Music Video produced, shot and directed by Matt Rusling
Production Consultant: Christian Miranda
Billy Joel once sang “Everybody’s talking about the new sound…But it’s still Rock and Roll to me.”
That’s the case with Korean rock band WALKING AFTER U, an up-and-coming women’s rock quartet based in Seoul, South Korea.
While Korea’s English-language press has dissected their sound, giving them various labels from Emo to Indie rock to Punk, I tend not to pay attention to labels. To me, it’s all rock and roll.
And make no mistake, these young ladies ROCK.
I first found them on YouTube, and was immediately caught up with their high energy, catchy vocal melodies and true excellence as musicians.
That’s hard to find these days in many places in the world, as many record companies are churning out cheap, low-quality content just to keep their stock price high. The great talent of the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s is hard to find nowadays. Great singers are particularly hard to find these days, with producers using technology in the studio to cover up their sub-par vocal abilities.
But WALKING AFTER U is different, and these ladies boast solid musical Bona Fides. Both singer, lead guitarist and front woman Hae-in and drummer A-Hyun attended one of Korea’s prestigious music schools.
And it shows. Borderless News Online met the band in Seoul and shot and produced a music video (please click the video above). Their timing is spot on, their understanding of the song – a cover of AC/DC’s Highway to Hell – was truly convincing. The vocals never went off key, despite several takes. These girls are the real thing, and they obviously put in the work.
Moreover, in performing Highway to Hell, the band achieved something rare – they made the song their own. Singer Hae-in, with her raspy voice – somewhat reminiscent of 1960s icon Janis Joplin, whom she credits as a major influence – belted out a powerful version of the song. The band’s rendition not only shows off Hae-in’s powerful pipes and wide range, but also demonstrates the band’s unique interpretation of the song. At the same time, they stay true to the song’s original spirit.
That’s tough to do. Most bands, when covering classic rock songs, either create a carbon copy the song and bring nothing of their own, or simply strip it of all it’s original soul.
I met up with the band on three different nights, for interviews and filming. After filming, we ate champong – a type of Korean noodles in a local shop in Seoul – and chicken and beer, popular these days in Korea. In an industry where people have fragile egos and cocky attitudes, I saw none of that with this band. They were eager to laugh and gracious enough to give Borderless News Online all the time we needed to film and interview them.
Soon, the band will do a special project – the first ever of it’s kind – with a k-pop band, called G-Town.
The music and songwriting will be from WALKING AFTER U, and the other band, a k-pop girl group, will dance and do the backup vocals.
It will be something new for both bands, and WALKING AFTER U will be rehearsing on a large stage a couple of hours outside of Seoul.
This has never been done in the k-pop/k-rock world, and Borderless News Online is looking forward to seeing how fans respond.
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