50 Most Influential K-Pop Artists: 29. 015B

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[Series Index]

29.  015B [공일오비]

Also known as:  空一烏飛 ("A single crow flies in the sky.")

Years of Activity:  1990-present? (last regular album in 2006)

Members:

Regular members
Jang Ho-Il [장호일] - Guitar
Jeong Seok-Won [정석원] - Keyboard

Temporary members
Jo Hyeon-Chan [조현찬] - Drum
Jo Hyeong-Gon [조형곤] - Bass

Discography:

Gong'ilohbi [공일오비] (1990)
Second Episode (1991)
The Third Wave (1992)
The Fourth Movement (1993)
Big 5 (1994)
The Sixth Sense (1996)
Lucky 7 (2006)

Representative Song:  21th Century Monolith [21세기 모노리스] from The Sixth Sense

21세기 모노리스
21st Century Monolith

[narration]

MX-1:  여기는 MX-1, 지구 헤드쿼터 응답하라 오버
MX-1:  This is MX-1, Earth headquarter respond, over
HQ:  여기는 헤드쿼터, 지금 상황이 좋지않다. 5번에 교신대기, 스탠바이 오버
HQ:  This is headquarter, situation is bad right now. Comm link ready on 5, standby, over

[song]

벤치위의 노신사 아무말없이
The old gentleman on the bench, without a word
담배에 불을 붙이고는 지친몸을 쉬네요
Lights his cigarette and rests his weary body
시들어진 꽃들을 어루만지며
While tending the wilted flowers
세상을 이긴 승리자에 탄식을 하고
Laments at the victor who won the world
흐릿해진 하늘을 보며
Looking at the overcast sky
어린 시절 꿈들은 한숨이 되가고
The childhood dreams turn into a sigh and
끝도 없이 이어만지는 폭풍우의 계절은
The season of storms that continue without end
눈물을 뿌리네
Sheds its tears

[narration]

MX-1:  여기는 MX-1 지구 응답하라 오버 여기는 MX-1 지구 응답하라 오버
MX-1:  This is MX-1, Earth, respond, over. This is MX-1, Earth, respond, over
HQ:  여기는 헤드쿼터. 스탠바이 오버
HQ:  This is headquarter. Standby, over
MX-1:  무슨 일인가? 상황을 알려달라 오버
MX-1:  What's going on? Inform situation, over
HQ:  지금 비상전시체제로 돌입했다. 별도의 지시가 있을 때까지 스탠바이 오버
HQ:  We are now in emergency wartime response. Standby until further instruction, over

[song]

역사라고 불렀죠 파괴를 믿고
We called it history. We believed in destruction
화폐를 믿고 과학이란 종교를 믿었는데
We believed in currency and in the religion called science
누구를 탓할까요 버려진 낙원
Who are we to blame? The deserted paradise
신은 더 이상 기다리지 않는답니다.
God no longer waits for us
위대했던 인류의 꿈은
The once grand dream of the mankind
자신의 관을 직접 만들어만 갔고
Only continued to make its own coffin and
끝도 없이 올려간 탑은
The tower that was risen endlessly
예정된 싸움속에 무너져 버리죠
Falls in the predestined fights

[narration]

MX-1:  여기는 MX-1, 수신재개 요망 오버. 헤드쿼터 응답하라 오버
MX-1:  This is MX-1, request reopening communication, over. Headquarter respond, over
HQ:  여기는 헤드쿼터, 상황이 좋지 않고있다. 별도의 지시가 있을 때까지 스탠바이 오버
HQ:  This is headquarter, the situation is getting bad. Standby until further instruction, over
MX-1:  여기는 MX-1 헤드쿼터 응답하라 오늘이 내 딸 생일이다 가족들과 교신할 수 있나 오버
MX-1:  This is MX-1, headquarter respond, today is my daughter's birthday, can I communicate with my family, over
HQ:  (Static)
MX-1:  여기는 MX-1 헤드쿼터 응답하라 가족들과 교신하고싶다 오버
MX-1:  This is MX-1, headquarter respond. I want to communicate with my family, over
HQ:  (Static)
MX-1:  헤드쿼터 내 목소리가 들리면 딸에게 전해다오, 아빠가 생일 축하한다고, 응답하라 오버
MX-1:  Headquarter, if you can hear me tell my daughter daddy said happy birthday, respond, over
HQ:  여기는 헤드쿼터 -- 작동모드를 수동으로 전환하기 바란다 여기선 더이상 통제할 수 없다 오--
HQ:  This is headquarter -- change operation mode to manual, we cannot control from here any more, ov--
MX-1:  헤드쿼터, 무슨일인가! 상황을 알고싶다. 무슨일인가? 응답하라 오버!
MX-1:  Headquarter, what's going on? Inform situation. What's going on? Respond, over!
HQ:  (Static)
MX-1:  여기는 MX-1, 헤드쿼터 응답하라. 무슨일인가?
MX-1:  This is MX-1, headquarter, respond. What's going on?
HQ:  (Static)
MX-1:  헤드쿼터!
MX-1:  Headquarter!
HQ:  적군이다, 적군이다... 오오 신이시여 우릴 용서하소서
HQ:  The enemy, the enemy is here... oh God forgive us

Song note:  21th Century Monolith is about a spaceship (which looks like a train in the music video) that is returning to Earth seven years after it left, only to be greeted by a nuclear war.

In 15 words or less:  Bridge between ballad and modern rock; pioneer of long-form music video.

Maybe they should be ranked higher because...  Their fifth and sixth albums did not receive their proper due as groundbreaking works.

Maybe they should be ranked lower because...  Did they leave any enduring classics like the way Lee Mun-Se, for example, did?

Why is this band important?
In the K-pop scene of the 1990s, "ballad" was the king. These sappy soft rocks with a clear rise-climax-denouement structure (think My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion) was a natural outgrowth of the folk rock neutered of its political message. When 015B debuted, there was no reason to believe that it would be anything other than another ballad group with catchy lyrics. But a closer observer of 015B would have known that the band began with a significant potential, and the band gradually began living up to its potential, album by album. It distinguished itself by adopting genres that were lesser known in Korea at the time. It did not seek popularity, or at least the kind of popularity that involves numerous television appearances to which teenage girls scream. 015B, notably, did not have a main vocal -- for most of its songs, the band casted other singers to sing them. Luminaries of K-pop like Shin Hae-Chul, Yoo Hee-Yeol and Yoon Jong-Shin regularly participated in 015B albums as featured artists.

015B's fifth and sixth albums were the culmination of its talent. The fifth album's title was The Short Hair [단발머리], a modern remake of a hit song by the immortal Jo Yong-Pil. This set off a wave of remake albums, pushing the K-pop world to have a popular retrospective that it never truly had (with Kim Gwang-Seok being a notable exception.) Their sixth album pushed the musical boundaries farther, moving toward modern rock that did not as yet exist. The song 21st Century Monolith from the sixth album made history, as the first Korean pop song to have a music video that cost more than KRW 100 million (around $100,000.) It began a trend of well-produced, movie-like music videos in K-pop.

Interesting trivia 1:  Jeong Seok-Won was the keyboardist for the band Infinite Orbit [무한궤도] with Shin Hae-Chul, another artist who would go on to become a legend in his own right.

Interesting trivia 2:  Jeong and Jang are actually brothers. Jang Ho-Il's real name is Jeong Ki-Won.

Interesting trivia 3:  015B underwent a decade-long hiatus because of Jeong's military service.

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