K-Pop Album Double-Take: HIGH4 Takes The Beat Places On Their Rhythmically Innovative Debut EP 'HI HIGH' [AUDIO]

K-Pop Double-Take is a periodic review column highlighting recent releases that we feel deserve a second look.

HIGH4 is one of the newer chart-topping K-Pop bands in South Korea, courtesy of N.A.P Entertainment. It features vocalists Kim Sung Gu and Baek Myeong Han and rappers Im Yeong Jun and Alex.

Since debuting in April 2014, the band has released a string of successful singles including "Not Spring, Love, or Cherry Blossom," featuring IU and "A Little Close," featuring Lim Kim. The group dropped its first mini album "HI HIGH" in late August.

"HI HIGH" is more than just your typical string of catchy vocal hooks. It's oriented around hip-hop, pop and R&B based grooves with sophisticated and complex time feels. This rhythmic exploration sets it apart from other K-Pop records.

Take for example, "A Little Close." The otherwise innocuous R&B-inspired track is supported by an off-kilter groove that straddles the line between pop and cutting edge hip-hop--think J Dilla or Questlove.

The way the drummer's eighth note feel rubs with the eighth notes played on the Rhodes keyboard creates a kind of compelling tension uncommon in pop music.

"Headache" is another track that uses ingenious techniques to complicate the time feel.

What makes the song undeniably danceable isn't its four to the floor kick drum, but the way the instrumental arrangement builds a multi-dimensional, dynamic groove around the basic beat.

When arranging Michael Jackson songs, Quincy Jones often introduced staccato rhythmic ideas played on certain sub beats to push the groove in a different direction.

"Headache," benefits from that same technique. Percussively performed backing and lead vocals as well as precisely placed lead guitar, synth and percussion elements generate a rhythmically complex and exciting arrangement.

"Time Out," uses the hip-hop technique of double-timing the hi-hat to give the rest of the instrumentals a half-time feel in the chorus.

"Not Spring, Love, Or Cherry Blossom" simply a lets the drums sit behind the beat, a common enough technique, but one that isn't often used in pop music where drums are usually locked to a grid.

Some of the less interesting moments on the record occur during the rap portions of tracks, which feel more obligatory than neccessairy. Since the tracks' strenghts lie mostly in their meticulous arrangements and rhythmic nuances, nonstop eighth-note based raps can feel a bit disconnected and distracting.

The vocal arrangements tend to be stronger when they stick to staccato melodic phrases that reinforce the existing rhythmic cadences.

It's easy to get the impression that beat is always subservient to vocal and instrument hooks in pop music. But in many cases the reverse is true, and the beat is the hook. "HI HIGH" showcases HIGH4's capacity to use the power of rhythm and groove to deliver something more interesting than your average pop song.

Listen to "HI HIGH" RIGHT HERE

Harper Willis is a Brooklyn, New York-based producer and engineer. He has a passion for recording bands in crazy places, like ski mountains, motorcycle garages and swimming pools.  

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