There’s definitely no hiding it that Korean music, or more specifically K-Pop has really taken the world by storm in recent decades. With PSY’s Gangnam Style acting as the catalyst, the Korean industry has really managed to capitalize on this popularity. Now you have groups that are honestly so popular like BTS, Blackpink and more recently LE SERRAFIRM and New Jeans.
But of course let’s not forget before K-Pop shot to stardom internationally, you still had standout groups like T-ARA, Wonder Girls and Girls Generation putting out bangers after bangers. These groups are still remembered quite fondly by older K-Pop fans, however a certain less popular group has faded a bit into non existence. Korea’s forgotten gem, Rollercoaster
If you’re not in the mood to read, you can check out a short video I did on them here!
Rollercoaster a three member group consisted of guitarist Lee Sang Soon, vocalist Joe Won Sun and bassist Choi Jin Woo AKA JINU. Entering the scene in 1999, the band was classified under the genre “Acid Jazz”.
I’m particularly bad with genres, I’m more of the type to listen and go “ooh this sounds good”. But after some research, Acid Jazz is essentially a hotpot mixture of other genres like funk, soul, hip hop and of course jazz. Think jazz if he had an edgy older cousin, that’s acid jazz.
Originating in clubs in London, it quickly spread to countries such as Japan and USA. Some bands that you may have heard of that rep this genre is Jamiroquai (you know, virtual insanity guy?) and Digable Planets, with the closest resembling to Rollercoaster, The Brand New Heavies.
Back in 1999, no notable bands or artiste really performed acid jazz so you could say Rollercoaster one the ones to kick things off. And they did it really well, despite having to produce their first album with rented equipment in their own home, their first album “Roller Coaster” performed fairly well.
In this album, the vocalist, Joe Won Sun’s talent was up for full display. Truly singing her heart out especially on tracks like Come Closer and Habbit (Bye Bye). The band didn’t shy away from different styles and emotion with the song Merry-go-round an upbeat sound totally contrasting Just one more night a more somber tune. Also this album packs probably one of my favourite MVs from them with Come Closer being a quirky and goofy slideshow looking MV.
Think back to MV’s like Orange Caramel Catallena or EXID’s Up and Down, fun MVs always a fun watch.
Also here’s the album on spotify!
In their second album “In Everyday Matters” is where I feel Rollercoaster really starts to strut their stuff. This album is possibly one of my favourites ever and its just that good I could not pick a single favourite and gave up and decided to pick two.
Firstly, Leave me alone. The bassline combined with that funky-ish guitar gives it a pretty cheerful vibe but it’s actually a pretty meaningful song, with a message of knowing that one is ordinary but at the same time being content with it, and hoping people will leave them alone;
I'm just an ordinary person
There's nothing I do particularly well
Cold glances from the corner of the eye
I can't breathe
I still don't know myself well
Don't scold me too much
I'm currently happy
I am satisfied with my current self, please
Leave me alone
The second song, Cheer Up Mr Kim, a very fun song, but plot twist, it’s about OLD OVERWORKED ASIAN OFFICE WORKERS. But a nice twist to it is that the song is about how they should not give up on their dreams! Pretty nice if you ask me.
Tell me your name Mr. Kim
이름을 말해봐요 미스터 김
Where is the life you dreamed of
당신이 꿈꾸던 삶은 어디에
What did you want to do?
하고 싶었던 일 뭔가요
It's still not too late
아직도 늦지 않았어
Do whatever you want, be cool.
당신이 바라는 대로 하세요 멋있게
Honorable mentions, Breezy and Crunch, two instrumental tracks but extremely fun to listen to and Love Virus also another banger. This album is so fun and enjoyable while maintaining that jazzy-ness they had in the first.
Here’s the album on spotify!
In their third album, Absolute, their standard does not dip at all. The intro song, also titled absolute is a short track with no lyrics but is just such an earworm. Starting off with a house-ish beat, then mixing jazz and funk sounds followed by the backing vocals, there’s no escaping from this catchy track.
The track Last Scene also seems to be a pretty big hit back in the day and rightfully so. Other songs like Butterfly, a song that deviates from their usual style, going down more of a jazz rap route. And Turn on the radio loudly a more traditional Rollercoaster track are also worthy of a mention.
The following albums, Sunsick (released 2004) and Triangle (released 2006) opted for a different style.
Sunsick was an album which adopted a sadder more melancholy take on acid jazz. Slower tracks like Sad & Happy Story and Don’t you know really personifies the sound on the album.
Triangle on the other hand is where Rollercoaster adds that experimental edge in their music, playing around with different genres. Take example the track I can’t hide it, with Lee Sang Soon being at the forefront of it with catchy electric guitar riffs, combine that with snappy drums and Joe Won Sun’s powerful choruses. You get a track resembling that more of a rock song compared to their usual jazz or funk sounds.
Overall it’s a really interesting album and having a larger variety of sounds in this album in particular makes it a very worthy listen.
Unfortunately after the release of Triangle, the band has went radio silent, presumably disbanded. Don’t be fooled by spotify as it shows an album under the title “Genetic Freak” that was released in 2012, but it was assigned wrongly and was actually made by a Chilean Rollercoaster (LOL).
Well although the band isn’t all that active, the members has went on to do some interesting stuff. JINU now goes by the alias HITCHIKER under SM entertainment, not only putting out music (pretty weird music I must admit) but also for big names like Red Velvet, F(x) and Girls Generation. He even played a part in writing the legendary Abracadabra by Brown Eyed Girls.
The guitarist Lee Sang Soon got extra lucky, marrying formed idol Lee Hyori. They then had their own TV show “Hyori’s Homestay” airing for two seasons being a pretty popular show.
Last but definitely not least, Joe Won Sun the vocalist actually released a heartfelt, gentle album “Swallow” in 2009. I highly suggest this album if you enjoy songs that you can just close your eyes and listen to.
However since this album she has not been very active, occasionally putting out singles for K-dramas or collaborating with other artistes. She recently had a feature on IU’s new album on the song Shh.. , once again displaying why she was so integral to Rollercoaster with that immense vocal prowess.
It definitely sucks knowing that Rollercoaster might never release anything in the future but that’s really just how it is with older bands. On the flip side their whole discography is there for you to jam to so maybe things aren’t all that dull.
With older bands like Rollercoaster, sometimes they are hidden in the archives of the internet and sometimes you have to dig through the net to really find them. But that’s the fun part of discovering new music, you can randomly shazam a song you heard in a random coffee shop and that band can be your favourite for the next decade or so. I was extremely fortunate to come across Rollercoaster and even though they’ve probably disbanded, discovering them was one hell of a ride and I don’t think I’m getting down from it anytime soon.