Balming Tiger discuss the “phenomenon” of K-pop: “K-pop is just whatever the f— you want”

Alternative K-pop collective Balming Tiger have shared their thoughts on the current K-pop industry.

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Last week, Balming Tiger performed at SXSW’s Tiger Den event, where they spoke to Rolling Stone about what K-pop is in their view and their hopes for the future of Korean music.

“In our opinion, [K-pop] is not a genre because, in K-pop, there’s R&B, hip-hop and everything. So, you can’t really specify what genre it is. K-pop is more of a phenomenon,” said rapper Omega Sapien when asked to describe their “alternative” K-pop sound.

“So, K-pop is just whatever the f— you want, but we wanted to do even more whatever the f— we want, so we added ‘alternative’ in the front,” he explained.

Later, the collective shared their thoughts on rising girl group NewJeans, who they named as one of the biggest current musical trends from South Korea. “They include Korean subculture and traditional K-pop together. So, I have big respect for them. They have a bright future ahead,” shared Omega Sapien.

The rapper also praised the work of producer 250, who had worked on NewJeans’ December 2022 track ‘Ditto’, adding that both 250 and Balming Tiger are creating their own sound in K-pop.

“Five years ago, it was all about bringing influences from outside of Korea. So, we were absorbing American hip-hop and pop,” said Omega Sapien. “But now, with us and 250, we’re ready to do our own sh-t and provide our own sound. So, that’s the movement in Korean subculture.”

Earlier this year, Balming Tiger were named as one of the artists on NME 100 for 2023. “[Their music] much less polished than K-pop is typically considered, but gritty and gloriously fun,” wrote NME‘s Rhian Daly.

The post Balming Tiger discuss the “phenomenon” of K-pop: “K-pop is just whatever the f— you want” appeared first on NME.