Clazziquai Project (
Hangul
The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The let ...
: ), also known as Clazziquai, is a South Korean
electropop
Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a re ...
band that combines several genres including
electronic music
Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...
,
acid jazz and
house
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
. The band's first short unofficial albums were released online in 2001, spreading its music through words of "
netizen
The term netizen is a portmanteau of the English words ''internet'' and '' citizen'', as in a "citizen of the net" or "net citizen". It describes a person actively involved in online communities or the Internet in general. s," who positively received the band'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 shows, commercials, and films.
[Tak, Jin-hyun]
Clazziquai, a new Hallyu Star
"Sportainment", March 4, 2006.
Clazziquai is known for their songs, "Be My Love" and "She Is", which were featured on the
Korean drama
Korean dramas (; RR: ''Han-guk deurama''), more popularly known as K-dramas, are television series in the Korean language, made in South Korea.
They are popular worldwide, especially in Asia, partially due to the spread of Korean popular cultu ...
''
My Lovely Samsoon
''My Lovely Sam Soon'' (, lit. ''My Name Is Kim Sam-soon'') is a South Korean television series based on the internet novel of the same title by Ji Soo-hyun, which was published on March 9, 2004. Touted as the Korean version of '' Bridget Jones's ...
'', with the former becoming the show's theme song. The band won an award at the MNET KM Music Video Festival for "Best Soundtrack", and has also been the most nominated band 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
is a Japanese hip hop group consisting of record producer DJ Taku Takahashi, Verbal and Lisa.
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 fo ...
.
History
2001: Formation
DJ Clazzi
DJ Clazzi (born Kim Sung-hoon; 15 November 1974), better known simply by his stage name Clazzi, is a South Korean composer, singer, lyricist, record producer and DJ. He is the leader of the South Korean electropop band Clazziquai, that was form ...
, described as "a magician at synthesizing different sounds in music into creating one unique
icnew genre". graduated from
Capilano College
Capilano University (CapU) is a teaching-focused public university based in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, located on the slopes of the North Shore Mountains, with programming that also serves the Sea-to-Sky Corridor and the Sunshin ...
, and continued his study at Centre for Digital Imaging and Sound (CDIS). After his graduation, he worked as a web designer, uploading his music online during his leisure time. DJ Clazzi's music became popular on Korean social media, with the experimental nature of his music being well received by Korean netizens, which is the reason why Clazziquai was initially labeled a "project group".
Korean-Canadian
Korean Canadians (french: Coréo-Canadiens) are Canadian citizens of full or partial Korean ancestry, as well with immigrants from North and South Korea. As of 2016, Korean Canadians are the 8th largest group of Asian Canadians.
Korean immigrat ...
siblings
Alex
Alex is a given name. It can refer to a shortened version of Alexander, Alexandra, Alexis.
People
Multiple
*Alex Brown (disambiguation), multiple people
* Alex Gordon (disambiguation), multiple people
*Alex Harris (disambiguation), multiple pe ...
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''.
Christina Chu left the official line up and
Horan stepped in to fill her spot. Chu occasionally contributes her vocals to the band, although she is often an uncredited guest artist.
2004–2006: ''Instant Pig'' and ''Color Your Soul''
Clazziquai released their first studio album, ''Instant Pig'', in May 2004. The album received critical acclaim, which led to more than five songs from the album being used in six television commercials. The remixed English version of the song, "Come To Me", in its remix album ''Zbam'' was released in November 2004, and was later used as a song in a television commercial featuring
David Beckham
David Robert Joseph Beckham (; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the current president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Known for his range of passing, crossing ability and bending fr ...
.
Fantastic Plastic Machine praised Clazziquai as a new band to lead the "
Hallyu".
In 2005, Clazziquai's "Be My Love" and "She Is", were featured in the South Korean hit television drama, ''
My Lovely Samsoon
''My Lovely Sam Soon'' (, lit. ''My Name Is Kim Sam-soon'') is a South Korean television series based on the internet novel of the same title by Ji Soo-hyun, which was published on March 9, 2004. Touted as the Korean version of '' Bridget Jones's ...
''. 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 September 2005, Clazziquai released their second album, ''Color Your Soul'' claiming it had a "raw, funkier feel presenting a combination of electronic music and
nemphasized acoustic genre". A remix album entitled ''Pinch Your Soul'' was released early the following year.
2007–2009: ''Love Child of the Century'' and ''Mucho Punk''
In June 2007, Clazziquai's third album, ''Love Child of the Century'', was released. 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.
In 2008, a video game for the
PlayStation Portable
The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, ...
featuring many Clazziquai songs titled ''
DJ Max Portable Clazziquai Edition
''DJMax Portable Clazziquai Edition'' (''DJMAX Portable Clazziquai Edition'', ''DMP:CE''; Korean: 디제이맥스 포터블 클래지콰이 에디션) is a music video game published and developed by Pentavision in South Korea for the PlayStati ...
'' was released. These songs were later released as part of the special album ''
Metrotronics
Metrotronics is a 2008 EP from the South Korean group Clazziquai. Clazziquai teamed up with Pentavision for their Metro Project that soon packaged the minor release of DJ MAX series after DJ MAX Portable 2 named as DJ MAX Portable Clazziquai Ed ...
''.
In July 2009, Clazziquai released their fourth album, ''Mucho Punk'', featuring the single "Wizard of OZ" which had been featured in an
LG commercial that year. In concordance to ''Mucho Punk'', Clazziquai released Japanese album, ''Mucho Musica'', and later released a remix album, ''Mucho Mix''. The remix version of the original album was released in South Korea later in the year as ''Mucho Beat''.
2012–2018: ''Blessed'', ''Blink'' and ''Travellers''
In December 2012, Clazziquai released the single, "Can't Go On My Own", as part of the ''
Can We Get Married?
''Can We Get Married?'' () is a 2012 South Korean television series starring Sung Joon, Jung So-min, Lee Mi-sook, Han Groo, and Kim Young-kwang. It aired on JTBC from October 29, 2012 to January 1, 2013 on Mondays and Tuesdays at 23:00 ( KST) tim ...
'' OST. In February 2013, the band released their fifth album, ''Blessed'', making it into the top ten of
Gaon's weekly album chart. They later held three 'Be Blessed' concerts throughout May and June.
In September 2014, Clazziquai released their sixth album, ''Blink''. They held a concert shortly after the release to celebrate their tenth anniversary as a band. In mid 2015, they held a concert at the Understage in Seoul.
In September 2016, Clazziquai released their seventh album, ''Travellers''. After the album's release the band held a concert at the Blue Square in Seoul.
2019-present: Recent activities
On September 10, 2019, the band released a brand new single, called ''What If'' featuring Kim Soo-young. In the accompanying press release, it was mentioned that Clazziquai will continue the collaboration project with various singers starting with the respective single.
Members
*
DJ Clazzi
DJ Clazzi (born Kim Sung-hoon; 15 November 1974), better known simply by his stage name Clazzi, is a South Korean composer, singer, lyricist, record producer and DJ. He is the leader of the South Korean electropop band Clazziquai, that was form ...
(DJ 클래지) — Leader, composition, production, vocals
*
Alex
Alex is a given name. It can refer to a shortened version of Alexander, Alexandra, Alexis.
People
Multiple
*Alex Brown (disambiguation), multiple people
* Alex Gordon (disambiguation), multiple people
*Alex Harris (disambiguation), multiple pe ...
(알렉스) — Vocals
*
Horan (호란) — Vocals
Discography
Studio albums
Remix albums
Special albums
Singles
Soundtrack appearances
Awards and nominations
Mnet Asian Music Awards
The MAMA Awards (formerly Mnet Asian Music Awards) is a major music awards ceremony presented annually by entertainment company CJ E&M. First held in South Korea, the majority of prizes has been won by K-pop artists, although there are other As ...
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
South Korean electronic music groups
South Korean co-ed groups
Acid jazz ensembles
House music groups
Musical groups established in 2001
Avex Group artists
Universal Music Japan artists
MAMA Award winners
Korean Music Award winners