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www.groovekorea.com / September 2014 74 Edited by Emilee Jennings (emilee@groovekorea.com) MuSIC & ARTS ROCK N ROLL SEOuL Column by Sophie Boladeras / Photos courtesy of HarryBigButton H a r r y B i g B u t t o n B r e a k i n g B o u n d a r i e s , o n e s o n g a t a t i m e HarryBigButton is: Sungsoo Lee lead vocals and guitar Neil Smith bass Dae-Hui Kang drums A fter forming in 2011, HarryBigButton has undergone one of the most common rites of passage for any hard rock band hoping to endure the test of time (at least in Ko- rea): a lineup change or two. The current members, however, form a solid and charismatic three- piece that has consistently delivered crowd-pleasing rock jams while still evolving with each record. Before their first EP, “Hard’N’Loud,” the most funda- mental elements of the band’s sound were already in place, and staying true to their roots has been a natural part of this progression. The band members recently sat down with Groove Korea to reflect on their own evolution, as well as how Korea’s hard rock scene has changed since the ‘90s. Groove Korea: Tell us about your latest EP, “Per- fect Storm.” Sung-soo Lee: “Perfect Storm” contains five new songs recorded at Mplus Studio with Hyung-seok Oh and mastered at Sterling Sound in New York by multi-award-nominated mastering engineer Joe La- Porta, who previously mastered “Wasting Light” by Foo Fighters and many other great albums. What inspired the cover art, and who designed it? Lee: I usually design it myself, but this time I wanted something special, so I contacted my friend who did the cover art for my old band sPoON in the ‘90s. I asked her to draw the main elements extracted from each lyric and to put them together as one object. It turned out really well. How does “Perfect Storm” differ from your full- length album “King’s Life”? Lee: “Perfect Storm” is an extension of the “King’s Life” album, but it has evolved in many aspects such as sound-making and arrangements. What are some of the challenges you have faced as a rock band in Korea? Lee: The rock music scene in Korea isn’t big like K-pop is; actually, it only takes up a very tiny portion of the entire music scene. For this reason, it’s hard to meet a wide range of audiences in Korea. I’ve been trying to focus on writing good music in order to break genre barriers. Let’s see what we can do. You played live at the Soundholic Festival. How did you fnd that show? The crowd’s response to your set was huge! Lee: It was absolutely great for us to watch people making a big circle pit and slamming zone during our show. The Soundholic Festival was really enjoyable! Do you each have a personal favorite song to play? Lee: It’s hard to choose only one, as I enjoy every single song. “Coffee, Cigarettes and Rock’N’Roll” and “King’s Life” both make my blood boil. Neil Smith: I really enjoy playing “Circle Pit,” especially at big shows, because our fans run around in a big circle in the middle of the audience and go crazy. Dae-Hui Kang: My favorite song to play is “Perfect Storm.”