Music I’m Loving Right Now Vol IV – Chilled Out Winter Days Playlist

I am such a homebody as soon as sweater weather hits, I literally have to force myself to leave the house to go to work or to pick up groceries to ensure my survival. Socialising, well you can forget about that, I am not leaving the house unless it’s a life or death situation.  So to fill my time I read, watch tv and study…ooh très excitant! And I also spend a weird amount of time curating perfect playlists for the mood I’m in…so here is the Chilled Out Winter Days Playlist

This playlist features some rather eclectic songs and genres…like who’d thought a film soundtrack reworking of a classic Punk Song (Hong Kong Garden I’m looking at you) would fit into a playlist with Korean Hip-Hop and soft indie folk…I think it does…this would be rather embarrassing if it doesn’t…Please tell me it does! 

Also is it just me or does Sofia Coppola have such awesome soundtracks to her movies, Lost in Translation is one of the first films that I watched as a child that made me fall in love with cinema and I have watched it a million times since, and that soundtrack is just so iconic! I’ve also been obsessed with the soundtrack to Goblin which is honestly one of the best Korean Drama’s I’ve ever watched (and believe me I have devoured many!!!) and considering much of the series is set in Winter the soundtrack is perfect for this playlist. And the final soundtrack goodness that found it’s way onto this playlist is Ryuichi Sakamoto’s Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, this classical piece is sublimely beautiful and considering Christmas is in the title I can be my festive song of the playlist.

Music I’m Loving Right Now Vol III – Autumn Days Playlist

Autumn is upon us. And as the days get shorter and colder my listening habits change, gone are the fun and exciting party tunes of summer, it’s all about Indie Rock and a little dash of chilled out Hip-hop.

Recent Music Discoveries From The Playlist

Nell

Nell is a Korean Indie-Rock band, they have been around for ages but it was only in early September that I discovered them. My favourite song so far has to be Broken (hence why it’s the opening track on my playlist), I love how deep the song is…I just can’t get enough of it.

The 1975

I’ve known of this band for quite a while and I never actually took the time to check them out. But as I’ve been in an Indie-Rock mood recently I decided to finally listen to a few tracks. As a result, I’ve fallen in love with their Electro-Funk-Indie-Pop-Rock vibe!

This track is super reminiscent of Fame by David Bowie…Was it intentional for a band called The 1975 to release a song with a very similar vibe to a song from that very year!? Hmm

The Solutions 

Another awesome Korean Indie-Rock Band. And this music video is rather aesthetically pleasing too.

Music I’m Loving Right Now Vol I – Dean & DPR Live

Currently, I am listening to these two Korean Artists (DEAN and DPR Live) pretty much non-stop, so I thought I would make a playlist and share them with you as they are really awesome. I don’t really know how to describe their genre so I’m going to say that it’s Chilled Out Electronic R&B and Hip-Hop.

Check out my other Playlist Posts

And if you know of any musicians with a similar vibe to Dean and DPR Live drop me a recommendation in the comments section!!!

Song of the Week - 도원경(桃源境/Shangri-La) By VIXX

Concept kings VIXX are back with a brand new song and mini album called 도원경 (Shangri-La) and it’s really something quite special especially the stunningly visual music video.

The song itself is quite the hybrid of genres, it’s R&B with electronica elements and a little traditional music (courtesy of what I presume is the Gayageum) all mixed into one satisfying audio experience. The vocals in Shangri-La are absolutely on point, especially the chorus which is divided between Leo and Ken.

The music video for Shangri-La is literally the most aesthetically pleasing music video I have ever watched! It’s utterly gorgeous, from the fan dancing to Ken’s floral tattoo, colliding planets to pretty blossoms every frame looks like a piece of art. Also, VIXX look stunningly beautiful and poised and their outfits are made out of various silks of varying shades that match the aesthetics of the video perfectly. This video is literally flawless.

The detail in the video is impeccable too, I did a little research into the idea of Shangri-La which is often thought of as an exotic oriental paradise. Officially Shangri-La’s origins are rather modern which surprised me, this well known ‘Eden’ was thought up by novelist James Hilton in his 1933 novel Lost Horizon as a Tibetan utopia where the dwellers were practically immortal. In turn, it’s thought that Hilton was inspired by Shambhala, the Tibetan kingdom or Pure Land which is a celestial realm. This inspiration is quite clearly seen in the video as every set looks perfect and otherworldly especially with the white backdrops, the sparseness in some places and then the abundance of natural elements such as plants, rockeries and water in other moments.

Another inspiration for the imagery in the video is clearly 桃花源記 (The Peach Blossom Spring) a Chinese fable by Tao Yuanming wherein a fisherman discovers a paradise hidden in a forest of Peach Trees. The blossom and the plucking and appearnce of peaches in VIXX’s video clearly can’t be a coincidence so a closer look in Tao Yuanming’s famous fable could potentially give an insight into the meaning behind the Shangri-La video. Peaches are a symbol of immortality thus they most defintly link back to the Shangri-La storyline of immortal beings. The symbolism in this music video is all very interesting and potentiallyty with each watch you could uncover another layer of meaning.