Clazziquai
Encyclopedia
Clazziquai also known as Clazziquai Project, is a South Korea
n experimental band that combines several genres including electronic music
, acid jazz
and house
. The group's first short unofficial albums were released online in 2001, spreading its music through words of "netizen
s," who positively received the group's music. They remained underground until the release of their first album Instant Pig in 2004, selling over 80,000 copies. Since then, their music has been used in various television commercials, shows, and films, and they have been given the chance to perform at various events.
Clazziquai is known for their songs, "Be My Love" and "She Is", which were featured on the Korean drama
My Lovely Samsoon, with the former becoming the show's theme song. The group won an award at the MNET KM Music Video Festival for "Best Soundtrack", and has also been the most nominated group at the Korean Popular Music Awards II(2회), winning "Artist of the Year" and "Best Pop". They have contributed to works by Japanese artists Fantastic Plastic Machine and M-Flo
.
, and continued his study at Centre for Digital Imaging and Sound (CDIS). After his graduation, he worked as a web design
er, uploading his music online during his leisure time. Eventually, Netizen
s discovered his music and were drawn to its experimental
nature, which is the reason why Clazziquai was initially labeled a "project
group"
Korean-Canadian
siblings Alex
and Christina Chu were initially acquaintances with DJ Clazzi and participated vocally on the first three short and experimental albums released online, named "[gray]", "[red]", and "[retro]". Due to the positive attention received from Netizens, Clazziquai released their first official album, "Instant Pig".
Alex's sister Christina later quit due to her work in Canada
, and an artist named Horan stepped in to fill her spot. Despite this, she still occasionally contributes vocals to several songs. However, she has not been regarded as an official member, and only as an uncredited guest artist.
"Novabossa" was used as part of the soundtrack for the 2004 Korean film "How to Keep My Love" (내 남자의 로맨스) . Over 30 songs were mixed in the production process .
The remixed English version of the song, in its side Japanese remix album ZBAM was released in 2005, & was later used as a song in a television commercial featuring famous soccer star David Beckham
. In three weeks, "Sweety" charted #10 in Tokyo J-Wave 'Tokio Hot 100', and #7 in Zip FM Radio chart. Fantastic Plastic Machine praised Clazziquai as a new group to lead the "Hallyu".
In 2005, Clazziquai released their second album claiming it had a "raw, funkier feel presenting a combination of electronic music and [an] emphasized acoustic genre". In one week, Clazziquai's second album charted #3 in the Kyobo Hot track list, as well as #5 in the Hanter Album chart list.
TV show We Got Married
, so did the track "Romeo N Juliet", which was prominently featured in the series. A Remix album, Robotica, was released later in the year.
After the album's release, the members of Clazziquai grew busy with their own work, which started false rumors that Clazziquai could be disbanding. Alex released his first solo album My Vintage Romance while Horan joined an acoustic music project group titled "Ibadi
" as their main vocalist, and released their debut album Story of Us.
In 2008, a video game for the PlayStation Portable
featuring many Clazziquai songs titled DJ Max Portable Clazziquai Edition
was released.
, claiming it would be part of the album later in the year. Their fourth album, Mucho Punk was released alongside a single release of "Love Again", which features American fashion model Jarah Mariano
.
In concordance to Mucho Punk, Clazziquai released Japanese album, Mucho Musica and later plan to released a remix album, Mucho Mix, later in 2009.
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
n experimental band that combines several genres including electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
, acid jazz
Acid jazz
Acid jazz is a musical genre that combines elements of jazz, funk and hip-hop, particularly looped beats. It developed in the UK over the 1980s and 1990s and could be seen as tacking the sound of jazz-funk onto electronic dance: jazz-funk musicians such as Roy Ayers, Donald Byrd and Grant Green are...
and house
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
. The group's first short unofficial albums were released online in 2001, spreading its music through words of "netizen
Netizen
The term Netizen is a portmanteau of the English words internet and citizen. It is defined as an entity or person actively involved in online communities and a user of the internet, especially an avid one. The term can also imply an interest in improving the internet, especially in regard to open...
s," who positively received the group's music. They remained underground until the release of their first album Instant Pig in 2004, selling over 80,000 copies. Since then, their music has been used in various television commercials, shows, and films, and they have been given the chance to perform at various events.
Clazziquai is known for their songs, "Be My Love" and "She Is", which were featured on the Korean drama
Korean drama
Korean drama refers to televised dramas, in a miniseries format, produced in the Korean language. Many of these dramas have become popular throughout Asia and have contributed to the general phenomenon of the Korean wave, known as "Hallyu", and also "Drama Fever" in some countries...
My Lovely Samsoon, with the former becoming the show's theme song. The group won an award at the MNET KM Music Video Festival for "Best Soundtrack", and has also been the most nominated group at the Korean Popular Music Awards II(2회), winning "Artist of the Year" and "Best Pop". They have contributed to works by Japanese artists Fantastic Plastic Machine and M-Flo
M-flo
is a Japanese hip hop group consisting of producer and DJ Taku Takahashi and emcee Verbal.Former member Lisa left the group in 2002 to pursue a solo career, and the remaining members then started the M-Flo Loves... project working different vocalists for each song over three albums, including the...
.
2001: Formation
DJ Clazzi, described as "a magician at synthesizing different sounds in music into creating one unique [sic] new genre". graduated from Capilano CollegeCapilano College
Capilano University is an undergraduate-focused, public, coeducational, teaching-intensive university located in the District of North Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada. It is enabled by the University Act...
, and continued his study at Centre for Digital Imaging and Sound (CDIS). After his graduation, he worked as a web design
Web design
Web design is the process of planning and creating a website. Text, images, digital media and interactive elements are used by web designers to produce the page seen on the web browser...
er, uploading his music online during his leisure time. Eventually, Netizen
Netizen
The term Netizen is a portmanteau of the English words internet and citizen. It is defined as an entity or person actively involved in online communities and a user of the internet, especially an avid one. The term can also imply an interest in improving the internet, especially in regard to open...
s discovered his music and were drawn to its experimental
Experimental music
Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...
nature, which is the reason why Clazziquai was initially labeled a "project
Project
A project in business and science is typically defined as a collaborative enterprise, frequently involving research or design, that is carefully planned to achieve a particular aim. Projects can be further defined as temporary rather than permanent social systems that are constituted by teams...
group"
Korean-Canadian
Korean Canadian
Korean Canadians are Canadians of Korean descent. According to South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, there were 223,322 Koreans or people of Korean descent in Canada , making them the fourth-largest Korean diaspora population...
siblings Alex
Alex Chu
Alex Chu , known simply as Alex , is a Korean-Canadian singer and actor. He is the male vocalist of South Korean electropop band Clazziquai.-Biography:...
and Christina Chu were initially acquaintances with DJ Clazzi and participated vocally on the first three short and experimental albums released online, named "[gray]", "[red]", and "[retro]". Due to the positive attention received from Netizens, Clazziquai released their first official album, "Instant Pig".
Alex's sister Christina later quit due to her work in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and an artist named Horan stepped in to fill her spot. Despite this, she still occasionally contributes vocals to several songs. However, she has not been regarded as an official member, and only as an uncredited guest artist.
2004: Instant Pig
"Instant Pig" gained critical acclaim leading to over 5 songs from the album to be used in 6 television commercials."Novabossa" was used as part of the soundtrack for the 2004 Korean film "How to Keep My Love" (내 남자의 로맨스) . Over 30 songs were mixed in the production process .
The remixed English version of the song, in its side Japanese remix album ZBAM was released in 2005, & was later used as a song in a television commercial featuring famous soccer star David Beckham
David Beckham
David Robert Joseph Beckham, OBE is an English footballer who plays midfield for Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer, having previously played for Manchester United, Preston North End, Real Madrid, and A.C...
. In three weeks, "Sweety" charted #10 in Tokyo J-Wave 'Tokio Hot 100', and #7 in Zip FM Radio chart. Fantastic Plastic Machine praised Clazziquai as a new group to lead the "Hallyu".
2005: Color Your Soul
In summer of 2005, Clazziquai's "Be My Love" and "She Is", were featured in the Korean hit television drama, My Lovely Samsoon. These two major theme songs also raised the ratings of the series up 50%. Clazziquai had hoped then that people's imagination towards their music would not 'decrease as a result of their unexpected popularity'.In 2005, Clazziquai released their second album claiming it had a "raw, funkier feel presenting a combination of electronic music and [an] emphasized acoustic genre". In one week, Clazziquai's second album charted #3 in the Kyobo Hot track list, as well as #5 in the Hanter Album chart list.
2007–2008: Love Child of the Century
In 2007, "Lover Boy" was released for Clazziquai's third album, followed by "Last Tango". As Alex's fame grew after becoming a main cast member for the popular Korean realityReality
In philosophy, reality is the state of things as they actually exist, rather than as they may appear or might be imagined. In a wider definition, reality includes everything that is and has been, whether or not it is observable or comprehensible...
TV show We Got Married
We Got Married
We Got Married is a popular reality South Korean variety show, one segment of the Sunday Sunday Night program. First broadcast in 2008, the show pairs up Korean celebrities to show what life would be like if they were married...
, so did the track "Romeo N Juliet", which was prominently featured in the series. A Remix album, Robotica, was released later in the year.
After the album's release, the members of Clazziquai grew busy with their own work, which started false rumors that Clazziquai could be disbanding. Alex released his first solo album My Vintage Romance while Horan joined an acoustic music project group titled "Ibadi
Ibadi
The Ibāḍī movement, Ibadism or Ibāḍiyya is a form of Islam distinct from the Sunni and Shia denominations. It is the dominant form of Islam in Oman and Zanzibar...
" as their main vocalist, and released their debut album Story of Us.
In 2008, a video game for the PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
featuring many Clazziquai songs titled DJ Max Portable Clazziquai Edition
DJ Max Portable Clazziquai Edition
DJMax Portable Clazziquai Edition is a music video game published and developed by Pentavision in South Korea for the PlayStation Portable released on October 20, 2008. This is the third title for the PlayStation Portable from in the DJMax Portable series, after DJMax Portable 2...
was released.
2009–present: Mucho Punk and Mucho Musica
In early 2009, Clazziquai released "Wizard of Oz" as part of a commercial for LGLG
LG may refer to:*LG Corp., a South Korean electronics and petrochemicals conglomerate*LG Electronics, an affiliate of the South Korean LG Group which produces electronic products* Lawrence Graham, a London headquartered firm of business lawyers...
, claiming it would be part of the album later in the year. Their fourth album, Mucho Punk was released alongside a single release of "Love Again", which features American fashion model Jarah Mariano
Jarah Mariano
Jarah-Evelyn Makalapua Mariano , is an American fashion model best known for her appearances in the 2008 and 2009 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Editions, as well as Victoria's Secret.-Early life:...
.
In concordance to Mucho Punk, Clazziquai released Japanese album, Mucho Musica and later plan to released a remix album, Mucho Mix, later in 2009.
Members
- Kim Sung Hoon (김성훈), better known by his stage name DJ Clazzi (DJ 클래지). Is in charge of composing, mixing and producing the group's songs.
- Choi Soo Jin (최수진), better known by her stage name Horan (호란) She is the female vocalist for the group.
- Chu Hun Gon (추헌곤), better known by his stage name AlexAlex ChuAlex Chu , known simply as Alex , is a Korean-Canadian singer and actor. He is the male vocalist of South Korean electropop band Clazziquai.-Biography:...
(알렉스). He is the male vocalist for the group.
Studio albums
| Year | Information | Tracklist | Peak positions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KO | JP Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc... |
|||
| 2004 | Instant Pig
|
01. You Never Know 02. Korean Title 03. Futuristic 04. After Love 05. Novabossa 06. Sweety 07. Stepping Out 08. Tattoo 09. I Will Never Cry 10. Gentle Rain 11. After Love II 12. Flower 13. Play Girl 14. My Life 15. Cat Bossa |
— | |
| 2005 | Color Your Soul
|
01. Beautiful Woman 02. Salesman 03. Fill This Night 04. Cry Out Loud 05. I Will Give You Everything 06. Come Alive 07. 날짜 변경선 08. Be My Love (English Ver.-House Remix) 09. 춤 10. Color Your Soul 11. Speechless 12. Sunshine 13. Steps Ahead 14. 다시.. 15. Be My Love (Original Mix-Bonus Track) |
94 | |
| 2007 | Love Child of the Century
|
01. Prayers 02. Lover Boy 03. 생의 한가운데 04. Session 1 - All Hail 05. Gentle Giant 06. Last Tango 07. 피에스타 08. Next Love 09. Romeo N Juliet 10. Flower Children 11. Session 2 : Confession 12. 금요일의 Blues 13. Glory 14. 빛 |
72 | |
| 2008 | Beat in Love
|
01. フリーダム 02. アイコニック・ラブ 03. ビート・イン・ラブ 04. フィエスタ（イングリッシュ・バージョン） 05. アワー・リヴス（ＦＰＭ・ハイパー・ソサイアティー・ミックス） 06. ユー 07. ホワイ 08. フィエスタ（ダイシ・ダンス・リミックス−イングリッシュ・バージョン） 09. ビート・イン・ラブ（ヤスタカ・ナカタ（カプセル）リミックス） 10. プレイヤーズ（シンイチ・オオサワ・リミックス） 11. ネクスト・ラブ（ＤＪカイップ・リミックス） 12. ロボティカ 13. フィル・ディス・ナイト（パラドックス・リミックス−イングリッシュ・バージョン） 14. ビューティフル・ストレンジャー |
— | 188 |
| 2009 | Mucho Musica
|
01. Kiss Kiss Kiss 02. Love Again 03. Tell Yourself - Original Mix - 04. Spinning the World 05. The Road 06. Affection 07. Take A Walk 08. Back In Time 09. Chocolate Truffles 10. The World of Oz 11. Back to Mind 12. Flea |
— | 158 |
Mucho Punk
|
01. 초콜릿 트러플
02. Kiss Kiss Kiss 03. Love Again 04. 사랑끝에 05. Tell Yourself 06. Back in Time 07. Lazy Sunday Morning 08. Take a Walk 09. The Road 10. Spinning the World 11. 라푼젤 12. Wizard of OZ |
— | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | ||||
Remix albums
| Year | Information | Tracklist |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Zbam
|
01. Oh yes - drum non remix 02. Futuristic - house remix 03. come to me - mellotron remix 04. She loves you 05. Stepping out - step remix 06. You never know - soft remix 07. Snatcher 08. Coming at me to disco - rocking remix 09. After Love - female version 10. Skyscraper 11. come to me - mallotron remix (radio edit) |
| 2006 | Pinch Your Soul
|
01. Color your soul (pinch your remix)
02. Love mode feat. Tablo 03. Date line-날짜변경선 (bon voyage remix) 04. Fill this night (paradox remix) 05. Come alive (distort remix) 06. I'll give you everything (buoyant remix) feat. J & Bobby Kim 07. Speechless (vanilla soul remix) 08. Cry out loud (black sunshine remix) 09. Sweety (cosmo remix) 10. Chi Chi (original remix) 11. 이별 (2005 국악축전기념) |
| 2008 | Robotica Robotica Robotica is a robot combat show produced for the American television cable channel TLC, a subsidiary of the Discovery Channel. Three seasons of Robotica were produced. The shows first aired in April 2001, with the final season beginning in late 2002. Show hosts for the first season were Ahmet...
|
01. Freedom 02. Iconic Love 03. Robotica 04. You 05. Why 06. Beautiful Stranger 07. Love mode feat. VERBAL (m-flo) (hwa remix) 08. Prayers (Shinichi Osawa remix) / Shinichi Osawa (Mondo Grosso) 09. Our Lives (FPM Hyper Society mix) / Fantastic Plastic Machine 10. Fiesta (DAISHI DANCE remix) / DAISHI DANCE 11. Lover boy (As Pap As Pop mix) / Han from W 12. Next Love (DJ Kayip remix) / Kayip 13. Love mode feat. PE’Z & VERBAL (m-flo) (pzq mode) |
| 2009 | Mucho Mix
|
01. Love Again (RAM RIDER REMIX) 02. Kiss Kiss Kiss (Yasutaka Nakata (capsule) remix) 03. The Road (sugiurumn remix) 04. Spinning The World (Voice remix) 05. Back in Time (Cloud remix) 06. Tell Yourself (DAISHI DANCE Remix - English Version) 07. Affection (4Step 4Ward mix -HAN(W))) 08. Flea (Jojal Remix -Audition grandprix-) 09. Chocolate Truffle (Unplugged Ver.) 10. Lazy Sunday Morning feat. JOANNA |
Mucho Beat
|
01. 핑 02. lalala 03. 집착 04. Spinning the World / Voice remix 05. Tell Yourself / DAISHI DANCE Remix -ENGLISH Ver. 06. 초콜릿 트러플 / Unplugged ver. 07. Love Again / RAM RIDER REMIX 08. Kiss Kiss Kiss / Yasutaka Nakata (capsule) remix 09. 집착 / 4Step 4Ward mix - HAN (W) 10. Back in Time / Cloud Remix 11. Flea / Jojal Remix -Audition Grandprix- 12. The Road / sugiurumn remix |
|
EPs
- Instant Pig EP (2005)
- Beat in Love EP (2008)
- METROTROICS EP (2008)(with DJMAX Portable Clazziquai Edition)
Awards
| Years | Awards |
|---|---|
| 2005 |
|
| 2007 |
|