After releasing her debut EP in 2010, local indie singer-songwriter Choi Gonne has spent the last four years bringing her music around the world and taking all the leisurely yet methodical steps she needed to perfect her soon-to-be-released first full-length album, “I was, I am, I will.”
Gonne unveiled a number of her newest singles during a press showcase held at the KT&G Sangsang Madang on Thursday, where she admitted to having recorded the entire 13-track album using only one-take sessions with herself and a live band.
“Honestly, to me, one-take sessions are a lot more comfortable, because when you sing, it’s just different every time,” she explained. “Personally, I just prefer the first take. Even while we were recording the tracks, I never used any form of vocal tuning.”
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Choi Gonne performs at her “I was, I am, I will” showcase at the KT&G Sangsang Madang in Hongdae on Thursday. (Sonic Islands) |
The singer has an undeniably unique vocal style, constantly changing octaves and switching chord progressions. Despite being a relatively unknown face in the Korean music scene, Gonne has still managed to export her music on an international level over the past four years, holding shows in Japan and Germany and even being invited to perform at this year’s Glastonbury Festival in the U.K.
Having spent so much time overseas, the Korean native admits that she oddly feels a certain level of comfort singing in English, with a majority of her song lyrics being written entirely in English.
“It is true that I tend to sing a lot in English. I’m not really sure why, but I enjoy expressing myself through music that way,” said the singer. “However, in an effort not to alienate some of my local fans, I really try hard to keep this in mind. I would say that about 30-40 percent of my songs have Korean lyrics now.”
Taking more than four years to release her first full-length album, Gonne stated that her almost snail-like producing pace is not an aspect of her music that she considers to be any kind of downfall.
“I never really thought about me taking so long to release my albums until after I signed with my agency, and one manager said that if I wanted to one day release two full albums it would probably take 20 years,” Gonne said laughing.
“In terms of releasing new music, I guess you can consider me as being a little slower than others, but I just go at my own musical pace,” she added. “Now that I have finally released my first full-length album, I have this feeling of, ‘Ah yes, now I am truly a musician.’”
Gonne’s new album, “I was, I am, I will,” is scheduled to be released online and in stores on Nov. 27.
By Julie Jackson (
juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)
