A short talk with Parannoul on soothing the sadness, dream interpretation, and music genres.
Diogo: In 2021, Parannoul released the critically-acclaimed album To See The Next Part Of The Dream and became the next Emo/Shoegaze sensation, in no small part thanks to the involvement of online communities. How did the transition from your debut to this album develop?
Parannoul: Honestly, when I was making the album, I had no idea what I was doing. I've mentioned it several times in other interviews, but I made an album after screwing up the Korean CSAT twice to soothe the sadness. The sound of the album has been in my mind for a long time (around 2018). The noisy combination of Shoegaze and Emo. The reason why the first album was Post-Rock was simply that I didn't like my voice. However, I always had the desire to sing, so after messing up the CSAT I thought, "Maybe the day I make music will end soon", so I sang the song I wanted to do so much. So, rather than "development", "change" would be a better expression. I think the first album is underrated, or even better than the second. Each one has a different charm.
Diogo: So now you're reaping the fruits of hard work, an increase in self-confidence, and a certain type of "freedom": one that grows out of braveness. "(...) so I sang the song I wanted to do so much": To See The Next Part Of The Dream could've ended up being your "swan song", but instead acquired the form of "salvation".
Parannoul: Yeah, right, I always had an ambition for music. I actually planned 7 albums with my imagination when I was seventeen (some being Shoegaze, Arcade Fire-like Indie Rock, Noise Rock, etc), and my final goal was to do a world tour. That sounds silly, you know. If you say that out loud, people will look at you weirdly. "Get a job, Parannoul." So, I only had to dream that in a dream... But now that album has saved me from returning to reality, right before I gave up. Or, postponed? Idk.
Diogo: What is this "dream" that you mention in the title of the album? And what does it mean "to see the next part of it"?
Parannoul: It's a line from a Japanese manga, Hoshikuzu Nina. In the work, there is a scene where a robot asks a question to a human. "Why do humans sleep?" "To see the next part of the dream." I don't know why, but I liked the line so much that I thought I should let people know somehow… So, I put it in as the title. If I were to interpret Dream as a thing that a person experiences while sleeping... I write a dream diary occasionally, and I always wake up at the climax. I often try to lie down again to see the next part whether the content is good or bad, but most of the time I fail to remember the rest. That could be what it means. If you interpret a dream as something greatly desired... Something tha we can't catch now is called a dream. But looking beyond that is even vainer, it literally sounds like a dream. To see the next part of the dream, you have to try hard in reality or get out of reality.
Diogo: There's a certain atmosphere in the instrumentality of To See The Next Part Of The Dream that reminds me of Midwest Emo bands trying to reach a dreamy, less down-to-earth sonority; one that floats around and suddenly burns with large flames. What are you trying to achieve here?
Parannoul: I just applied the elements of Noise Pop to this, which is my favorite genre. Since I like Midwest Emo bands, I tried to compose songs focusing on the Midwest Emo genre at first, but it naturally became Shoegaze because I couldn't play the guitar and couldn't make a genre-specific "Twinkle Guitar Technique". I didn't really try to achieve anything, but I wanted to put explosive drum sounds into the emotional melodies so that listeners could feel catharsis as if they were diving into a swimming pool filled with soda on a hot summer day.
Diogo: When I metaphorically state that your sonority "suddenly burns with large flames", I'm referring to the "wall-of-noise" you incorporate in your music.
Parannoul: Oh, I didn't catch that, sorry. I both like Noise Rock and Shoegaze, but I couldn't find much music that has both elements at once. Noise Rock has few melancholic melodies that I can enjoy without becoming boring; Shoegaze has a great atmosphere and melodies overall, but less clipping noise that hurts my ear. The best I could find was "光のカケラ" by Walrus... I always adored that album, and I wanted to make something like that someday. I wanted to make the listeners feel like they're standing in a hot summer haze, then suddenly recognizing that you're at the center of the beach. Coexistence of Warm and Cold / Refresh and Heavy feeling...
Diogo: A lot of niche bands from East Asia are starting to get some international notoriety, but what is it really like to be a Shoegaze/Emo artist in South Korea in 2021? Is there an exciting scene happening in your country? If so, what bands have we been sleeping on?
Parannoul: To be honest, in Korea, there were few noticeable changes before or after I became known abroad. Some people didn't like it as they couldn't hear the lyrics because of the unique noise of Shoegaze, and someone criticized it a lot for its "Self-deprecating Emo" lyrics. Still, I contacted various indie artists and bands that I had longed for before so I'm very glad. My favorite Korean albums of the year are… Asian Glow on the same label, Shoegaze bands Brokenteeth and TRPP, and Soumbalgang exhibiting explosive Post-Punk. Other amazing bands and artists are Meaningful Stone, Wapddi, and Drinking Boys and Girls Choir… There is nothing to say that it is a scene, but unlike before, there's an interesting phenomena taking place in which bands of various genres appear. Of course, there is little chance that the reason is me.
Diogo: This year was fantastic for Parannoul. Apart from the release of To See The Next Part Of The Dream, you've also collaborated with Asian Glow and Sonhos Tomam Conta in Downfall Of The Neon Youth. How did this happen?
Parannoul: We belong to the same label (Longinus Recordings). There was a split idea between Asian Glow and sonhos tomam conta, and Asian Glow asked me in May if I wanted to join. While I was experimenting with the genre and song structure, I accepted it without thinking deeply because I thought this would be a good opportunity. I guess that I was right. After that, we exchanged various opinions on Discord and changed the plans several times, and we released an album in October after many twists and turns. For example, the track "70 Seconds Before Sunrise" was actually "Insomnia"'s intro, and I tried to integrate the track "Into the Endless Night", which I made in early August, in the final track, but it didn't seem to fit the mood so I made a new one in a hurry. That's the track "Love Migraine". There was also a 2CD plan to be completely experimental, but it was canceled quickly (Parannoul proceeds to describe the CD's sonority as "10 minutes of Noise Rock combined with Boris and Boredoms"). To be honest, my songs are not that consistent in the album and stand out more than other tracks because of my ambiguous "experiment." In that regard, I'm not very satisfied with my results… "Colors" and "Love Migraine" have a lot of ambiguity and awkwardness in their composition, so it sounds a little unfinished to me.
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