.  The harmonious timbre of the guitars compliments nicely with Ji Sun's airy voice.  The song was actually used for the movie, 200 Pound Beauty. It's a pretty interesting Korean comedy about "an overweight girl who undergoes extreme plastic surgeries to become a pop sensation".

    This next song is my favourite one by Loveholic; it's called Shinkirou (meaning Mirage).  In contrast with the first song, it's much slower and very melancholic.  But it exemplifies Loveholic's ability to craft beautiful and emotional songs without any need for extravagance.

Sources

http://seoulbeats.com/2012/01/k-pop-indie-gem-loveholic/

http://blogminor.blogspot.ca/2012/03/loveholic-band-albums-skorea.html

http://asianwiki.com/Loveholic_%28South_Korea%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loveholic