Gloomy 🙃

oh! Sorry it took me so long to respond to this. I was in an ADHD rabbit hole.

I'm not going to claim that K-pop is for everyone 100%, a lot of people have issues with the way the industry functions or the general hyper-clean pop sound that most people associate with it. But I do so love a challenge and this seems like a fun one. :)

I'm not familiar with Toby Fox but upon a quick search and listen I do know Megalovania so that gives me some information. Not familiar with TWRP either but their music seems great from the couple of songs I just listened to. Sort of a retro maybe a bit 80s vibe.

TOP & Gorillaz I am very familiar with as I love their music a lot myself!

For your recommendations, I'm being more generous than the 1-5 tracks rule since you're a hard sell. If it's the last time you're giving k-pop a chance I'm making the most of it!

First up, retro-inspired tracks;

• 숙녀 (淑女) - Yubin
  Yubin is formerly from the girl group Wonder Girls, and now is a soloist with a few retro-feel songs. This one is the most pointed lean into a retro vibe, but Thank U Soooo Much also leans into it a bit with less of the compressed sound.

• Retro Love - Nam Donghyun
  A lesser known artist and song that I just so happen to love! Nam Donghyun (formerly known as BOYHOOD) is an indie idol and produces his own stuff.

• Bound - KEY
  KEY is one of my personal favorite solo artists. He comes from a boy group called SHINee that is famous for some of the most egregiously "K-POP" sounding k-pop tracks, the ones the genre as a whole gets a bad name because of. Repetitive lyrics, noisy for no reason productions, and egregious autotune. (Like Ring Ding Dong). This is not all they do, but it is what people outside of the K-pop sphere know them for. KEY as a soloist is much more focused and has created a place for himself in the retro-revival sphere. I chose Bound because I think it's a better song, personally, but the title track from the previous album would also fit and has a video if you enjoy music videos: BAD LOVE

• 오늘 조금 취해서 그래 (Abittipsy) - YOUHA
  YOUHA is a singer-songwriter that has made many very lovely retro tracks, as well as some pretty EDM tracks. Her voice is very pretty while still being unique.

Next up, some interesting picks that I think might suit a TOP/Gorillaz fan;

• BYE BYE BYE - Zior Park ft. Sion

• cutlery collector - Sion
  Zior Park and Sion both just speak to me as artists that really capture the sort of wacky but dark vibes that I also get from TOP and Gorillaz. These might be stretch picks but I think they also might be dead on. It's hard to say because they aren't for everyone.

• SEXY NUKIM - Balming Tiger (ft RM of BTS)
  Balming Tiger is also up there in the sort of wacky and dark realm, but in a more silly way usually. Their song buriburi is a good example of that. But SEXY NUKIM is a little bit more of a vibey track that I really enjoy, personally.

• Interlude:Shadow - BTS (Suga solo)
  This song is from BTS' album "Map of the Soul: 7" which incorporates concepts from psychiatrist Carl Jung's Map of the Soul. This track in particular talks about the theory of the Shadow Self and how that interplays with BTS' fame and personality. It is a bit of a darker track that I think most anyone who listens to TOP can appreciate even on just a surface level.

• Animal Farm - BIBI
  This one is a literal shot in the dark. I just think that BIBI has some very great songs. Animal Farm in particular is an interesting one about the hypocrisy of society and of the music industry in specific, which is something that TOP talks about quite a bit also. Sonically it's not there based on your favs but content wise it may be.

Let me know how I did! I'm very curious if I'll be able to stay your hand for a bit longer on that mute.

|💜Ask game - send me an ask with your favorite musical artist or song and I will give you k-pop songs I think you will like💜|