Welcome back to Fan Chant, a weekly column for K-pop fans, stans, and newbies alike. Today, production and composition duo GroovyRoom chat about their new music. And P.S. — if you love reading Fan Chant, you can subscribe to my companion newsletter to get it delivered right to your inbox each week!
Production and songwriting duo GroovyRoom (Park Gyu-jung and Lee Hwi-min) have carved out their own space in the South Korean music scene; they crank out hip-hop hits like it’s what they were born to do. And while their musical sensibilities are clear, there’s one more extremely important skill woven into their sound: GroovyRoom choose excellent collaborators.
The duo’s 2017 project, EVERYWHERE, was a breakthrough moment, packed to the brim with K-pop and South Korean R&B names like Jay Park, Sik-K, SURAN, and pH-1. “Because our debut album, EVERYWHERE, was so successful, we felt a lot of pressure while working on our sophomore album,” the duo shares over email. “We spent a lot of time brainstorming and experimenting in different styles, but once we found our direction, we started sprinting. We want to release this as soon as possible.”
So far, GroovyRoom have only provided a look into the mysterious project with one fresh single, titled “Yes or No,” which features HUH YUNJIN of LE SSERAFIM and Crush. YUNJIN has become a bit of a collaboration queen as of late — in addition to her appearance on the GroovyRoom song, she recently teamed up with MAX for a single titled “STUPID IN LOVE” and is rumored to be one of the names on the newly announced six-track project from j-hope of BTS.
“We had met YUNJIN through a mutual friend of ours; she heard the song and luckily liked it, and decided to collaborate with us,” GroovyRoom share. “We never worked with Crush before, but he was the artist that came to mind when we decided to feature a male vocal.” The duo points to their recently debuted YouTube series chronicling the making of the album for footage of them in the studio together.
“In most cases, we give feedback to the first version and go from there,” they recall. “But YUNJIN took the initiative to record her verse again before we even got to respond. Her attention to detail and putting in the extra effort translates in her.”
The rest of the project is still tightly under wraps, but GroovyRoom felt confident in leading with “Yes or No” as the first taste. “It was such a fresh collaboration and we wanted to set the tone right,” they explain. “In some of the comments for the original K-pop song we sampled (“LOVE” by Brown Eyed Girls), people now mention that our song, “Yes or No,” brought them there, to hear the original. It was a very proud moment and we’re glad to be able to give homage to a classic.”
Listen to “Yes or No” below, and stay tuned for more details on the forthcoming EP from GroovyRoom.
ICYMI: Happy Birthday, j-hope
j-hope, photo courtesy of BIGHIT MUSIC
Over the weekend, j-hope of BTS turned 30. To celebrate, I rounded up just ten of the many excellent songs he’s created over the past decade. Check out the list here — it’s never too late to celebrate a BTS birthday.
Song Rec of the Week:
It’s no secret that I’ve been loving IU’s releases lately, but the fact that none other than DPR Ian directed the music video really seals the deal on this latest track.