''Swan Songs'' is the third studio-album by South Korean hip-hop trio

Epik High Epik High (Hangul: 에픽하이) is a South Korean hip hop trio formed in 2001, composed of Tablo, Mithra Jin, and DJ Tukutz. Primarily based in Seoul, the group signed with Woollim Entertainment and released their first two studio albums, ''M ...

, released on October 4, 2005. Featuring a variety and mix of hip hop, electronica, rock, and jazz, the album has been praised by music critics and the Korean mainstream public upon its debut. "Fly" and "Paris" were the lead hit singles spawned from the album, with "Fly" featured in the soundtrack of the 2006 video game

FIFA 07 ''FIFA 07'' (also known as ''FIFA Football 07'' and ''FIFA 07 Soccer'') is a football simulation video game developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts under the EA Sports label. It was the last game in the ''FIFA'' series to be relea ...

. Due to the numerous offers to remake "Fly" as well as "Paris", a CD sampler was released in Japan in 2007.

Background

After the Epik High's second abum ''

High Society High society, sometimes simply society, is the behavior and lifestyle of people with the highest levels of wealth and social status. It includes their related affiliations, social events and practices. Upscale social clubs were open to men based ...

'' (2004) and their appearances on Tablo's sitcom ''Nonstop 5'' and various entertainment programs, Epik High released ''Swan Songs on'' October 4, 2005. The record's concept consists of the theme of "Observation of Fall, Death, and Love", with various musicians such as

Clazziquai Clazziquai Project (Hangul: ), also known as Clazziquai, is a South Korean electropop band that combines several genres including electronic music, acid jazz and house. The band's first short unofficial albums were released online in 2001, spread ...

's Alex Chu,

Loveholics Loveholics (Hangul: 러브홀릭스; previously known as Loveholic (Hangul: 러브홀릭)) was a South Korean modern rock group founded in April 2002 who released their first album in 2003. The band successfully released six albums, including a s ...

's Jiseon,

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's Lee Hyun-do,

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's Kim Jong-wan being featured on the album. There were rumors of disbandment after the release of ''Swan Songs'', but later the group members stated that "there is no disbandment." On February 13, 2006, the repackage of the album, titled ''Black Swan Songs'', was released. It contained one new song "Photo Album" in addition to several remixes and accompaniments.

Reception

Commercially, ''Swan Songs'' sold over 80,000 copies within three weeks of its release and over 150,000 copies by 2007 according to Korean news sources. The lead single "Fly" topped various music program charts including on the newly established program ''

Show! Music Core ''Show! Music Core'' (), or simply ''Music Core'' is a South Korean music television program broadcast by MBC. It airs live every Saturday at 15:30 (KST). The show features some of the latest and most popular artists who perform live on stage. ...

'', in addition to topping real-time domestic charts. The follow-up song "Paris", featuring Jiseon, also topped the charts and led the group to receive the Best Hip-Hop award at the 2005

SBS Gayo Daejeon ''SBS Gayo Daejeon'' (, broadly ''SBS'' '' Battle of the Bands'') is an annual televised music festival that is broadcast by the Seoul Broadcasting System at the end of each year. The program first aired in 1997, and awards were given to musica ...

. At the 3rd

Korean Music Awards The Korean Music Awards () is an annual South Korean music awards show that honors both mainstream and underground musical artists from a variety of genres. Unlike other major South Korean music awards, which largely rely on record sales to det ...

, ''Swan Songs'' and "Fly" were nominated for Best Hip-Hop Album and Best Hip Hop song, respectively. In August 2006, "Fly" was recorded for

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the d ...

Korea's ''

'' OST for the first time.

Accolades

Track listing

# Innisfree (Intro) # Yesterday (featuring 고영준 of Brown Eyed Soul) # Lesson 3 (MC) # Fly (featuring Amin. J of Soulciety) # Funkdamental (featuring UnknownDJs) # 그녀는 몰라 (featuring MYK) # Ride (featuring L. Wan) # 이별, 만남... 그 중점에서 (featuring

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 ...

) # The Epikurean (Intermission) # Paris (featuring Jisun of

) # Let It Rain (featuring 김종완 of

) # 도시가 눈을 감지 않는 이유 (featuring 이정, Infinite Flow) # Follow the Flow (featuring MYK, D-Tox) # Swan Song (featuring TBNY) # Goodbye (Outro) # Bone Us: Elements (featuring DJ Wreckx and MYK)

References

External links

*
Epik High's Official Site
*
WOOLLIM Entertainment's Official Site
{{Authority control 2005 albums Epik High albums Woollim Entertainment albums