Listening to OHELEN‘s Show window project and realizing that it was a live performance afterwards is crazy. I’m not really sure how to define the album. It definitely includes performance art as a genre while also adding in alternative rock, jazz, funk, experimental, psychedelic, rock, and R&B. It’s dense. And at 41 minutes, you are brought into a world defined by OHELEN.
As a multi-faceted artist, OHELEN builds structures. And Show window project is a structure made in music. Also, the album is from a 2023 performance, but it is a timeless performance. Because it’s not grasping to align itself with any specific genre or trend, OHELEN freely moves across genres, weaving narratives through vocals, instrumentation, and percussion.
And while there are nine songs, I think the release is more of a conversation for a listener. Each song pulls you into the Show window project organically, and you become an active listener. The songs mix and mold melodies. “Desert” is my favorite song, with its strange introduction that opens into a psychedelic lake. It’s mellow on the surface with underlying tension.
In ways, OHELEN’s composition style is like a relative of the current Korean traditional music hybridization. There are a lot artists using traditional methodologies and instruments to create new music. OHELEN uses contemporary genres, but she’s not following discrete rules. It’s more like taking elements where they matter to build a song. “Second daughter” is a great example of this.
If there was an easy entry point, it comes late with “빚.” It presents the easiest entry point with a funk and indie rock composition. But the closer, “Farther,” might be the album highlight. It has a forward attitude that fights towards the finish instead of something mellow to end the album peacefully.
Show window project isn’t a standard album. Each part contributes to the total sum that makes up this release. OHELEN is a unique voice in the composition. It’s familiar, different, and addictive.
Instagram | YouTube | Bandcamp | Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube Music
Written by Chris P for Korean Indie.