Monday 18 Nov
South Korean indie HYUKOH and Taipei-based jazz-influenced synth-pop band Sunset Rollercoaster are bringing their collaborative album AAA to life at ICC!
South Korean indie HYUKOH 혁오 and Taipei-based jazz-influenced synth-pop band Sunset Rollercoaster 落日飛車 are bringing their collaborative album AAA to life at ICC Sydney Theatre on 18 November 2024.
AAA is an 8-track album and culmination of monthly sessions with both bands beginning in May 2023 across South Korea in Gapyeong, Seoul, and Jeju Island, and both bands’ first album release in four years. Released in July 2024, the collaboration combines the rich ensemble of HYUKOH’s musicians paired with the incomparable vocals of frontman OHHYUK with Sunset Rollercoaster’s melodic romance that reminisces the warm climate of Taipei and their poetic lyrics admired by fans from various cultures showcasing both band’s artistry and individual styles.
The bond between HYUKOH and Sunset Rollercoaster goes back a long way, with their first collaboration starting in early 2020 with a casual chat in Tokyo. HYUKOH were passing through the city while on tour for their album through love and Sunset Rollercoaster happened to be there working on their 3rd studio album. The casual chat led to OHHYUK’s feature on the Sunset Rollercoaster track ‘Candlelight’ from their album Soft Storm and Sunset Rollercoaster’s remake version of ‘Help’ from HYUKOH’s album through love. The two tracks gave fans something to quench their thirst, during the pandemic and kept them wanting more, plus both bands who began envisioning a broader collaboration. When Sunset Rollercoaster visited Seoul for a headline show in March 2023, the two bands met again and confirmed their mutual desire to make more music together and agreed to the year-long journey of creating AAA.
In May 2023, HYUKOH and Sunset Rollercoaster teamed up for a one-of-a-kind songwriting camp at Music Village 1939 in Gapyeong to kick off their musical collaborations. During the making, the musicians tentatively called the project AAA which went on to become the album title. Conveying many meanings, it was the name of the car insurance company that Sunset Rollercoaster took out during their first tour in the States, which adds a sense of security, and it is also the grading standard to evaluate qualified hotels and the best water quality. The cultural backgrounds of the members also lean into this bringing up the word “Asia,” another is the interpretation as an abbreviation of All Areas Access. OHHYUK and Kuo briefly chatted about the meaning of the title, defining it as “something good” and “guaranteed quality.”
Don’t miss your opportunity to see Sunset Rollercoaster and HYUKOH perform each other’s back catalogue’s as an ensemble plus tracks from the AAA album this November.
Watch the ‘Young Man’ video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Js67kofnQw0