Im Se Jun released his new EP ‘Purple’ today and let’s dive right in! He is listed as a co-writer for all of the tracks and the incredible singer/producer JUNGKEY worked on the album as well.
Purple
We start off with the track ‘Till we are alone’. The soft guitar riff mixed with Im Se Jun’s vocals is absolutely lovely. This track is about longing and wishing you could walk with someone by your side. It’s a rather sweet sentiment but it’s also rather sad at the same time. It took me quite by surprise but there’s an organ in the instrumentation! It adds so much to the depth of the instrumentals.
Next up is the title track ‘The Loved we had’. In the album introduction Im Se Jun writes about going through old photographs and feeling a deep sense of nostalgia. That perfectly correlates to the music video with its imagery steeped in sepia tones. Funny thing is that you can clearly hear the violin, but in the music video there’s no violinist to be seen in the band. I’m rather in love with the ebb and flow of the track. The electric guitar is fabulous and Im Se Jun’s vocals are out of this world.
We’re on the third track with ‘purple land’. It kind of sounds like the violinist is plucking the violin strings which adds a really cool effect. The scale of this track in comparison to the previous ones feels a bit more small scale, like a little bird in the palm of your hand. That little outro is utterly lovely and gives it that wholesome feeling.
‘if only’ follows that with a more piano focus. The entire track feels rather regretful in some ways. I really enjoy the way Im Se Jun flows between his head and his chest voice. It feels effortless.
The last track of this EP is ‘I’m Fine’ and this feels like a classic ballad where everything just seems to blend so well together and the emotion is on the forefront. It’s brilliant.
I couldn’t find ‘Purple’ by Im Se Jun on Spotify yet, however here’s his Artist Profile so keep an eye out. I did find the EP on YouTube Music here.
