“Se So Neon” (새소년) usually means “New Youngsters” in Korean. It was the name of children’s magazine published from 1960s to 1980s. The band borrowed its name from the magazine, found in an independent bookstore.
But the word can also mean “Bird Youngsters” if you break the word in a different way. That’s why their logo resembles geometric bird. Both meanings fit well to the band, as they formed in 2016, they sound fresh, and their live act is free like a bird.
The trio of Hwang So-Yoon (guitar/vocal), Moon Fancy (bass), and Gang To (drums) formed last year, and they have already become the most anticipated rock act of Korean indie scene in 2017.
Mainly based on psychedelic rock, they smartly mingle the shining elements of rock history and deliver them with crisp energy. You can notice both the sound of contemporary Anglo-Saxon indie rock like Tame Impala or Ducktails, and a trace of Korean classical psychedelic rock legends such as Shin Jung-hyeon or Sanulrim.
If you listen to Se So Neon, you might get captivated by the epicene voice of Hwang So-Yoon, the husky and energetic vocal in mellow way. It is noticeable that her voice seems like succeeding the lavish pedigree of Korean indie rock’s female vocals.
If you’re addicted to her voice, you may ascend the female voice of K-Indie history, musicians such as Nam Sang-Ah (3rd Line Butterfly), Lee So-Young (Huckleberry Finn) and Hwang Bo-Ryung.
Waiting will be short. Se So Neon’s first EP is about to be released on October 26. I suggest you should check their gleaming new sound and happily wait for their debut recording just like all indie fans in Korea, including me.
*
