Singer-songwriter Lucid Fall, known for his beautiful melodies and simple yet stirring lyrics, says that he long ago made a promise with himself that he would release one studio-length album at least once every two years.
“For me, an album is not only a chance to release new music, but a personal history,” he said in a press conference at the office of his label Antenna Music on Tuesday. “What have I done over the last two years? What experiences have I had? Which artists have influenced my music? ... All of that is summarized in my album.”
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Lucid Fall (Antenna Music) |
That philosophy may draw fans to check out his seventh album, “Someone, Somewhere.” The album reflects Lucid Fall’s thoughts and emotions over the past two years, during which he packed up his life in Seoul and moved to Jejudo Island to live as a farmer. It was a big move for an artist, but Lucid Fall said it was something he had been wanting to do for a while.
“It was actually surprisingly easy,” he said. “When the time came, I just bought a big van, put all my stuff inside, drove down to Wando and took the ferry.”
While farming and getting to know the people in his neighborhood, Lucid Fall began to volunteer at a local elementary school, reading to children in the mornings.
“To be honest, I really didn’t want to go, but I had already promised that I would. I don’t really like kids,” he said, laughing.
But once he did go, he was surprised to find that the students loved him, and he quickly grew attached to them. He said he began to read more children’s books to prepare for his reading sessions, and was allured by the genre.
“Whenever I was exhausted, the books of (Japanese author) Kenzi Miyazawa gave me strength,” he said. When he wanted to write something of his own, he decided to write a children’s book “because it felt the most comfortable, easy.”
The result of that effort is “Blue Lotus,” a book inspired by his own childhood memories and his life on Jejudo Island. It is included with his seventh album “Someone, Somewhere,” with five of the 15 tracks written as a soundtrack to accompany the book. He said that he wanted to give his listeners a comprehensive experience through the combination.
“I thought about what listeners couldn’t experience through streaming music online. I wanted something more sincere. So I wrote the book, and included pictures I took myself while living on Jejudo Island.”
“I wanted listeners to have something to hold in their hands, to read, to smell while listening to the music.”
Recently, Lucid Fall sold 1,000 copies of his album in a package deal with a box of tangerines he grew himself on his rented orchard on the island through a home shopping channel. As Lucid Fall says, he made a passing comment about wanting to send his tangerines to his fans, and someone said it sounded like something they’d sell on a home shopping network.
“Everyone got really excited,” he recalled. “They all said it would be legendary.”
The process was more difficult than anyone had imagined -- they were rejected by seven different major home-shopping networks before they finally convinced CJ’s O Shopping to give them a 2 a.m. time slot. The entire Antenna Music family went down to Jejudo Island to pick and pack the tangerines.
The result was fantastic: 1,000 copies sold out in just nine minutes.
“I was glad. But I never, ever want to do that again,” Lucid Fall said, chuckling and shaking his head.
Still, he said he was glad he got to share his life with his listeners. “There’s no particular message I wanted to send with this album,” he said. “I just want people to know that there’s a person named Lucid Fall who sings about the things he feels while going through life.”
Lucid Fall’s seventh album “Someone, Somewhere” was released Tuesday.
By Won Ho-jung (
hjwon@heraldcorp.com)
