lundi 3 juin 2013

Click + Listen #57 : JANG KIHA AND THE FACES

JANG* KIHA AND THE FACES / 장기하와 얼굴들
From South Korea
*It's sometimes written "Jang" or "Chang".

I like their creative and low-budget yet simple video for their song "A Twosome", featuring the hands of the members :

Jang Kiha and The Faces - A Twosome / 그렇고 그런 사이
Also on Vimeo.

It's an indie Korean band that you have to know. A full article in 2009 by Dramabeans introduced well the band and gave a lot of information about it. Seoul Beats also mentioned them in 2011 here. They're very good musicians full of energy, and the "leader" Jang Kiha is an charismatic singer and great songwriter. They're kind of different from the other indie Korean bands, they have that fresh side in their songs and unexpected interactive performances with the audience. There was an interesting short video interview of the band by The Creators Project. The band was initially formed with the back dancers, the Mimi Sisters. Now they're a six-piece band and are also known as "Kiha Faces".


Jang Kiha and The Faces - The Moon Is Rising / 달이 차오른다, 가자 (live performance)

Live Planet S4 by the awesome Plastic TV, November 2012 :

Other live songs :


I discovered them with their cover of the 1982 Korean song "I Heard A Rumor / 풍문으로 들었소" by Jung-A Ham and the Yankees, used as the OST song for the 2011 Korean movie "Nameless Gangster / 범죄와의전쟁" featured on the Korean Film Festival in Paris in November 2012.


Jang Kiha and The Faces - "It Was Good Until / 좋다 말았네"
It is described as "artsy yet funny" by Eat Your Kimchi. It looks like a video of Korean cooking recipes that was perfect until the sudden ending... I'm still shocked... (Why did they do that ?!!)


May 2013 on the music program Yu Huiyeol Sketchbook with English subtitles on KBS World
0:00 - 3:37 : "I Heard a Rumor"
3:37 - 7:11 : "Let's Meet Now"
7:18 - 15:06 : interview
15:17 - end : "Almost Happy/It Was Good Until..."


Interview in 2011 on the program "Star Date" on KBS World with English subtitles


Live at Beyond K-Pop Concert Series #03 Kiha and the Faces (August 29th 2013)

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