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Oohyo's new single 'Dandelion,' played with Scottish band Sebastian

Oohyo's new single 'Dandelion,' played with Scottish band Sebastian

Posted June. 15, 2017 07:16,   

Updated June. 15, 2017 07:35

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The members of the famous Scottish bands “Belle and Sebastian (or Sebastian)” and “Teenage Fan Club” featured in two new singles “Dandelion” and “A Good Day” sung by the 24-year-old Korean singer-songwriter Oohyo (Woo Hyo-eun). Such collaboration is rare, as only few globally renowned band members recorded with Korean musicians as backing band.

The following conversations were from an e-mail interview with the Sebastian’s keyboard player Chris Geddes and Oohyo. “We first met Oohyo at a studio in March thanks to Tony Doogan (a famous producer who produced albums of Sebastian and Mogwai)," said Geddes. "There were times when two or three of us paired to feature in other musicians such as the Russian Red (Spain), but this is the first time four (among a total of seven members) got together to feature in a soloist single."

The collaboration was first proposed by “A Cultured Man,” the management company for Oohyo. It was said that the collaboration saw the light of day when Doogan welcomed the proposal after greatly enjoying her songs. Oohyo and the musicians got together at “Castle of Doom” studio located in Glasgow from March 27 to March 31 to play and record the songs. The songs were both arranged by Doogan and Oohyo, and the strings were arranged by Paul Leonard Morgan; a British composer famous for his works on TV, films, and games. “We aimed at creating an ambience similar to “Eleanor Rigby” by Beatles with strings arranged for ‘Dandelion’ to go well with Oohyo's unique voice,” said Morgan.

The delicate compositions and arrangements, along with like-no-other voice mesmerized the Scottish musicians. Since her debut in 2014, Oohyo was widely popular among fans home and abroad, gaining her reputation as a “female Hyuk-oh.” Oohyo explained that it was a stroke of luck to meet Sebastian, and added that the song ‘Dandelion’ got its idea from the question ‘what would it be like if a dandelion confesses love to a person who walks by every day."

Currently enrolled in the Department of Culture and Creative Industries at City, University of London, Oohyo is nearing her graduation, and will soon come back to Korea to release her new album. “I wanted to arrange the chorus in a more dramatic fashion, but that wasn’t easy for me as a singer who has to balance between an indifferent and thin voice and singing style," Oohyo said. "It is my only wish that I can write soulful songs dreaming of joy."



imi@donga.com