파란노을 (Parannoul)

Over the past few days I’ve exchanged emails with Korean artist 파란노을 (Parannoul), we talked about the unexpected success of his new album, “To See the Next Part of the Dream,” their beginnings as an artist, and what’s next.

Michael Haddad: How would you describe your music to someone who hasn’t heard your music before?

파란노을: trash disguised as amateurism

MH: Could you describe your creative process a bit?

파란노을: It's pretty simple. When I suddenly think of a melody, I record it on the piano. I sometimes use the guitar.
Or it could be the opposite. I sit in front of the piano, then play anything until the melody creates.
I've been doing this since I was 16, and now there's almost 900 recordings filled on my computer.
If there's a drawback, I think it is a good melody when I record it, but when I hear it later, it's usually bland and sometimes awful.
Of the 900, less than 50 are ok to use. And all the recordings are similar...
But it can be an advantage too. If something feels empty when working on a song, I can put in another recording.
Then the melody gets richer without feeling awkward.

MH: How did you begin making music?

파란노을: How I became interested in music... When I was in the second year of middle school, when teacher played a video of something boring, Doves' song came out as the background music.
I was hooked on the song, so I kept humming the melody on my way home to not forget it.
A few months later, Radiohead's song came out this time, and my mp3 soon became full of Radiohead's entire discography.
Maybe that's when my so-called 'loser' feelings started. Motives are important for everything.
Then, I listened to Radiohead, then Sigur Ros, Mogwai, Arcade Fire, and so...
The reason why I began making music is related to this.
At that time, I didn't have a dream of being a musician, but I felt like "I want to express my emotions with music."
The important thing is that there was a cell phone recorder in front of me and a small piano in my room, when I thought about that.
Unlike other things that I've only thought about it and never done on real life before, this was the only thing I've done with action.
For three years, I made post-rock music under the name of 'laststar', because I like post-rock, and I'm not good at singing.
Most of them are instrumental, so you don't need vocals to compose, you know.

MH: Were you surprised by the response to “To See the Next Part of the Dream”?

파란노을: I didn't know my album would become famous overseas. I thought I myself would be one of the musicians buried in a 'flood of information' like many Korean indie musicians I mentioned in the liner note.
So at first I was happy when the review of my album was posted on the front page of rate your music, but I became worried as the recognition gradually increased. Does my album really worth being overrated like this?
Rather than feeling happy, I was afraid of the social backlash I would receive later.
Since I'm so timid, I'm sensitive to other people's ratings. And most of all, I saw people I knew personally on the Internet criticizing my album, so I shut the internet down for the first few weeks.
I know it is undesirable behavior as a musician. But I'm just a chicken...
It's pathetic, I released an album with a message telling people not to run away from the reality, but the creator of the album escaped from the reality...
But I've been feeling better for the past few days.

MH. Is there an album that you think everyone should listen to at least once in their life?

파란노을: I've never thought of an album that everyone should listen to, but I can recommend another album that people who enjoyed my album can enjoy too.
Walrus - Hikari no Kakera (My favorite Japanese shoegaze masterpiece)
Bulssazo - I In Turn Will Laugh When Disaster Strikes You; I Will Mock When Calamity Overtakes You (Proverbs 1:26) (Korean indie shoegaze, I was influenced a lot by it.)
Alcest - Souvenirs d'un autre monde (I feel like I'm alone in the forest while listening to this)
My Bloody Valentine - Loveless (too obvious, the bible of the genre)
 
MH. What’s next for you?

파란노을: I don't know what will happen next. Maybe I'll work on the next album someday, or live in a real life just like others. Nobody knows, including me.
I don't choose anything, I just move forward.

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You can purchase “ To See the Next Part of the Dream ” on Bandcamp.