Become A Music Monster Overnight! [EN]: Chapter 135

Music Monster Overnight! 126

Three teams were selected as the opening guests for this European tour.

The first team to take the stage was Red Witch.

Overcoming fierce competition, Red Witch, who had signed with the agency through the YC Revolution event less than half a year ago, was chosen as the opening guest for this European tour for one key reason.

“They’re more talented than I thought.”

Hye-young, Young-ho, and Man-woo, the core members of Red Witch, had initially distinguished themselves in the classical music scene.

This meant they had been playing music since childhood, giving them a solid foundation.

A solid foundation meant they were quick learners, and that proved to be true.

“Let’s see… is this also possible?”

As an experiment, I gradually increased the complexity of the material, and they successfully absorbed everything I threw at them.

That excited me for a while.

They weren’t just geniuses coasting on talent; teaching them was a uniquely rewarding experience.

But what pleased me most was the vocalist, Kang Cheol-soo.

The unique vibe of *Pansori* [a traditional Korean genre of musical storytelling] was interesting in many ways.

Coincidentally, thanks to him, I got to try *Pansori*. Since I had never worked with it before, I struggled quite a bit at first.

Then, through his introduction, I met his father, Master Singer Kang Chun-seok, and after that, I enjoyed exploring a new vocalization method.

*Pansori* was different from the vocal music that guy had handled in my memories.

The sound and breathing techniques were different, but the most significant difference was the musical imagery.

In other words, the images conjured while singing took on an incredibly grand scale.

There’s a term called “*Wan Chang*” in *Pansori*, which means singing a song from beginning to end.

When I first heard that word, I thought, what’s the big deal? It’s not like singing one verse in a karaoke room; singers usually perform a song in its entirety, so there’s nothing special about it.

However, if that *Wan Chang* takes a short 2-3 hours, or a long 8 hours or more, the situation changes dramatically.

“When I first did *Wan Chang*, my body was unbearably painful. Every joint in my bones ached, and I didn’t even have the strength to hold a spoon. The aftereffects were enormous. But… it was still fun.”

Master Singer Kang Chun-seok said, recalling the past.

“Did Cheol-soo do *Wan Chang* too? Of course, he did. He was a prodigy my father taught directly. Was it when he was 15 years old that he first did *Wan Chang*? It must have been.”

He was so happy that Cheol-soo didn’t leave the yard for a long time even after *Wan Chang* was over.

In any case, *Pansori* is about creating such a vast image that it’s difficult to grasp with ordinary common sense.

I was curious about that feeling, so I took lessons from Master Kang Chun-seok for nearly ten days, and then I began to understand it.

“So this is what it’s like… wow!”

It is said that the truth is not far away, and indeed it wasn’t.

I never imagined such a treasure was hidden in Korea.

‘*Pansori* is definitely not music that should be undervalued like it is now.’

Nevertheless, there was a reason why even Koreans were distancing themselves from *Pansori* and undervaluing it more and more.

“Because it stopped evolving.”

Just as stagnant water rots, *Pansori*, trapped in the name of tradition, had been resistant to change for some time. Learning it wasn’t easy either.

Compared to Western music, the sheet music isn’t detailed, so it’s mostly passed down through phrases.

This is why master singers perform the same song differently, because of this oral tradition.

Fortunately, Master Kang Chun-seok and many other masters of Korean traditional music from the previous generation were feeling that sense of crisis.

Therefore, unlike in the past, when there was a prevailing trend of severely scolding and criticizing those who appeared on TV shows, they now supported disciples who incorporated Korean traditional music into various fields.

Of course, there were still many who were concerned about the damage to authenticity, but many were feeling a sense of crisis that they had to change.

Kang Cheol-soo, who was famous as a prodigy from a master singer’s family, was able to play rock music without difficulty because of Master Kang Chun-seok’s support.

In any case, after learning about *Pansori*, I had a sense of what kind of music Red Witch should pursue.

“*Chunhyangjeon*… The Tale of Chunhyang?”

“Is this our song? Why suddenly The Tale of Chunhyang…”

When I presented them with the Tale of Chunhyang, a representative Korean classic novel that was so famous, as the music they should pursue, they all looked confused.

However, after listening to the song I had personally guided, they all swallowed hard and closed their mouths.

“!!!”

“If the West has Romeo and Juliet, Korea has the Tale of Chunhyang.”

Except for the fact that it doesn’t end in tragedy, Romeo and Juliet and the Tale of Chunhyang were similar in many ways.

That’s because a young couple who fell in love in their innocent teens overcame their circumstances, longed for each other with deep affection, and even showed a willingness to risk death in the end.

This song, which adapted the Tale of Chunhyang into a 5-minute story, created a genre of rock that had never existed before by blending with rock.

If I had to say, it was true K-rock.

And the essence of this rock was in the vocals.

This song, which could have flowed into a bland pop rock, was transformed into a very special gem by singing it with the flavor of *Pansori*.

The instrument and its form are rock, but the meaning contained in the song becomes *Pansori*, making it such an amazing song.

“…How?”

Kang Cheol-soo, who had been playing *Pansori* since he was very young, seemed to immediately realize what this song meant.

However, what surprised Kang Cheol-soo was something else.

“…Have you ever learned *Pansori*, CEO?”

“Of course not. You know better than anyone that I know a little about Korean traditional music, but I don’t know anything about *Pansori*.”

“Ah! That’s right.”

Only then did Cheol-soo recall the past when he had difficulty teaching me *Pansori* in many ways.

I patted the guy who was even more confused on the shoulder.

“I’m just like that originally. Even if you don’t understand, just think that there are people like this.”

“…Is that something you can just accept like that?”

The guy, who was usually indifferent to most things, pouted his lips and looked unhappy.

I just shrugged at him without saying a word.

‘Well, it’s not like I can’t understand.’

After asking Master Singer Kang Chun-seok for lessons for ten days, I was able to make a sound, though not quite like a master singer.

Once I got the feel for it, and given my talent, it wouldn’t be long before I could perform *Pansori* [Korean narrative song] like a master.

My talent for music was unbelievably absolute.

With my ability to pour out inspiration like rain and clouds, there was no need to be surprised by this.

In any case, Red Witch, leveraging Kang Cheol-soo’s talent as a *Pansori* prodigy, finally created the genre of K-Rock.

And the result of singing ‘Chunhyangjeon’ [a famous Korean folktale] at their first opening gig was…

A tremendous response from the audience.

-Waaaaah!

-What is this? A genre I’ve never heard before?-

-Red Witch? Are they really using magic? The band’s music itself sounds like pop-rock?-

-Crazy! Are these the kids that YC discovered?-

-Goosebumps! How can someone’s voice be like that?-

-Red Witch! Red Witch!-

By the time they sang their last song, quite a few audience members were chanting their band’s name.

“Whew~ It’s been a while. We even got an encore!”

“Red Witch. Those little punks made it! Youngchan, what on earth did you do?”

“Well, their songs are undeniable. Especially ‘Chunhyangjeon’.”

“That little punk Cheol-soo. He’s no joke.”

“Hehehe. So, are you feeling the pressure?”

While his colleagues were marveling at Red Witch, who had captivated the concert hall in an instant, Uncle Kwak Do-hoon chuckled and asked if they were scared. The uncles all laughed heartily.

They looked as if they had heard a funny joke. I, who was laughing along with them, wiped away the tears welling up in my eyes and said,

“Then let’s go show those excited kids what a real band is.”

“Hehe. Right. We need to show those kids that the world isn’t so easy.”

With that, we decided to let the fans, who were still immersed in the afterglow of Red Witch, know what kind of music they had come here to listen to.

It didn’t take long to let them know.

As always, the first song was ‘Old Soldiers Never Die,’ and that one song was enough to make the audience our prisoners.

-Doo doo doo doo!

-Jee jee jee jeeng!-

‘Old Soldiers Never Die,’ which we had unveiled as the opening for the European tour, was different from what we had shown on stage last year.

“You don’t understand me? But look! I am not wrong!”

It wasn’t just the band’s music that had changed.

My vocals, which were tailored to it, had also changed. Thanks to the change in the band’s sound, but also in no small part due to the fact that *Pansori* had further concretized the song’s image and made it spectacular.

-Red Witch creates a new rock genre with ‘Chunhyangjeon’!-

-‘Chunhyangjeon,’ containing the essence of Korean traditional music, tells a story of unspeakable passion!-

-‘Chunhyangjeon’ enters the UK Music Charts amidst great interest!-

-Black Tiger shows unwavering presence despite the huge success of ‘Chunhyangjeon’!-

-Critics say after listening to Black Tiger’s music that they are still growing!-

-European tour that has crossed the year! The success of the European tour is just around the corner!-

Only at the beginning of the concert were there many concerns about the European tour.

There was a lot of talk about changing plans due to the incidents that had stirred up European countries and the refugee problem.

But, contrary to those concerns, the European tour was progressing very smoothly.

Of course, extreme *sasaeng* [obsessive fans] sometimes created events, but those were within the range of what we had expected, so there were no particular concerns.

Rather, there were several happy things.

First of all, it was really gratifying that Red Witch had made a name for themselves as a global band through ‘Chunhyangjeon,’ and that the opening guests who went up with them had also gained great recognition.

YC Entertainment had grown too big to be fighting each other in Korea.

So, the only answer was to go global, and in that respect, it was gratifying that rookies, including Red Witch, showed that potential.

“Above all, it was really gratifying that YC Revolution’s market share had increased.”

Unlike the United States, where the market share had unexpectedly increased, Europe had shown a meager market share as expected, but this European tour succeeded in increasing it to a considerable level.

The reason why we insisted on the European tour, which had many difficulties in many ways, not just in the United States, was also largely due to the promotion of YC Revolution.

-Black Tiger successfully concludes its controversial European tour!-

-Estimated revenue of 500 million euros? Some say it will be double that if you include merchandise!-

-YC America’s stock price rises due to the success of the European tour!-

-The biggest achievement of this European tour is YC Revolution?-

-YC Revolution becomes one of Europe’s leading social media platforms!-

In articles about the successful European tour, YC Revolution was mentioned in many places as expected.

But it was by no means at the top level, as the title of the article suggested.

It briefly rose to 5th place in some countries due to merchandise and other events, but it was only barely in the top 10.

This was because it was a latecomer and, above all, it still lacked content.

To this end, we were planning to pour a lot of money into buying content such as movies and dramas from home and around the world.

“It’s about time the headquarters went public.”

YC America’s stock price was rising too much. In other words, it was only a matter of time before the bubble burst.

So, it was time to go public with the headquarters and use the funds raised to focus on content and distribution.

In particular, 2016, which had been incredibly busy, was coming to an end, and we were about to face 2017.

Counting from the date my friend died in my memory, it was less than a year away.

“Time really flies.”

People say that time goes by faster as you get older, and that seemed to be true.

I felt bitter about the fact that I was getting another year older, so I tried calling my uncles, but none of them answered.

“They’re all busy dating.”

Dating.

‘Well, should I try dating this year?’

At any other time, I would have shaken my head at the thought, but with those uncles making a fuss about starting their own families, I couldn’t help but think seriously about it.