New Wine in New Wineskins
In Korea, there is an interesting perception regarding Japanese festival-goers. The general consensus is that Japanese audiences quietly appreciate any performance, no matter the genre. Like most stereotypes, this belief that "Japanese people just quietly listen to any performance" is grounded in a certain amount of truth.
Of course, this isn't entirely true. At shows where all restraints are cast off from the start—like hardcore gigs—you will see people completely ignoring the music just to mosh. Even at massive festivals with over ten thousand people, the moment a certain song plays, the entire crowd might lie down to headbang or repeatedly bow toward the stage. Even without going to such extremes, Japan is, after all, the birthplace of the infamous otagei. When it is time to go wild, Japanese fans certainly know how to party.
But the very need to bring up these exceptions only proves that the rule usually holds true. Japanese audiences are generally on the quieter side, and they are well aware of it themselves.
And because they knew this, the video of Group Sound's performance at Summer Sonic 2027 was nothing short of shocking.
They had no choice but to go wild. From the very beginning of the performance, when Paradox started playing, the crowd was instantly hooked. Even though it was just a B-side track on the album that most of the audience had never heard before—and even the dedicated Group Sound fans who had listened to the entire album wouldn't have recognized it immediately due to the completely overhauled live arrangement—the band guided them effortlessly.
"The unreachable Paradox! Unreachable Paradox!!"
Group Sound naturally led the audience, handling them as if they were a seasoned crowd that had spent weeks memorizing a fan chant.
In particular, Ha Suyun's crowd-leading ability was evaluated as almost transcendent. It was only natural. She walked around the stage as if it were her own living room, lingering in front of the audience, taking small hops, and spinning around. She used a variety of movements to guide the crowd and made diverse gestures to keep them engaged.
"Is Japan's voice normally this quiet?"
"I think you guys can do better than this."
She threw out provocative remarks to tease the crowd and draw out a reaction. In the short one-hour video, the only times Ha Suyun stood still were during the intro of Paradox or when she had to sing her vocal parts.
And those who wondered how such a performance was possible were utterly shocked when they noticed one particular detail.
The other members' stage performances were also excellent. For instance, there was Iseor, who planted four flags like spears and shook them whenever she got the chance to rile up the crowd. Then there were Hyun-ah and Seoha, who threw in drum fills and keyboard solos to keep people from resting whenever they tried to catch their breath.
But even among them, Ha Suyun's performance was peerless. Her presence and the crowd's explosive response made the Sonic Stage look like the Main Stage. The YouTube comments were flooded with people expressing deep regret over why they hadn't attended the festival.
And this video acted as a powerful preview for their upcoming live tour.
Kingdom, I'll Wait, and Faintly, But Surely. Because of these contrasting songs, they had developed an image of "a band whose music you can appreciate and enjoy"... or a somewhat old-fashioned image. A concert that would just be a quiet music appreciation session... This image acted as a strong barrier for some people when booking tickets.
Because most of the venues for Group Sound's live tour were standing-only venues with a capacity of around a thousand. If you're just going to listen quietly, why rent a standing venue? That was their thought.
But the video of Summer Sonic 2027 uploaded by an anonymous user became a powerful bait, driving up the lottery competition rate for the live tour. To the point where if you only applied for a single ticket, you were more likely to lose than win.
And, unrelated to the affairs of the world.
"Since we have to go on the live tour in two months. Considering the intense preparation, this is the only time we have."
"What time?"
"Vacation. I talked to the agency, so let's take exactly one week off. Anyone who wants to go to Korea, let me know by today, and we'll head back together in two days. Those who want to stay in Japan can stay."
As soon as the Summer Sonic 2027 schedule officially ended (there were a few administrative things to wrap up), Suyun declared a vacation to the girls.
"Argh!!! Vacation!!"
"Anyone going to Nakano..."
"I'm in!"
"I need to go buy clothes."
"Where to?"
"Shimokita."
"Then let's go to Nakano first and then Shimokita together."
Leaving behind the girls who whispered among themselves for a few minutes before vanishing in an instant (of course, they did ask Suyun if she wanted to come along), Suyun went to the practice room and picked up her guitar. There was something she wanted to sort out in a quiet place before the heat of Summer Sonic cooled down and the memories faded from her mind.
Because the words she had heard not long ago were still lingering in her head.
"A great artist doesn't become great just by being good at something. They become great when they create something uniquely their own."
Suyun was confident. Among living guitarists, those who could surpass her in technique were extremely rare. The same went for Asano Shohei. No matter how great a guitarist he was, he didn't possess a technique that surpassed hers. It was probably the same when Asano was young.
But did that make Suyun a better guitarist than Asano? No, it didn't.
Of course, she could say so out of competitive spirit. She could declare she'd surpass not just Asano, but all the living great guitarists. And though they'd have to face off to know for sure, she wouldn't fall behind in terms of technique.
Only in technique.
In every other aspect, she would fall behind.
A guitarist's greatness doesn't lie solely in how well they play. It lies much more heavily on how much they have created something uniquely their own. For example, their own tone, their own way of playing... their own music. Even if she surpassed Asano and the other great guitarists, it would only be in technique.
For Suyun, who had merely followed the path they carved out, copying the countless techniques and music they had created, she could never catch up to their greatness. Just like Iseor used in Paradox, like Achilles chasing the tortoise... the distance would only infinitely decrease, never truly closing.
In other words, if she wanted to catch up, she had to at least stand on the same starting line. She had to carve out a path. She had to create a path that no one had walked, a path no one had even thought of walking.
Of course, such a thing couldn't be done in a day or two. Rome wasn't built in a day, as they say. There are no geniuses in this world who suddenly write something as if struck by lightning. As Newton said, one can only stand on the shoulders of giants.
'Let's take it one step at a time.'
And Suyun had found a clue to take that first step during the process of preparing for Summer Sonic 2027.
'Tone, huh...'
She looked at her guitar. The guitar she bought immediately after its official release by the Fender Custom Shop in 2008, and had been using for twenty years. The guitar that had never left her hands, and which continued to produce the tone of its original owner.
She plugged the cable into the pedalboard, then into the amp. She pressed a few pedals on and off as usual, then plucked the guitar.
The sound that flowed out was the same as always.
Clean tone. The very tone she had listened to for decades and continued to refine. The tone she aimed for, her ultimate goal.
But while preparing for Summer Sonic this time, Suyun had started to think a bit differently. She stepped on a different pedal than before and tweaked the knobs slightly. When she played, the tone that came out was completely different from her usual sound.
It wasn't that she couldn't use this kind of tone. But her past self—or rather, those memories—had always used other tones while keeping her core anchored to the tone she yearned for, like tying one end of a rope to a post and throwing the other end. Using them purely for work purposes. Using them only because the client requested it. She had never once thought those other tones were good. All she saw was the single original before it was copied.
And those memories, the path dependency formed by them... had kept Suyun bound. Until Asano pointed it out. Even though she didn't have to, she had kept doing it.
'But I definitely need to try other tones. To strip away these hardened habits. To do that...'
Suyun thought as she stroked the guitar. Like the saying "new wine in new wineskins," she felt she might need to use a new guitar.
'In that case, it might be good to try a brand I've never used before. No, maybe a completely custom one.'
An incredibly liberated thought compared to her past self, who had been a die-hard Fender purist. With those thoughts, Suyun placed the guitar on its stand and began searching for custom guitar shops. And she was shocked by the prices. No matter how much they were handmade by an individual, pouring in sweat and effort, did these prices make any sense? Just how legendary of a craftsman were they?
Suyun browsed through the shops, then stared at the ceiling, thinking.
'The prices are too high. I mean, I have the money, but still... Ah, there's that way. Even if I'm not desperate for cash, well, there is a way.'
At the end of that thought, Suyun made an international call. After a few rings, the person on the other end picked up.
"Ah, Team Leader Ko. This is Ha Suyun. About what you mentioned before..."
Luminous. The idol group Radiant Entertainment had ambitiously prepared, a rookie group that achieved significant success with their debut song, Star Flare.
"Shining in the star flare~"
"Encore! Encore!"
"Trying the Star Flare Challenge!"
While the Korean public talked about Luminous's looks, how good or exciting Star Flare was, through challenges, word of mouth, and various other ways, the Korean entertainment industry had a slightly different perspective on the song. Not whether it was a good song or not...
"Still no word lately?"
"Yes, Director."
They were much more interested in who exactly made Star Flare. Because they wanted to get a song from that composer. While there was no 100% guarantee, looking at their skill, it was clear any song they made would be a hit.
But the composer, or composing team, named Roger, who made Star Flare, had not appeared for a long time since then. No demo songs, no replies. As if they had gone off the grid, as if they didn't even exist. They were completely silent.
And with that response, people's interest gradually waned. They figured it was just a rumor, that the person didn't exist, or that it was just someone else's alt account... Something like that.
Until that very day.
"Di... Director."
"What is it?"
"The... the name of the composer who sent this..."
"What?"
"It's Roger! Roger! The, the, the one from Luminous!"
Until the name they thought had been forgotten was suddenly discovered in the inboxes of a select few.