K-Wave Rising: Seoul’s Emerging Artists

Ethan McConnell

Music Journalist

When you turn on the radio, you hear all your favorite artists who have made it big and built a massive following. Icons like Faye Webster and Tyler, the Creator have carved out their place in the industry, rising to fame and earning the attention of millions. But what about the artists still trying to break through? With millions of musicians worldwide, many go unheard due to limited networking opportunities, intense competition, or simply not being in the right place at the right time. That’s why I want to take this moment to encourage you to give emerging artists a listen—you never know who the next big thing might be.

Parannoul, which translates to blue sunset in Korean, is a pseudonymous South Korean shoegaze artist.  Since his appearance in 2020, he has released four albums, ranging from solo pieces to collaborative ones with other Asian artists like Fax Gang and Asian Glow.  Parannoul’s signature sound combines punchy, driving drum grooves with riveting guitar chords, layered with piano melodies in the background.  Not only that, but the feeling of the instrumental brings even more gravity with the use of spacey effect vocals provided by the artist themself, giving that floating sensation when listening. You hear this momentum on the tracks, ”Beautiful World” from the album, To See the Next Part of the Dream.

Parannoul keeps the same energy with tracks like “Excuse”, “Age of Fluctuation”, and “Today’s Sky is Clear”. Parannoul has just under 100,000 monthly listeners, gaining popularity through less traditional platforms such as Bandcamp, Rate Your Music and Reddit. The artist continues to create arena-sized anthems, constantly evolving their sound while still holding their grounding components, keeping what makes them truly unique. Through their art you can tell they take their time trying to find exactly what specific sound they like.

Coming in with another Seoul native, Asian Glow carries much of the same characters in their music such as Parannoul, given they’ve done collaborations together in the past. The key differences between the two lies in their instrumentation and vocal performance. When in comparison, Asian Glow has more of an analogue approach with their sound. While Parannoul leans toward an orchestral sound, Asian Glow incorporates unconventional digitized noises, evoking elements of liquid drum and bass.

Since 2020, the artist has been labeled a ‘slacker rock’ musician, known for unfiltered drum fills and raw vocals. The Seoulite native gained their attention from fans in the emo genre, YouTube and Reddit gaining a mere 90,000 monthly listeners. One of Asian Glow’s most notable songs from their discography is “The Flag is Raised over one million listens. Asian Glow has released another album just recently titled, 11100011, and it carries a more elevated and refined sound but still carries that same raw energy they usually carry on many of their tracks.

Keeping the running theme going, we have South Korean folktronica artist, Mid-Air Thief.  These anonymous musicians made their mark in 2012 under the stage name of Hyoo (휴) but would later change it to Gongjoong Doduk (공중도덕) upon their release of the studio album under the same name. The project embraces a stripped-down sonic identity. On the intro track,” White Room,” opens with acoustic guitar strums, accompanied by soft-spoken vocals that drift in either isolated or harmoniously layered, setting the tone for the album’s ethereal sound.

It doesn’t take long before the musicians take their own spin on the genre when you start to hear bouncing reverb from synthesizers, which is used heavily on a lot of their tracks. One thing that captivates me about this artist is the execution they bring in the work. By blending glitchy synths with acoustic guitar, Mid-Air Thief has crafted a sound that resonates with listeners, earning well-deserved recognition.

After the artist released their second album, Crumbling, they would go on to receive an award for Best Dance and Electronic Album at the Korean Music Awards in 2019. Crumbling received a generous amount of love from online music communities with top tracks like, “These Chains”, “Why?”, and “Gameun Deut”, which featured vocals from South Korean singer Summer Soul. The musicians continue to remain anonymous keeping their identities hidden but never cease to keep providing fresh new sounds to their fans.