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After making a splash with their debut single Hottest Time of The Day which included the hit 10 out of 10, boy band 2PM is back with their second release Presenting an upgraded 2PM style, their new single is produced by their manager and JYP Entertainment founder Park Jin Young. Featured songs on the 8-track release include the main track Again & Again, What Time Is It Now, “I Hate You” (Track 3), and “Maybe I’ll Come Back” (Track 4).

Release Date: April 16, 2009
Language: Korean
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B/Dance
Artist: Male Group
*Recommended

Track List:
01. What Time Is It Now
02. Again & Again
03. 니가 밉다 Niga Mibda
04. 돌아올지도 몰라Doraoljido Molla
05. Again & Again (R&B Mix)
06. Again & Again (Inst.)
07. 니가 밉다 Niga Mibda (Inst.)

08. 돌아올지도 몰라 Doraoljido Molla (Inst.)

Celebrating the tenth year since her official debut, all-round musician Lena Park returns with her Vol. 7 release 10 Ways To Say I Love You. Continuing her musical path as a singer-songwriter and producer, Lena presents nine tracks including her self-composed principal song “A Person Like Me – A Person Like You” (Track 3), a duet with R&B singer Yoon Mi Rae (T). Besides this collaboration of the two divas, the album features other promising songs like “Secret” (Track 5), “Touch” (Track 4), and “Sad Song” (Track 7) also personally composed by Lena.

Release Date: March 2, 2009
Language: Korean
Genre: R&B/Ballad
Artist: Female

Track List:
01. Chika Chika
02. Cheongsungaryeon Lena Park (Innocent Lena Park)
03. Na Gateun Saram Neo Gateun Saram (Person Like Me, Person Like You) (feat. T (Yoon Mi Rae))
04. Manjyeojwoyo (Touch)
05. Bimil (Secret)

06. Sunday Brunch
07. Biga (Sad Song)
08. Sarangeun Ireonge Aninde…(Love Is Not Like This…)
09. Mannareo Ganeun Gil (On The Way To Meet You)

Without any doubt, the most anticipated Korean drama of 2007 is Four Gods (a.k.a. The Legend) starring Bae Yong Joon (Winter Sonata) as Korea’s legendary Gwanggaeto the Great, the 19th king of the Goguryeo Dynasty whose legacy of territorial expansion extended beyond Manchuria. Four Gods caused a major uproar in the media from the very beginning with its A-list cast of Bae Yong Joon, Moon So Ri (Oasis), Choi Min Soo (Holiday), and Park Sang Won (Sandglass). The 24-episode drama’s staggering $40 billion won production costs are rumored to have even exceeded the budget benchmark of sci-fi blockbuster D-War.
After numerous postponements, Four Gods finally exploded onto small screens nationwide on September 10, 2007. Viewer response has been positive, with some even placing the drama’s CG work in the same league as that of Hollywood film Lord of the Rings. After its airing, radio programs and internet sites were inundated with inquiries about the drama’s soundtrack which features majestic surround sounds that complement the grandiose scale of the drama.
Presiding over the scores of Four Gods is Japanese master composer Hisaishi Joe, best known for his work on Miyazaki Hayao films like Howl’s Moving Castle, Spirited Away, and Princess Mononoke. Hisaishi Joe brings a world-class presence and high esteem to the drama. He also collaborates with K-pop sensation Dong Bang Shin Ki for “Eternal Love” (Track 19), the ending theme to Four Gods.
Four Gods OST includes a 19-track CD and a DVD that contains music videos of “Eternal Love” and “Damdok – MainTheme”.

Release Date: October 22, 2007
Language: Korean
Genre: Instrumental/Ballad
Artist: V.A.

Track List:
01. Opening
02. Sacred War
03. Damdeok’s Theme (Main Theme)
04. Sujini’s Theme (Loneliness)

05. Kiha’s theme (Destined Meeting)
06. Destiny
07. Hwacheon Clan
08. War of the Gods
09. Damdeok’s Theme (Bravery)
10. Geomeul Village
11. Attack from Enemy Force
12. Unity
13. Victory
14. Approval – Jun Suh (DBSK)

15. Time Flows By
16. Unachievable Love

17. First Love
18. Sujini’s Theme (Piano Solo)

19. Thousand Year Love Song – DBSK

* I did not intend to make a post about this OST initially as it is not a recent album. However, I changed my mind since I am going to introduce Joe Hisaishi’s latest album in my next blog entry and there is another version of Sujini’s Theme (Track 4 and 18) / Approval (Track 14) in that album.

Epik High has built their own musical paradigm by experimenting with diverse styles unique to each work. [魂: Map the Soul] (2009) combines music with literature, birthing a new cultural code: the ‘book-album’. The album portion of the work contains raw hip hop music reminiscent of Epik High’s early works, while exhibiting unprecedented poetic lyrics that make the entire sound refreshingly new. Also, the songs on this album are bilingual and showcase collaborations with foreign artists, allowing greater connection with fans worldwide. The book portion of the work, themed around ‘creativity’, documents the entire creative process involved in the making of an album, as well as showing-through essays, pictures and notes-how artists can acquire and use inspiration. The book portion is also bilingual (English and Korean). This work hopes to inspire and encourage aspiring artists all over the world by showing how worthwhile creative work can be, and by whispering these simple words of wisdom: you, too, can do it.

Release Date: March 27, 2009
Language: Korean
Genre: Hip Hop/Rap
Artist: Male Group

Track List:
01. Believe
02. Cipher featuring Beatbox DG
03. Map the Soul featuring MYK
04. Customer Service (Skit)
05. Top Gun
06. Scenario (피해망상 pt. 2) featuring MYK

07. London
08. Free Music Tablo and MYK
09. Map the Soul (Worldwide Version) Tablo, MYK & Kero One

10. 8 by 8, Part 2 (Bonus Track) featuring MYK, Minos, Paloalto, the Quiett, Verbal Jint, 
Kebee, E-Sens, Simon Dominic

Free Style is a Korean hip hop pop group. The group is most famously known for its hit song Y (Please Tell Me Why) [original song of Wilber Pan's Bu De Bu Ai] and currently has five albums released and two singles. They have collaborated with various artists, such as As One in a remake single.
And now this is 6th album called “Dry & Wet”.

Release Date: March 18, 2009
Language: Korean
Genre: RnB/Hip-Hop
Artist: Male Group

Track List:
01. Dry (Intro)
02. 마음으로하는말
03. Goodbye My Lady
04. 사랑을놓치다
05. 사진
06. 연애
07. 서울이곳은

08. 나란사람
09. 자각몽
10. Vital Sign

11. Wet (Outro)

After capturing attention with the 2008 album Infinity, 8eight charms fans with their third album, Golden Age. Once again produced by Bang Shi Hyuk a.k.a. Hitman Bang, Golden Age features 10 tracks including Numbers, “Freedom” (Track 10), and Can’t Stop.

Release Date: March 10, 2009
Language: Korean
Genre: R&B
Artist: Group

Track List:
01. 내삶의빛 (Intro) (Nae Sarmui Bit; The Light Of My Life)
02. 불쌍한해바라기(Bulssanghan Haebaragi; Poor Sunflower)
03. 참지마 (Chamjima; Don’t Endure)
04. 심장이없어 (Shimjangi Eobseo; Without A Heart)
05. 이제슬픈건충분해 (Ije Seulpeungeon Chungbunhae; The Sadness Is Now Enough)
06. Numbers
07. Can’t Stop

08. 사랑한다면서 (Saranghandamyeonseo; You Said You Loved Me)
09. 마중 (Majung, Meeting)
10. 자유 (Jayu; Freedom)

An album you won’t want to miss out if you like mellow chilled hip hop.











Release Date: February 11, 2009
Language: Korean
Genre: R&B/Hip-Hop
Artist: Male Group

Track List:
01 . Intro
02. Step 2 Me
03. 그녀가 문제야 (Geunyeoga  Munjeya)
04. 하루가 가도…그대 (Haruga Gadogeuda)

05. Sad (feat. 誕)
06. 아가씨(Agassi)
07. We Don’t Stop
08. Goodbye
09. 넌(Neon)

10. To. Ma Blood

Korea’s answer to Nodame Cantabile, MBC’s new drama Beethoven Virus is set in the competitive world of classical music. Returning from his award-winning performance in The Great White Tower, Kim Myung Min stars as a conducting maestro whose great talent and status are eclipsed only by his inability to get along with anybody. His life and music begin to change when a beautiful young violinist played by Korean television’s newest darling Lee Ji Ah (The Legend) and a pitch-perfect trumpet prodigy played by go-to heartthrob Jang Geun Suk (Hong Gil Dong) enter his world. Classical music is their passion, their dream, and their life, but neither romance nor crescendos come easy for those bitten with the Beethoven Virus.
With music as the drama’s theme, the Beethoven Virus soundtrack has high standards to live up to, and music director Lee Pil Ho, whose past drama soundtrack credits include Fashion 70s, Seoul 1945, Lobbyist, and Dae Jo Young, delivers an excellent lineup of classical instrumentals and pop numbers. Girl group Girls’ Generation brings out the youthful dreams of the drama with their “Love Rides On a Melody (Day by Day)” (Track 13) and “Can You Hear Me…” (Track 7), a solo number from Tae Yeon. Fany of Fly to the Sky belts out his strong vocals in the heartmelting “My Love” (Track 3), while Lee Jin Sung of Monday Kiz breaks hearts quietly with “Because of One Person…” (Track 10). Popera singer Im Ji Hyun’s My Humming adds the final touch to the soundtrack.

Release Date: September 22, 2008
Language: Korean
Genre: Instrumental/Pop/Ballad
Artist: V.A.

Track List:
01. Fate
02. Comfort Stage
03. My Person – Hwan Hee
04. Rashful Du Ru Mi
05. Beethoven’s Thoughts
06. Challenge
07. Can You Hear Me – Tae Yeon from SNSD

08. Waiting
09. Maestro
10. Because of One Person.. – Lee Jin Sung (Monday Kiz)
11. Passion

12. Looking From Above
13. Love Burning Melody (Day by Day) – SNSD
14. Towards Tomorrow
15. Shaking Love
16. My Humming – Im Ji Hyun
17. Run, Kang Gun Woo
18. Team of Passion
19. Dream of future – Mun Ji Sung
20. Will be able to love
21. Dreams of happiness
22. Last concert

Extra:
(These tracks are NOT included in the album)
Can You Hear Me – Tae Yeon from SNSD (Instrumental)

Due to the popularity of the drama and the sub-theme song Can You Hear Me, the 2nd male lead of the drama, Jang Geun Suk did a cover of the song. His version is more soothing but I still prefer Tae Yeon’s original version.
Can You Hear Me – Jang Geun Suk

Can You Hear Me – Jang Geun Suk (Instrumental)

Epik High reached the peak of their career in 2007 with #1 hits like Fan and Love, Love, sweeping the 2007 Mnet Km Music Festival by taking home the Best Album and Best Hip Hop Album of the Year awards. Behind the success of Epik High stands multi-talented singer-songwriter Tablo. He pairs up with Pe2ny, an established producer in his own rights, to form the project team Eternal Morning and rolls out an unusual album titled Eternal Morning – Soundtrack To A Lost Film.
Eternal Morning – Soundtrack To A Lost Film is the first album of its kind. Each of the songs in the album is conceived around an imaginary film and contains raw, unfamiliar sounds marked by irregular rhythm and jarring noise. Principal track White features a harmony of piano and strings with no other instrumental additives. The reason behind the simplicity stems from the artists’ visionary desire that listeners draw out the emotions not merely from the lyrics, but from the music itself. Soundtrack To A Lost Film professes to be a rare kind of soundtrack, hoping to deliver creative inspirations to its listeners.

Release Date: December 4, 2007
Language: Korean
Genre: Hip Hop/Instrumental
Artist: Male Group
*Recommended

Track List:
01. Eternal Morning
02. Plastic Umbrella
03. Love Is
04. White

05. The 8th Day
06. Rainclouds In My Room
07. Holden Caulfield
08. Fingerprints
09. Black Shoe
10. City That Never Sleeps
11. Father’s Watch
12. Eternal Mourning

Epik High cranks up the love machine in their newly released mini album Lovescream! The popular Korean hip-hop group, whose previous fifth release Pieces, Part One won both critical and commercial success, shows off their soft, romantic side by packing in a series of love tunes in their latest album. Making a complete changeover from the group’s previous album which featured a number of songs tackling heavy subjects like suicide, social estrangement, and political corruption, Lovescream coats ordinary love stories with warm, organic analogue sounds of classical instruments.
Known as a trendsetter in the industry, Epik High, which led the first movement of electronic music into the mainstream K-pop through hits like “Peaceful Day” and Fly (featured in their 2nd and 3rd albums respectively), once again goes against the current trend – instead, bringing back the aura of classical tunes in their own unique style. And as always, all of the featured tracks are written and produced by members of Epik High, along with the album’s cover design.

Release Date: September 30, 2008
Language: Korean
Genre: Hip Hop
Artist: Male Group
*Recommended

Track List:
01. Butterfly Effect

02. Fallin’
03. Harajuku Days
04. 습관
05. 쉿
06. 1분 1초 (One minute One Second)

07. 1825 (paper cranes)