Dreamlike chords, and a luminous voice, Se So Neon transports you away in A Long Dream (2017). The indie-rock band producing a series of tracks that are like a siren’s call; leaving you happily enthralled or to be rocking out under the sea. The recognisable sound of frontwoman Soyoon transfixing the audience with her androgynous and rich undertone, and one that ushers forward with every note. The trio’s combined sound marking them as one of the best bands of the millennium, which is why it’s no surprise they won the ‘Rookie of the Year’ and ‘Best Rock Song of the Year’ (for The Wave) in 2018’s Korean Music Awards.
Not ones for half-measures the band debuted in 2017 with the single A Long Dream, the stunning vocals and cheerful tear-drop sound being well-matched by its music video. At nearly four and half-minutes, the sheer detailing and constant shift of its imagery is beyond powerful. Producing a stop-motion animation that through its layering of collages adds a depth to the 2D format, not to mention showcases a high degree of artistry.
In an animation that must have taken many a day, the director/animator Hoji Tsuchiya has produced an ever-changing landscape that transforms around our “dreamer”. The lyrics describing the change that overcomes someone as they fall in love, and how they would even change the world to be with that person. When there’s a line about shooting a movie with them, you realise the animation has that overall appeal, while its vibrant colours and collage material lend to the feeling of youth and of falling in love.
Around the halfway-marker the video becomes more artistic in description, the patterns appearing in time with the music – a harmonising of sorts, and personally this is one of the stronger moments of the video. But there are many lovely touches to fall in love with, in particular the silhouette of planes within the beacon of a lighthouse, or the ripples of reflection in a puddle of water, but it all goes by too quickly. There’s also a sense of nature and the urbanised world – overlapping, destroying, remaking, living together, and even merging into the shape of a bird. Make of it what you will.
Although A Long Dream is a love song (performed in a mix of Korean and English), the stop-motion animation is incredibly surreal, mesmerising even as you’re taken through a series of imaginative dreamscapes – whether they’re a nightmare or a dream that’s up to you to decide. For as the video becomes more abstract, and our “dreamer” is found to be asleep at home, and on the train, we’re reminded that this is after all a long dream.
However, Se So Neon haven’t had a dream ride of it themselves, with Soyoon being the only original member of the trio. This is due to Korea’s mandatory military service, with drummer Kangto and bassist Fancy Moon announcing their departure in 2018 to complete their service. In 2019, having been scouted by Soyoon, the group welcomed its newest members; U-Su as the drummer and Hyunjin performing the bass. Despite these changes the trio have remained true to the original trademark sound, and why wouldn’t you? Fusing soft-pop to indie beats that create a feel of flower-power 70’s rock, while still being modern to today, their full-debut album Nonadaption (2020) telling of their own distinctive and irresistible sound.
Other songs by Se So Neon we love:
- Nan Chun (2020 – single)
- Go Back (2019 – single & 2020 – Nonadaption)
- Winter (2020 – Nonadaption)
- New Youth (2017 – Summer Plumage [EP])
Other artists you might like:
- CAR, THE GARDEN
- Dasutt
- Inner Wave
