[TRANS] Seung Yoon on Bromide Mag’s September 2013 Issue

A boy who knocked on the door of an audition program with nothing but his guitar. A boy whose unique voice and personality helped him rank 4^th place, got his potential recognized and received an offer from YG Entertainment. And now this boy is a 20-year old man. As he expressed all the skills he had been polishing up meanwhile, he set his foot on the Korean music scene. The name of that boy who turned into a man at some point is Kang Seung Yoon.

Kang Seung Yoon [‘s style] meets YG [‘s style]. What kind of music would he display? The public was curious. “It’s Raining” is the first song Kang Seung Yoon and YG presented to the public. It’s a rock ballad with sad lyrics. In this song with lyrics talking about missing the lover you broke up with on a rainy day, Kang Seung Yoon conveyed the emotion of the sad melody and lyrics through a calm and slow tempo. Although the release of his debut single was sudden, he created a blast by ranking number 1 in charts. He got the green light for more happiness to come. Kang Seung Yoon was sure of his destiny since the beginning. He took on a second challenge with “Wild and Young” that felt the opposite of “It’s Raining” which occupied the charts, thanks to his mature and controlled singing.

In one word, “Wild and Young” is a song “full of Kang Seung Yoon”. While showing teenage boy Kang Seung Yoon, it preserved the image of the tough rocker. His singing is magnified as if blasting like an explosion, piercing through the song while keeping intact this “raw” feeling. As the guitar, bass and drum players naively run without any technique, Kang Seung Yoon’s rough color voice burst through. Even when you listen to the song, it brings to life this image of Kang Seung Yoon singing as if he shouts his passion on stage. The lyrics go “After my wandering and searching soul met you”, “Even if the strong rain and wind blow, I won’t break”, “I love you to death”, “I love you dangerously”… After the audition program, he joined YG Entertainment and trained for two years, the current situation of Kang Seung Yoon who was craving for his debut is intertwined with the memory we have of Kang Seung Yoon who fell in love with music. “Wild and Young” was written, composed and arranged by Teddy, YG’s main producer, but is different from his previous work because it’s a solid rock song. However, the perfect combination between Teddy and Kang Seung Yoon was enough to dispel any kind of worry.

The music video is also filled with interesting things here and there. With settings such as pasture in Daekwanryoung, Gangwon-do, a beach of the city of Donghae, he gave the impression of going on vacations with his friends. In the scenes where he sings in a studio with a band, he showed explosive gestures while giving the feeling that the talent he didn’t show during these past three years erupted all at once. Kang Seung Yoon whose face had been rarely seen on a screen for a long time turned out to be even more of a “hoon-nam” [t/n: nice, hard-working and warm guy], he showed the passion of a rocker in harmony with a live band on a stage in front of people lining up. The music video also shows his charm as it displays various images of him being cheerful and having fun either while playing in an outdoor pool, standing by a camp fire or playing the guitar all by himself in a vast field.

Meanwhile, it is planned for Kang Seung Yoon to release his first mini-album at the beginning of September while he’ll be busy filming survival program “WIN” to determine YG’s next boy group, seven years after BIGBANG.

Scans: @yg_yoplait
Translation: onesunnylady at thesunnytown.com