Brand New EP (3)
"......"
It was the day after I'd received the re-recorded sample. I was alone in the studio and ended up reeling from the shock.
"Whoa, no way."
The framework I'd prepped using Neon Blue's original track as a base. Layer in the re-recorded sample, tweak a few details, and boom—a ridiculously killer beat emerged.
Dreamy guitar riff. Chopped-up hi-hats. But the real monster was the synth kicking in at 1:13. This thing was delicious.
The truly astonishing part? It wasn't even the dead of night. Tracks always sound better at dawn—especially my own. That classic dawn bonus. But right now? Broad daylight, no excuses.
To be safe, I hit play again and listened carefully. Same verdict.
"No way about it."
I'd never gotten a sensation this sharp even making Bless. The ultimate creative high. Or absolute flow state. Your strongest imaginable self unleashed.
In other words, black flame had erupted. From a hip-hop beat, of all places.
The intro was fire, but saving that synth for the middle? Genius move. Romance in a cold cityscape. Blowing on a neon-lit night view, fogging up the balcony window.
I haven't even grinded hip-hop that hard.
I jumped up and paced the studio, deep in thought.
What the hell did you do, Kim Seryeon?
How was this possible? Sampling's a tough technique. You need intuition and instinct first off. Tons of exposure to all genres. Hands-on experience wrangling sounds.
Consensus is you gotta have all three, to varying degrees. Where do I stack up? Intuition's iffy, but regression's a massive cheat code. Straight-up freebies on two and three—mostly future sounds at that.
Double XP event...!
Pacing pacing pacing.
Spin spin spin.
It was summer.
August 2018 was brutally hot.
But most folks were dying in the heat.
I knew it. Vacation vibes got her knocking casually.
Why? 'Cause I'm not there today.
Reason being, heading home to crash right now. Severe drowsiness.
Where's the tally? How long's it been?
Too much? Nah, she's spot on.
Kang Saero's right...
But what about my actual mom? She just tells me to handle it myself. Says holing up all day immersed is a romance only teens can pull off.
Not entirely true though. Did Mom tell me to sleep too?
"Hngh...."
Random thoughts firing off nonstop—yeah, I'm exhausted.
Sudden realization.
Is this my relative dawn?
If so, this all-nighter beat might not hold up. Could sound totally different post-nap, needing a full redo.
Time to enlist Kang Saero.
Kang Saero knows the rough flow already, but details are revamped. Teaser brain fart or divine stroke? Verdict pending.
By bus boarding time.
"Oh."
"Nailed it."
Grinning ear-to-ear in the back seat. Thunk—head against window. Total shonen protag flop, kinda cool.
No exaggeration: August 2018 was brutally hot.
Show Me auditionees were suffering too.
That bad. Emotional autotune studio rapper Hanbam, who'd coordinated ahead, was hurting too.
Heatwave so bad, ambulance on standby. Gym packed with ~1,000 for prelims.
Hanbam bounced without the pass necklace. Studio rapper live skills curse.
Smirking at the message. Knew it'd happen. Studio types flop live. Survival auditions favor stage presence and projection—not their wheelhouse.
Studio chops tho? Time to test.
Deep breath. Not great at warming up to strangers.
No friends, how could I be?
Few buds anyway. No icebreaker, how to chat? Easier to frame it.
This is business.
Most post-regression ties started this way. Except bold ones like Kang Saero or Ji Soeun.
No need to force friendships.
Locked in schedule, studio meetup set.
Name: Hanbam. SoundCloud handle: Hanbam. Solid hip-hop fundamentals—not basic punchline or rhyme spam, got roots.
Autotune voice like an instrument. Moody, emo-rap vibes. Love song lyrics aplenty. Melody over punch, that signature muffled emotion.
Exactly who I need. No necklace? Scoop him up.
Studio hilltop, gazing at scorching sun and heat haze.
Moments later.
"Huff huff."
Surprisingly tidy, lanky guy crests the hill. Bonus fact unlocked.
"Wait, Hanbam's your real name?"
"Born late night, midnight."
"......?"
"Was Han Jaewon, dad changed it."
Real or BS? Seems to love nonsense.
"Rap name separate."
"What?"
"Vincent van Gogh."
"Stick with Hanbam."
Rap name vetoed flat-out.
Week 2, August. World's top video platform, Receive.
Kim Seryeon's channel drops a short clip.
Two-word title, ~2:30 runtime. Camera pans studio right away. Quick peek at DAW screen.
Beat drops, captures Kim Seryeon laying intro on keys. Killer intro. Indie fans spot Neon Blue sample instantly.
Autotune-drenched lyrics follow.
Reactions exploding, naturally. Chart #3 composer's comeback. New texture's ominous.
Good song? Hell yeah. Cliché? Nah.
That Kim Seryeon magic fans crave? Pretty much. Not Bless's crisp hope, but echoes Sky Autumn's sensitivity—thrilling yet fragile, moody edge.
Eye candy too. Duh, handsome.
Rapper undisclosed. Demo snippet, live studio—not mastered. Rough cut. Song potential clear, full version MIA.
Crowd clamors.
Day one. Two. Three. No reply from Kim Seryeon.
Just title sleuthed.
No track. No response.
Meanwhile, Kim Seryeon. Heehee fun mode.
"Why's this so fun."
"Summer vac update's legendary."
Road-tripping MapleStory World with rapper Hanbam a.k.a. Vincent van Gogh.
RPG, stupid addictive. Black Mage update, grinding hunts. Hanbam via Discord.
"Reboot server's free, no cash sink—best."