K-pop

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Etymology#

The term “K-pop” is the South Korean equivalent of the Japanese “J-pop,” The first known use of the term occurred in Billboard in the October 9, 1999 edition at the end of an article titled “S. Korea To Allow Some Japanese Live Acts” by Cho Hyun-jin, then a South Korea correspondent for the magazine, which used it as a broad term for South Korean pop music. Cho himself, however, is not sure if he coined the term, since some articles stated that the word ‘K-pop’ was already being used by music industry insiders, even though he had never heard it personally. The term K-pop became popular in the 2000s, especially in an international context. In South Korea, domestic pop music is referred to as gayo (), which is still widely used within the country. In 2022, the Korean Music Awards established a separate genre-specific field for K-pop, defining its “distinct aesthetic tendencies” as dance-pop music originating from the Korean idol system with a focus on performance.

Kpanlogo

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Origin#

It was first played by the Ga ethnic group in the Greater Accra Region, most of whom live in and around the capital city, but is now performed and enjoyed throughout the country. It began in the early 1960s as an innovative dance form, influenced by American rock and roll, and giving the younger Ga generations a point of distinction from their elders. Ghanaian master drummer C. K. Ladzekpo states that kpanlogo “is essentially an urban youth dance-drumming and a symbol of the commitment of a rapidly growing Ghanaian urban neighborhood youth in advocating their perspective in shaping the political vision of post colonial Africa” (1995: web). The kpanlogo dance is often performed low to the ground, with bent knees and bent back, and frequently features sexually suggestive motions. Accounts of police seizing musical instruments and detaining performers in its early days have been documented. The music accompanying the kpanlogo dance is drawn from older Ga drumming traditions, such as gome, oge and kolomashie. Kpanlogo music uses three types of instruments: nono (metal bell), fao (gourd rattle), and kpanlogo drums. Nono plays the key pattern or timeline of the music, supported by the fao. It is common to have three kpanlogo drums in an ensemble, in the roles of “male voice”, “female voice” and “master drum”. The main kpanlogo bell part is one of the most common and oldest key patterns found in sub-Saharan Africa. The bell pattern used in kpanlogo is the same as the son clave pattern heard in Cuban music and. It is also similar to the “Bo Diddley beat” popularized by the U.S. rhythm and blues musician Bo Diddley.

KP on Music Theory Print

K-pop

Etymology#

Kpanlogo

Origin#