It does indeed.
So far, POPSEOUL! has presented you with two fairly similar groups, Loveholic and The Melody. Now it is time to mix it up a little by ditching the conventional band instruments and bringing in some electronica. May I introduce you to House Rulez? Not feeling so sure, don’t worry about it. Just relax and listen to this. This track is off their recent mini-album, “Pool Party.” Just a small taste, but definitely not the whole package. Read on~
House Rulez consists of three male members with an interesting responsibilities breakdown. As the leader, Suh-ro not only gets to stand in the middle of all the group shots, but he literally produces all the music. He also contributes male vocals when necessary, but most of the time, House Rulez features outside vocalists. Also, Suh-ro is who I personally deem the “Korean Kenny G of the electronic saxophone.” Now, here is where it gets interesting if you didn’t care for the sax, the other two members Paco and Young-hyo don’t sing and aren’t known for contributing anything musically. On stage, dread man Paco and Young-hyo only dance and get the crowd going. They are officially the choreographers of themselves. Although in addition to that, Paco is House Rulez’s stylist and Young-hyo is the party planner, which really goes to show you how self-sustaining they are.
Before you turn away though thinking this group has nothing to offer you, let me give you a little background to reinforce their credibility. Although House Rulez debuted in 2006, all three members have had at least ten years of experience in the field. Suh-ro has been producing music for other artists since 1997, such as Hwayobi, S.E.S, BoA, and many others. As a choreographer, Young-hyo has made up dance moves for stars like HOT, Seo Taiji, and Lee Jung-hyun. Not just specializing in choreography, Paco has worked for the likes of Lee Hyori, Wax, Se7en, and Afrika Bambaataa. Under very small label Aftermoon Music Entertainment (with only four other artists), House Rulez has still been able to gain adequate recognition. Their “Mojito” album won Best Dance & Electronic Album at the 2008 Korean Music Awards, which are the most legitimate form of music awards in the industry.
I can tell you right now, if you’re the sort that straight up just doesn’t like synthesized music, you should just skip this and hang on until the next spotlight. Depending on the particular song, House Rulez could fall in anywhere between dance, hip-hop, lounge, house, electronic pop, acid jazz, and even occasionally R&B. Possessing a consistent sound despite the genre experiments, every song sounds fresh as they are filled with a rich vibrancy. Some songs just make you want to get up and dance, and others will allow you to lay back but will nonetheless heighten your sensory awareness and urge the mind to embrace creativity. A lot of it has to do with Suh-ro’s use of EWI (electronic wind instrument), as well as his electronic saxophone, which invokes soulful syncopation throughout their music. On stage, Paco and Young-hyo really know what they’re doing, as they are truly responsible for keeping the audience engaged and hyped up.
If you just listen to their music on your headphones, you won’t get the full experience of House Rulez. Since two of House Rulez’s members only visibly dance, House Rulez primarily shine doing performances at club parties and events where you can see all the action going down. House Rulez just recently put out a mini-album, “Pool Party,” for which they will be going on a mini tour to promote. If you’re around in Korea, you might want to seize the opportunity to check them out live (click to enlarge).
So, let’s commence with few samples of their music…
“Do It!” is most likely their most popular song. It was featured in the game “Pump It Up!“, which is basically the Korean version of DDR, except with better songs and a dance pad that emulates closer to actual dancing. The MV is what I imagine to be what you see during an acid trip.
In collaboration with fellow Aftermoon artist Enne, “Espresso” is a part of their project album ”Tom n Tom Coffee Break.“
One of my personal favorites is “City Light N Seoul” off their “Hotel Plaza” mini-album because of the makeshift quality of the MV and the song just relaxes you~
House Rulez is just one of those acts that you just have to experience live to really appreciate. Check out their Summer Breeze Remix~
I’ve decided to forgo putting up any major music program performances because honestly, they don’t belong there. House Rulez are not exactly lookers and their dynamic does not fit those shows made for consumer appeal. ”Mojito” live with Han-eul.
Since WordPress only allows youtube and Google video embeds, you’re going to have to work with me and just click to view the video of Suh-ro at work.
Neat.
i love house rulez! great spotlight! *^^*
uuhmmaaziing!!
(:
They sound pretty good! Thanks for introducing them ^^
Didn’t know all that about House Rulez – very nice and informative write-up!
Ohh helikoppter, thanks for comment and stopping by~. Yeah, I used to just listen to them, but doing a spotlight on them also opened my eyes as well. =^.^=
I’m very glad that so far the feedback for House Rulez has been very positive.
Very good beats and great spotlight on House Rulez!
pretty legit, awesome
Wow! Thanks! I am blown and hooked~
A W E S O M E !
ooh i like espresso and do it. but can they do anything else except that feet thing?
that feet thing is called house dancing. the electronic music genre which also happens to be disco music’s heir apparent also has a corresponding dance style which consists of footwork, mid body movement and floor stunts. so technically we could see stuff that can be a little more similar to dances like b-boy or capoeira in house dancing, aside from the feet thing.
oh and observe the espresso video and notice the girls. they’re actually doing their own dance style by the name of vogue. the style incorporates a lot of elements, of dance and non-dance, like tutting (locking moves), voguing (movements and poses similar to models) and even gymnastics or martial arts and yoga.
Wow! This group is so different from the others! It should be more recognized than it is! It’s pretty cool! =))
Haha! Is it Suh-ro’s dog at the end of the naver video? He’s so talented! All of them are! =)) Pack Young-hyo are really good at dancing!
I have seen them twice in Korea. They’re energetic live because they play the sax/sing live.
House Rulez is freakin’ amazingggg!!! Should listen to Hourmelts too if you’re into smooth&upbeat Jazz ;].
This is nice.
A change from the catchy kpop stuff. ROFL.
<3
Very soothing ^.^
talent
fck yeah
house rulez <3
i really like house music but house dancing is difficult -___-
i could relate. keeping up with the rhythm of the music can be very hard, especially for me ’cause i tire out easily. the style can be almost continuous and practically flowing when danced correctly.
i’ve been looking for “do it” for such a long time!
thanks!!!
OMFG YESSSSSS!!!!
the center guy looks like G-DRAGON in that 2nd pic!
As soon as you said that Suh-ro was like the Korean Kenny G. of the e-sax, I was sold. Sax = ABSOLUTE LOVE.
now why aren’t we hearing more news like this?
truly a breath of fresh air (as far as kpop news is concerned). i wish someone would put up a site that would feature underrated groups or individual artists who make great music like this!
btw, popseoul should consider doing this at least weekly
Originally I wanted to provide you guys with more “indie” content more frequently, but it’s much more time consuming and harder than mainstream KPOP stuff since it’s not so off hand and because I have a life too. I will try to keep it at least every two weeks though. Be patient with me and I’m glad you’re enjoying these~ =^.^=
Thanks. Trully appreciate it. :]
vanilla unity’s a great band, too (under the alternative rock category)
would be nice to see them featured here
omg! i’ve been lookin for “Do It” for like a looong time after i heard it in 2007. But i never knew who sang the song…
Good band. Never seen anythign quite like it, very interesting. Oh, and I like the guys locs/dreads too. Well, atleast from far away.
They have good dance moves but they remind me of early techno songs from the 90’s. They have an old school soul to hip hop. I find them okay but the electronic music i listen to that is the best is from Germany.They got my ear though ^_^
is that ATB you’re talking about? or another electronic music genre?
fascinating background………..hope they do well…or they are hungry due to recession
Dude, these guys are awesome. Thanks for the post!
Great write-up – thanxs for the info …
whats the name of the track posted right above the second picture? i really like it!
i know it says its from the “pool party” album, but whats the name?
i listened to all the songs in that album but i dont think its any of those…