Romance with a punch

With the music scene in Hongdae growing faster than ever, one group that has been making waves beyond the Hongdae scene, where they are already popular, is indie-group Romantic Punch. The group most recently performed with singer Lee Seung-hwan at the “Lee Seung-hwan and Brothers” concert on March 1. The group also has been featured a number of times on TV, including on KBS2’s survival program, “Top Band” (2012) in which they won second place. 

The popular group now consists of five members: Bae In-hyuk (vocals), Konchi (guitar), Lazy (guitar), Park Hana (bass) and Tricky (Drums). Its early days consisted of only three members, In-hyuk, Konchi and Lazy, who were close alumni from a music institute. After some years of playing together, the band recruited Park Hana, and in 2008 when their drummer left, Konchi brought in his friend Tricky. Together they called themselves “Romantic Punch,” a name they arrived at after months of discussion.

First album “Romantic Punch” (2009), the second “Midnight Cinderella” (2010), the third “It’s Yummy” and the fourth “Silent Night” (2012) carry different sounds and colors, but all are filled with positive feelings and infectious vibes.

“We like to merge different genres ― hard rock, acoustics and electronic sounds ― to make our music. We are rather experimental,” said Konchi.

Their last EP album “Silent Night” carries five songs in total: four new songs ― “Holic,” “Silent Night,” “May day May day” and “Down Down Down” ― plus “Aemo,” which they performed on an episode of “Top Band.” The title track “May day May day” sets a festive tone for the album. With Bae In-hyuk’s signature vocals and gospel sounds, the music bursts with energy and the dancing spirit of rock and roll.

“We want to make playlists that carry ‘romantic’ lyrics with an extra ‘punch’ integral to the sound of rock and roll music,” Konchi said.

The band released their latest digital single “Ready-Merry-Go” on Jan. 8 for “Flower Boy Next Door,“ a tvN drama series, which premiered on Jan. 7. With the drama starring popular actors Yoon Shi-yoon and Park Shin-hye, the band has become increasingly well known with the drama’s growing popularity.

Over the past couple of months, the quintet has been doing all they can to appeal to different audiences.

“We are doing our very own monthly concerts, club gigs, festivals and TV shows. We are also recording for our next album that will be released soon,” Konchi said.

“We want to be a band that lasts forever, just like the Rolling Stones, which celebrated their 50th anniversary last year. We appreciate how they have continued to maintain good-quality music and impressive live performances into their advanced age,” he said. “We have a long way to go.”

By Bae Soo-min, Intern reporter
(soomin623@heraldcorp.com)