Jellybones: For the first couple albums, you used only virtual instruments. You’ve apologized for this before, as if it were an act of deception, but I think it’s an equally respectable art itself. I’m curious to hear about your approach: what VSTs (plugins) did you use for guitar, bass, and drums? What tips do you have for making virtual instruments sound dynamic and alive?
Parannoul: I use Evolution Strawberry for guitar and Addictive Drums 2 for drums. I think my interest was drawn to shoegaze because it was the only genre in which virtual instrument would sound less evident. Originally, I tried the post-rock genre, but since the virtual instruments sounds are more obvious in the quiet parts and less obvious in the more explosive parts, I thought it would be good to include only the explosive parts in the songs, so I switched to a genre with a more blurry impression.
Jellybones: When announcing After the Magic, you said “this album is not what you expected, but what I always wanted.” What did you mean by this?
Parannoul: Musically, ever since I first heard Smashing Pumpkins' “Disarm” and “Tonight, Tonight”, I wanted to make music that mixed shoegaze with an orchestra. Then, as I became influenced by Takagi Masakatsu, Sufjan Stevens, and Sweet Trip, I wanted to put all my favorite things into one album. In the end, it ended up being an indie rock album with electronic sounds as the main focus rather than shoegaze, so I thought it would be unfamiliar to those who like the lo-fi sound and shoegaze of the 2nd album.
Thematically, I created a concept album with a fairytale feel based on a dream I had when I was young. I wanted to break away from the self-destructive image of my previous album and imbue it with a bright feeling overall.
Jellybones: What Western bands are most influential to you? You’ve mentioned taking musical cues from Ride, Ovlov, and The Smashing Pumpkins. I’ve noticed similarities that extend beyond just the music. For example, “White Ceiling” brings to mind “The Ballad of the Costa Concordia” when Will Toledo laments sleeping in the same room every night with the “yellow ceiling light that makes me feel like I’m dying.” Do you read and consciously take influence from English language lyrics?
Parannoul: When I listen to music, I don't consider lyrics important. For the lyrics of Car Seat Headrest, I've only read Twin Fantasy. I'm not particularly inspired by lyrics from other music. I just collect and refine snippets from my diary, so I know well that I'm not a great lyricist. My lyrics are perfect for a B-grade sensibility.
On the other hand, I’m greatly influenced by Western bands in the musical sense. For example, the broken drum sounds are from Nouns, Boris, and Heccra, and the lengthy songs over 10 minutes long are inspired by Car Seat Headrest and Weatherday. Recently, I've been listening to 12 Rods and Seam.
Jellybones: Parannoul is often identified with the so-called “fifth wave of emo”, a style associated with a couple of your influences, Heccra and Weatherday (whom we were the first to interview), and collaborators of yours such as Asian Glow and sonhos tomam conta that can be traced back to the genre-bending maximalism of Brave Little Abacus. Do you recognize these bands as part of one continuous movement? If so, do you identify with this movement?
Parannoul: I can kind of understand why people try to relate us through the concept of “fifth wave emo”, but I don’t feel strongly about this categorization so far. I don’t have a strong stance like ‘fifth wave emo isn't real!!!!’, I see its presence, but it’s not specific enough to differentiate yet and the limitations are clear.
I believe that mixing other genres little-by-little into an existing large genre is our unifying experiment. Creating a microgenre to classify all these experiments is, in a way, creating a small history book.
However, sometimes there are clumsy attempts to start new genres, such as trying to group me and Jane Remover into something called Hyper-Rock, or the OO-core genre which stems from TikTok. This kind of labeling can be good, because it simulates motivation for creators and helps with genre development, but most of these microtrends do not stand the test of time. Five years from now, I don't know if anyone will remember fifth wave emo. But if better albums and clearer characteristics come out, maybe we can become a lasting movement.
Jellybones: In the West, our primary exposure to Korean culture is k-pop, specifically idol music. We at Jellybones appreciate the artform (NewJeans and Loona are especially popular here), but we recognize that it does not necessarily reflect the majority youth experience in South Korea. Not unlike America, I understand that there is a hidden but widespread loneliness amongst young people, most of whom do not identify with the wealth and glamor of Gangnam. Your music is a voice for this generation. How do you and your friends in the indie scene relate to k-pop, the music industry, and the popular culture in general? What do you think of the situation for young people in Korea today?
Parannoul: I think positively about k-pop music. Even though it is commercial, it is good content in terms of visual and entertainment, and I enjoy listening to some of it myself. It's difficult for me to give a specific answer because I don't know much about the music market, but I think that if mainstream culture wants something fresher, it might pull from the indie music scene more.
For example, New Jeans has received favorable reviews from both critics and the public thanks to their differentiated experiments and marketing. Other companies will probably draw inspiration from this approach. I think there will come a time when these companies start using the underground's non-mainstream appeal and experimentation for marketing, and there will come the opportunity for indie producers to join in. Or maybe I’m looking at it with too much optimism.
I'm not interested in politics or current affairs, but seeing as the main audience for my music is teenagers, I guess Korean youth are still in a dark place.
Jellybones: The cover art for To See the Next Part of the Dream is from the 2001 Japanese film All About Lily Chou-Chou, a masterpiece in the contemporary Asian cinematic wave depicting the disaffected youth phenomenon. What makes this movie special to you? Are there any other movies/manga/books/TV series that you think do a good job capturing this phenomenon?
Parannoul: I saw All About Lily Chou Chou for the first time when I came across it on an album cover of the artist MyHairBall in my third year of high school. I was fascinated by the movie's helpless melancholy and experienced a similar Asian adolescence. It may be less impressive when you watch it as an adult, but it’s still an important movie to me.
Maybe because I'm getting older, I don’t gravitate towards depressing things anymore when my life is also not in a great place... But if I had to pick a few movies that were memorable, I would recommend '僕たちがやりました(Bokutachi ga Yarimashita)', '惡の華(Aku no Hana)', and 'アオイホノオ(Aoi Honoo)'. For movies that aren't as depressing, I recommend '星屑ニーナ(Hoshikuzu Nina)', which inspired the title of the second album To See the Next Part of the Dream, 'スピリットサークル(Spirit Circle)', and '湯神くんには友達がいない (Yugami-kun ni wa Tomodachi ga Inai)'.
Jellybones: Pop music with distorted guitars is not alien to Korea. One recalls the President of Culture himself, Seo Taiji, whose solo debut album is similar to your style – melodic, heavy alternative rock with pop sensibility. It was the best selling Korean album of 1998. At the moment, the burgeoning Korean indie scene is still most popular in the West. How do you feel about your warm reception in Western circles, including on rateyourmusic and with critics like Anthony Fantano and in Pitchfork Magazine? Do you think independent rock music can reach the mainstream again in Korea one day?
Parannoul: The favorable reviews mean people enjoyed listening to my music, so I'm really grateful. There are many great indie artists here besides me. I hope they get some attention too.
Currently, many bands such as Silica Gel, Wave to Earth, The Rose, DAY6, and LUCY are popular. Looking at this trend, I think there is room for, perhaps not indie music, but band music to become mainstream in Korea again. Recently, I felt that the public has become more actively seeking out and discovering new music rather than just listening to what is on the (Melon) charts.
Personally, I believe that some reasons why bands are not common in Korea are excessive education fever, lack of extracurricular opportunities for artistic expression, and a history of cultural oppression.
Jellybones: Due to your global popularity, you have been thrust into a prominent role within the Korean indie scene – reluctantly, it seems. Do you feel motivated to lead the movement of “active losers,” as you once called it, collaborating to release groundbreaking music on the periphery of society? Where do you see the future going for your scene?
Parannoul: Although the interest I receive is sometimes burdensome, I am always grateful. I want to keep making new music, but I'm always trying to tell my own story and not necessarily make music for others. My intention was not to do something grand like rebel against society, but rather to purge negative feelings like inferiority in my work. I think it is enough to have the “active losers” message only in the second album. The second album (To See the Next Part of the Dream) is just a slice of me from 2021, and not everything about me can be expressed in that second album. As I change over time, my music will naturally change as well.
Jellybones: Who are the Korean indie bands we should be listening to today?
Parannoul: Yo, who played guitar on the live album, After the Night, released in March last year, released an album this year called Hopetrain to Universe. It’s really good. In addition, bands such as khc, omilgop, Kimbanourke, Seaweed Mustache, and Ureuk and The Gypsies are making interesting music.
Jellybones: What’s next for you? Do you hope to tour in America one day?
Parannoul: My plan right now is to finish various works, including the fourth album. In my head, I have plans up to the sixth album, but I don't know if they will actually come true. In fact, the Brave Little Abacus-influenced fourth album that I’m making now was originally supposed to be the third album. So, people who were expecting Brave Little Abacus for the third album are disappointed. Not everything goes as planned…
I'd like to tour North America some day, but right now I'm not mentally or technically ready.
Jellybones: What's the biggest challenge performing Parannoul music live?
Parannoul: Perhaps because the sound is completely different depending on the performance venue, the 'vicarious catharsis felt from the broken sound you get from breaking the sound by playing too loud' that I want to embody in the soundtrack may not be expressed well in the live performance.
In order to bring out various details, I currently perform with multi-track music, but one day I would like to invite more people to perform like Arcade Fire and Black Country, New Road.
Jellybones: The lyrics and liner notes of To See the Next Part of the Dream seemed to reflect a bleak personal outlook; many of us listeners surmised that you were in a dark place at the time. Since then, your music has exploded in popularity, and a lot has changed for you as an artist, reflected in the more hopeful lyrics of After the Magic. How has your personal outlook changed as you’ve transitioned from high school to early adulthood?
Parannoul: It is true that I’ve become more optimistic, but I’m still not sure about my attitude toward life. Even if I become popular on the Internet, I feel like my personality will still get in the way, so it seems useless in the end. Sometimes I think that my current position could have been put to better use if someone else had taken it. Although the lyrics of After the Magic were written with a more hopeful tone than the To See the Next Part of the Dream, the ending I intended was one in which the narrator of the dream eventually disappears as they return to reality. The penultimate track “Blossom” can be seen as a surge, the last effort before death.
Jellybones: Why do you think nostalgia is such a powerful emotion, especially in music?
Parannoul: Ironically, I think because hearing is the most abstract sense, it allows people to use their imagination the most. If any of the thoughts have the slightest connection to the past, it leads to nostalgia.
Aside from that, the reason I like music is because it allows me to live reality like a movie. Like a movie soundtrack, it's fun to choose a song according to the situation.