Become A Music Monster Overnight! [EN]: Chapter 122

Music Monster Overnight! 113

As if reading my mind, Lee Ah-hyun smiled and said,

“What do you think? They seem promising, right?”

“Haha. ‘Promising’ is an understatement.”

Ah-hyun looked surprised at my honest words. Seeing her reaction, I continued,

“I doubt you could find talents like them at that age even in Iceland. I’m amazed at how high the level has become in Korea.”

Iceland, the land of fire and ice, is also famous for its long tradition of poetry.

With diverse cultures gathering, there was talk of cultural development, leading to the saying that it was a melting pot for musical talents.

Starting with Bjork, famous Icelandic bands like FM Belfast, Of Monsters and Men, and Sigur Ros frequently appeared on the global Billboard charts.

It was a place where band activities were vibrant and full of talent, and the fact that Korea was being compared to such a place was, frankly, absurd.

But the emergence of Red Witch made it possible.

I was wondering what on earth had happened in Korea while I wasn’t looking, and Ah-hyun, with a worried look, asked if I was feeling unwell.

“No, I’m just surprised to hear that from the very person who ignited the melting pot in the Korean rock scene.”

“Pardon?”

“Sigh~”

When I didn’t understand, Ah-hyun sighed and began to tell me about the current state of the Korean rock scene.

The Korean rock scene I heard about was in a much better state than when I had last heard—it was improving.

This was evident from the fact that the Que Sera Sera branches had increased by four in the past two years alone.

As more fans became interested in rock, talent naturally flocked to the rock scene.

Among them were quite a few who had majored in classical music.

It wasn’t really surprising for classical music majors to be in bands. Considering they already played instruments, it was easier for them to approach, and the long history of rock music was enough to pique their interest.

However, it was rare for truly skilled individuals to jump into this field in Korea.

Unless a large market like the United States, Europe, or Japan was formed and offered some kind of future, they would undoubtedly follow the elite course.

But now, that was happening.

“Hye-young, the leader of Red Witch, Young-ho on drums, and Kang Cheol-soo on vocals, are all promising majors in classical music.”

Man-woo, the bassist, had been known as a genius in this field since he was young.

A unique point was that the vocalist, Kang Cheol-soo, majored in Korean traditional music [Gugak].

Moreover, he came from a family famous for producing renowned singers for generations, making him a well-known figure in that field.

“There’s a famous story among his peers about how he went to the Korea National University of Arts entrance exam after drinking all night, when everyone else was too nervous to even drink water, and still entered at the top of his class.”

In short, he was a genius…

‘He is a genius, isn’t he?’

That’s right.

What surprised me most about Red Witch was not the others but the vocalist.

He was effortlessly producing a voice that a talented person would barely achieve after decades of honing.

Especially his unique, rock-optimized rasp was surprisingly perfect.

But if he came from a famous family of traditional singers, it made sense.

Such families start education from a very young age, so Kang Cheol-soo would have been trained by renowned singers for at least 20 years.

“Traditional Korean music is good.”

Traditional Korean music, uniquely, is not systematically organized and passed down like classical vocal music. It is simply passed down orally through successors, which may have led to its closed-off nature and slightly different interpretations among individuals.

As traditional Korean music gradually lost its place and faced a crisis of survival, it began to change.

Specifically, the change started from the younger generation, and many of the older generation positively accepted such changes.

And I highly valued these changes.

I believed that this endless change through exchange with other cultures was the way for classical music to survive.

As a result, interest in those who continued the tradition of Korean traditional music naturally increased.

“Even if nothing else, his voice must be strong.”

As you can tell from the sound, traditional Korean music is perfect for causing vocal cord nodules. It was impossible to do unless one had a strong vocal cord.

Those who were born with such talent trained so hard that they coughed up blood and repeatedly removed scabs from their throats, so it was natural that they could sing all day without any problems.

But the biggest strength was their expressiveness.

Folk songs deal with the unique sorrow of the Korean people [Han], making them unparalleled in their ability to convey deep emotions.

So, if it could be well integrated with rock, it would be hard to find a more formidable band music in this field.

“Good. Let’s bring these guys over.”

I decided to bring Red Witch to our side.

“Hello! We are Red Witch!”

Their first impression was quite strong.

Not only was their combination seemingly mismatched, but the way they introduced themselves while striking poses like idols was also really strange.

‘They’re crazy.’

Well, not in a bad way.

Originally, many eccentric people flocked to this field, and in that respect, none of the Black Tiger members were normal either.

‘Except for me, of course.’

As I was reminded of my eccentric uncles from them, I nodded.

“They’re energetic. Good. Then shall we start the test right away?”

“Ah? Yes!”

At my words, they couldn’t hide their nervousness and excitement, and they quickly went to their respective positions.

They had already practiced before I arrived, so there was no need to tune or anything, and the music started right away.

-Da-da-da-da-dan!-

-Ji-ji-ji-jing!-

-Boom! Boom… Boom!-

Red Witch produced sounds that were hard to find even among professionals, whether it was the drums, guitar, or bass. It was a sound that was hard to find even in Korea with just these members.

But the main reason I brought Red Witch here was the vocalist. As soon as he joined in, top-notch sounds began to flow out.

“Oooooooo!”

The vocalist, whose voice rose endlessly like the warm-up of an aircraft engine, turned this practice room into a concert hall all by himself.

And then, a hardcore punk song that seemed like it would destroy everything began.

The overwhelming vocals and the band sounds that resonated with it were enough to raise the heartbeats of the listeners.

‘They’re better than I thought?’

Rather than their skills having improved in the meantime, it meant that this band was a rare practical type.

Of course, the sound you hear live cannot be ignored.

No matter how good headphones and amplifiers you bring, it’s hard to reproduce the feeling of being shaken throughout your body at the venue.

‘Starting from the fact that they’re crazy, I’m starting to like them more and more.’

The song is a bit maniacal, but that’s not bad either.

They’re not as good as Lee Na-eun, but if we educate them in a way that brings out their popularity, they’ll be able to do their own band music like the G1 band.

-Doo-doo-doo-doo-doong!-

-Ooooooooaaaa!-

The song was already heading towards its finale.

They were so engrossed in their music that they seemed to have forgotten that this was a test.

And so, the fiery performance came to an end.

-Clap clap clap-

I clapped at their performance, expressing my satisfaction.

“Thank you.”

When I smiled and clapped, Red Witch greeted me with a confident look, as if that was to be expected.

I muttered as I looked at them.

“Enough with the praise, shall we start the training?”

I was surprised and impressed that a band of this level had suddenly appeared, but from my perspective, there were still many areas that were lacking.

I started re-educating them, starting with the drummer, just like I did with the G1 band members in the past.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

“Yes?”

Not knowing much about my reputation yet, I borrowed the stick from the guy who looked flustered and started playing the drums right there.

-Doo-doo-doo-doong! Dang dang dang!-

The song was the one they had just played.

“Oh… Oh!!”

From the moment I started playing the drums, a sound of astonishment came from the guy with an impressive physique, unlike his innocent face.

It’s not hard to understand.

What I was showing now was Marvin’s drumming from our past collaboration.

Of course, I wasn’t quite up to Marvin’s level in terms of technique, but I made up for it with emotion.

“!!!”

When I finished playing for about 2 minutes, not only the drummer but everyone in Red Witch, no, everyone in the practice room was staring at me with their mouths open.

‘Come to think of it, I haven’t shown this level of drumming before.’

I also wouldn’t have improved to this level if it hadn’t been for my collaboration with Marvin, so it was natural for them to be so surprised.

But their surprise was still far from over.

I then properly showed them how far they could go with their songs on the guitar and bass.

To be more precise, I let them hear the level of music they would achieve when they were lucky enough to complete their own music.

It was something only the people involved knew, and that’s why their faces, whose instruments had been temporarily stolen, were filled with shock and confusion.

It was a shock therapy for those who were called geniuses.

‘If they overcome it, their skills will improve at once.’

The G1 band members had done it in the past. There was no way a band that had raised their skills to this level couldn’t do it.

And finally, the vocals.

‘It would have been difficult if I hadn’t met Ah-young first.’

If I hadn’t studied the unique sorrow of Korea [Han] in advance, I might not have been able to show this genius the path he should take.

I was going to change the sparkling eyes of this still immature guy, which were still full of curiosity and admiration.

-Oooooooo!-

And I closed my eyes and started singing their song, and when the song, which was over 4 minutes long, ended, I had changed the face of this still unripened genius as I had intended.

He asked in a trembling voice, as if he couldn’t believe it.

“…Have you ever done Korean traditional music?”

“No, there’s no way. I’ve heard it a few times.”

“…”

That few times was a bit more than I thought, but I hadn’t properly studied Korean traditional music. But even with that much, it wasn’t difficult for me to bring out the colors of Korean traditional music.

“I showed you because you majored in Korean traditional music. I showed you what kind of sound Korean traditional music makes when it becomes one with rock. How about it, can you do it?”

“…No. I, I can’t.”

I patted the guy on the back, who was even more dumbfounded by my answer, and said,

“It will take some time, but you can do it.”

“…Me?”

“Uh… um.”

Did I beat him up too much? I felt like I had caused an accident because the guy, who had been full of confidence, had completely lost his will.

Only then did I turn around and look at them, and I realized that their faces were no different from the vocalist’s.

Fortunately, these guys didn’t run away.

They wandered around for four days without contacting us, but they eventually came back and signed a contract with us.

Those who signed the contract still had dying faces, but their eyes seemed to have more life in them than before, which was quite satisfying.