We’re back with a new Ode To The Artist, this time we’re writing about Kang Taegu.
Kang Taegu is a Korean folk artist who’s been active in the industry since 2011. At first he worked together with singer-songwriter Arles, but eventually they both went solo. Unfortunately I couldn’t really find their album ‘[s]’ anywhere. Since then, he writes and composes his own music.
His music reminds me a lot of my thorough indie folk obsession when I was a teenager. I used to be obsessed with Iron & Wine, Bon Iver, Keaton Henson and the likes. There’s something undeniably soothing that I find in this genre. So it’s no wonder I found something similar in the Korean music scene. If you had a very intense day, whether it’s from work or because your brain can’t stop, let Kang Taegu’s music soothe you.
The music
The earliest release I could find is the song ‘Sounds from Wood’ which Kang Taegu also put on his EP ‘bleu’. ‘Sounds from Wood’ is so calming and wholesome to listen to. Check out the live performance down below.
Just take a look at some of the lyrics. It’s very much beauty in its simplicity. It kind of reminds me of a song you would sing around a campfire.
The sound of the trees blowing in the wind
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I dreamed a dream of going into the forest
Ah, the wind blows
in the place I was, that shook my body
The blowing wind, wind
The next song I want to share with you is ‘Passenger’.
The lyrics are poetic and the repetition at the end where he sings ‘There will be a sea’ over and over is beautiful.
Someday when I wake up
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from this long, long dream
at the end of this road will be a sea
that had searched everywhere for me
…
It’s not something anyone can tell me about
I have to discover it for myself
When I leave, I hope that one day
we will be able to meet again
In 2018, with the release of his album ‘bleu’ he won three major awards at the Korean Music Awards. He won Best Album of the Year, Best Folk song for ‘bleu’ and Best Folk Album. The judges had taste y’all.
Here’s the song ‘Bleu’.
Please go check out the lyrics, because wow.
The last song I want to share with you is ‘Flow’ which is his latest release. Tip from the writer, turn on the captions.
I hope that he releases a lot more music, because his voice makes me so calm. Also I’m always up for a good folk song.
You can find his Instagram here and his Spotify profile here. Happy Listening!
