SE SO NEON Rocks out Brooklyn and Completes Their World Tour

Though K-Pop has been making its mark stateside again, K-Indie and K-Hip Hop have been slow to follow. SE SO NEON, a K-Indie rock bank under Magic Strawberry Sound consisting of members Hwang Soyoon (lead singer and guitarist), U-su (drummer), and Park Hyunjin (bass guitarist), set off the first quarter of 2022 with their SE SO NEON 2022 LIVE world tour which included several U.S. stops. With sold out shows and packed houses, they proved that great music was all that was needed to draw in people. Catching the sold-out New York show on March 31 at the Brooklyn Monarch, it wasn’t hard to figure out why this band was filling up venues around the world. The show was a wild ride for those lucky enough to be there.

For those unfamiliar with SE SO NEON, the band originally formed in 2016, but its current lineup is as of 2018. That year, the band won “Rookie of the Year” and “Best Rock Song” at the Korean Music Awards, and in 2020 collaborated with the movie Minari for the music video for their song “Jayu 자유.” Other recent songs include “Stranger 이방인”, “NAN CHUN 난춘”, and “joke!”. If you walked by Times Square in February last year, you might have caught them on a billboard as part of YouTube Music’s Foundry program representing Korea. The lead singer and guitarist, Soyoon, who also goes by So!YoON!, was also featured at SXSW this year.

The trio came casually onstage after the opening group to a packed house who were clamoring to see them. With her glasses on, bangs, and black patent leather jacket, Soyoon came onstage with a smile and a relaxed demeanor that didn’t quite scream rock goddess, though that was what she would prove to be that night.

The set opened strong with “Gurumi”, a song about being swept away with the clouds that mixes a hi-low synth melodic refrain between guitar and drums. Amidst Soyoon’s dynamic vocals, it was as if she was pulling the crowd with her into this world. After landing there, it was time for “Dong 덩”, a slightly more mellow track from Nonadaptation 비적응 about dancing alone regardless of those around you. The audience didn’t need to be told, as the sway and pull of the music had everyone moving.

In fluent English, though through the evening she would mix in Korean now and then, Soyoon opened up to the crowd. “Ok. It’s truly amazing to be here. Thank you so much for coming down tonight. Thank you. Um, in Korea we still have to wear masks everywhere, especially with live events, the audience is not allowed to make any sounds, yeah. But we are free now, right? So, this is the first time in a while we can feel the energy from all of you. So go crazy, have a great time, and we’ll do the same. Ok, let’s do this!”

And the crowd was ready to get crazy as the steady beats at the start of “Summer Plumage'” filled the air. Rock with jazz elements brought vivid sounds into a song whose lyrics rang like poetry in Korean. This brought a realization that SE SO NEON was a band of contrasts and layers. Lyrics added another dimension to the song, almost blending into the music. “Ung 엉” was next with its rhythmic undulations. Soyoon’s steady vocals portrayed the contemplative sentiment embedded in a mundane moment of infatuation. There was barely a breath before “Go Back 집에” fed the crowd with its heavy synth and drum track building up to Soyoon’s voice as the English chorus repeated, “If I go back, where should I go back, go back, go back.” The song’s echoing chorus etched into us a feeling of being hopelessly lost. The sentimental “Winter 눈” would finish to a screaming and cheering crowd before their ment. Quick introductions were given and Soyoon introduced a new song: “Here’s a new one. I hope you like it. It doesn’t have a title yet. We’ve been calling it ‘KKJ’ right now, we don’t know why.”

With a drum and electric intro that recalls ‘80s groups such as Blondie, the new untitled song brought energy to the floor. The layers of sound built and fed into a frenzy leading to a guitar sound that overshadowed the rest of the song, the vocals becoming secondary to the music itself. With the heavy guitar of “Athena,” the urge to headbang was strong. The venue pulsed with the guitar and sounds from the audience. Crazy cheers fueled by the guitars and drums which overwhelmed the space while the song moved into a crushing guitar crescendo frenzy before finishing.

Giving everyone a moment to breathe, it was U-Su’s time to chime in. “This is my second time in America. The last time I was here was 10 year ago. I was traveling on my own. Last time I went to see a show and now I’m playing in one. So, it’s a strange feeling.”

The pace would slow with the sentimental “Stranger 이방인.” Soyoon’s voice became the primary instrument in this song with a lamentful melody that carries the song. After the song, Soyoon followed up with the crowd in the next ment, this time in Korean: “Listening and thinking about it, there are a lot of strangers in this room too, aren’t there?”

The audience replied, “A lot of strangers.”

Soyoon continued, “Yeah. A lot of strangers. This song is for you. Even when I speak in Korean, you all understand…While I was singing, I also thought, singing here in this place seems very meaningful. Next song is called ‘Jayu 자유.’ You’ve already bought our t-shirt, right? (haha) Do you know what jayu means? …Right, it’s really cool. You know. This song called ‘Jayu 자유’ is also like ‘Stranger 이방인’ as they are songs that I really wanted to bring to you. Not because all of you can be here so ‘freely’ or anything like that, but so that you can get ready to completely fall for us. If you swallow your own freedom for a moment, I’ll sing a ‘Meaningful Jayu’ for you.”

Then began “Jayu 자유.” The song whose video was done in conjunction with the movie Minari is a song whose sentimental melody is fueled by Soyoon’s haunting vocals. Akin to a hopeful sigh, the song resonated with the audience who had long past already fallen for them. Their next song was their latest hit “joke!”. The synth-infused melody and Soyoon’s range, from her high notes to the rocky depths of this funk song, had everyone moving again.

After the song, Soyoon opened up again. “You know… In all our songs, the lyrics are mostly in Korean, right? So it wouldn’t come naturally to you unless you speak Korean, right? But I think the lyrics are a really important part of our music. So if you are willing to take time into it, I highly recommend looking them up and it will affect the way you feel them in a good way. This next song is ‘심야행’. Its English title is ‘Midnight Train’. In Korea, it actually translates to ‘Train Heading into the Night’. You know. I know. So the nuance is a bit different. So, listen to it with that in mind. Hey, let’s go!”

Breaking into “Midnight Train 심야행,” the upbeat guitar contrasted with the lyrics which speak of despair and resonates more with the direct translation of heading nowhere in the night. Pushing on with the energy with “The Wave”, the venue was pulsing with the intensity of the music.

A bit out of breath, Soyoon broke into her final ment: “You guys were amazing tonight. But we have nine more shows after this, alright? Wish us all the best. We’re planning to start working on our next new album after this tour, so please pray for us. So hopefully it won’t be too long until we’re here next. It’s so great to see you all and thank you. This is our last song….one last song, but (swapping into Korean), I planned to do my ment all in English and I tried to keep it short, but so many of you came and it also seems like so many understand everything so well, I’ll chat a bit more before moving on, um. Just one month ago, after two years, we had a comeback concert. That was a crazy time, but everyone's expressions, movements were restricted so that was a bit regrettable. Coming to a far land here in the U.S. and having you welcome us and support us like this, we are very thankful for, and going forward, as I mentioned, we have nine more shows, and I hope, like I had said, that you’ll cheer us on….”

Playing their final song “NAN CHUN 난춘,” SE SO NEON closed out the night with a crowd clamoring for more. The tour would successfully continue to packed venues and the same energy, engulfing everyone who was able to attend.

Though the doors to the Monarch closed that night, the afterglow lingers. SE SO NEON proved to be one of those shows that should be watched live at every opportunity. Though their songs range in styles, there is one consistency: the passion and skill that emanated from the trio. The band fed off the energy of the crowd as much as from the music itself. Hwang Soyoon is a revelation, a rock goddess of the first degree whose return stateside will be highly anticipated, and we can’t wait until they complete their next album and return again.

Edited by Kelly Sipko