Throwback Thursday: Calming K-Pop

The world can be a tough place. Sometimes life can feel like it’s spiralling out of your control, and maybe it is. In times like these, there’s no better remedy than just kicking back and listening to some calm music. We can’t always change the world or our circumstances, but with the help of our favorite K-Pop artists, we can at least slow down and breathe a little easier.

“4 O’Clock” - BTS

Released as part of BTS’s 2017 “festa” anniversary, “4 O’Clock” is a special track from V and RM about the distinctive serenity of a morning at 4 a.m. Between V’s deep, breathy vocals, RM’s relaxed, introspective rap, and the soft acoustic that accompanies them both, “4 O’Clock” will have you feeling just as peaceful as the quiet solitude of 4 a.m.

“Photograph” - offonoff

“Photograph” is a single released by R&B indie duo offonoff in 2016. From the song’s first soothing note, “Photograph” will have you drifting off into a calmer place. With Colde’s lazy vocals in the chorus telling you to “close your eyes, take your time,” and 0channel’s chill beats, “Photograph” is the perfect song to help you take a much-needed step back from the hecticness of life.

“Wind flower” - MAMAMOO

The title song off the group’s 2018 mini-album BLUE;S, MAMAMOO’s “Wind flower” is about the loneliness that comes with moving on from a lost love. Unlike most breakup songs, the track takes on an uplifting tone with its jazzy chorus and its ever-present and comforting electric guitar hook. On top of the bright instrumental, the girls sing in the chorus that everything will “get better day by day.”

“Lullaby for a Cat” - Epik High

Though still a rather recent track, I would be remiss if I did not include Epik High’s “Lullaby for a Cat” on this list. The song comes from sleepless in ______, an album that tells of a night riddled with insomnia, and serves as the album’s final song wherein the protagonist finally drifts off to sleep. Maybe it’s the lo-fi beats and hazy rap verses or maybe it’s Tablo’s autobiographical take on falling asleep with cats during past sleepless nights, but “Lullaby for a Cat” will have you ready to wind down whenever you need it the most.