U: Hi everyone, my name is Umu.
K: My name is Kevin.
U: I play French horn and I run ReacttotheK.
K: I play piano...
and I'm not a zombie
*confused Umu*
K: who reacts on Classical Musicians React.
*Umu still processing*
U: Then, what are you?
K: A...
...human...
...I think...?
U: Oh, how boring.
K: I make the most out of it.
I make the most out of it.
U: Anyways, welcome to our Purple Kiss 'Zombie' reaction
and not only are we so excited to dive into this song,
I saw the teasers, it's very bright and flashy and...
K: Okay.
U: ...spooky, but also fun.
But we will be releasing an interview with Purple Kiss,
not sure when,
we're currently filming this the day before that we're interviewing them, so...
K: Technically two days, but it will be at like 2 AM...
...so...
U: Wish us luck, hahaha,
even though the good luck will be happening
after this video is probably published,
but we're gonna be playing a guessing game with them
where we play classical versions of K-pop
and they have to name the song.
And if they name the song correctly,
then they can answer the question I have for them, so...
On that, shall we dive in?
K: Sure.
"ZOMBIE!" [by The Cranberries]
Miley Cyrus' version is better.
U: "I feel like I became a Zombie" [by DAY6]
"Not alive but I'm still walking..."
K: 'Dance Monkey' with funk guitar?
Ooh, I like the green brain!
U: I love the dry sounding percussion that they brought in,
sounds like hand percussion.
Do you hear the layers as we lead up to the-
Was that a scream?! Oh my goodness...
K: Wohohow, what?!
1-5-9!
Umu: 4!
K: Oh, and I like that funk guitar thing before the-
U: Whahahat?
They keep putting in sounds and then take them out
and put in different sounds and then take them out,
we're attaining all sorts of different sounds.
K: Ahaha.
Did I say "Dance Mokey" earlier?
I didn't know it was gonna turn into this!
I was right~
U: *Imitates*, and it panned between the two...
The producers are having a lot of fun with the transition sounds,
through chromaticism and different sounds.
U: "Brrrr"
K: I like the lighting. Shout out to the lighting department.
U: New pre-chorus, I don't remember the triplets from before?
K: It's a little shorter but yeah, it emphasizes the 1-5-9 a little less.
Both: "Fire!"
K: The slap bass fits this hook quite well, I don't know-
or is it the part just before it?
U: Oh, major, alright, parallel.
[t/n: F♯ major is the parallel major key of F♯ minor]
U: Eyyy! K: We've a name drop, yep!
K: Oh, they move it a third up! Nice!
[t/n: The "zombiebiebie"]
And they also shout out the album title.
U: *Singing expected high note*
K: Oh, they did a slight little syncopation. *Demonstrates*
U: *imitates*
K: I like the dance, I just noticed the dance.
WHAAAAAT?!?!
U: That's been happening before, bro!
K: *Imitates*, did that happen before? (U: Yeah)
K: Aw, I was overwhelmed.
Ends on a 3, I like the *mimics*.
K: Is that a cameo?
[On screen text: Yes...]
U: Is that a cameo? [On screen text: Yes...]
K: It has to be. [It's CyA from Onewe!]
K: Usually they're cameos, I just don't know who that is. U: That might be a...
U: ...Oneus member? [CyA also participated in writing the lyrics for the song!]
K: Wohohow, that was loud! [CyA also participated in writing the lyrics for the song!]
U: Maybe perhaps that was supposed to be a jump scare.
U: That - okay, that song reminds me of...
you know fruitcakes?
I think they have a specific name
but it's like the cake that your grandma gives you on Christmas.
K: I think so? U: Oh wait, you're Chinese.
U: ...white grandmas give you on Christmas.
K: No.
U: Wait(x3)
U: I can imagine the ones that they have in the grocery store.
U: Have you tried it before?
K: Yeah.
K: Oh that? Oh! Ewww! U: Yeah this, okay, except it's actually good.
U: Except it's actually good! K: Oh no, I don't like those...
U: Okay, so it reminds me of a GOOD fruitcake.
Because...
K: Do you have your grandma's recipe, cuz I wanna try it.
U: I- actually, maybe.
(K: Okay) U: I'll keep you- I'll call my grandma for this.
K: Christmas is gonna be special this year.
*stifled laughing*
U: But this song,
it has a very steady chord progression throughout,
repeated percussion,
but there's all these little...
fruits, all theses different flavored fl-
flutes?
Different flavored fruits or candies throughout, (K: Not quite, but...)
With the screams and the chromaticism and the little like "Huh!"
or the addition of a third above or a fifth above the melody
that really shows of their range
and layers upon layers that just come in for a second
to flavor one bite of the song
and then the flavors completely change a few seconds later,
cuz I don't know about you
but I was struggling to comment on this song
because as I was about to say something
the rhythm would suddenly change extremely
or like a whole new set of screams came in, it was...
K: Right.
For a song that uses a pretty generic chord progression -
and melody, *vocalizes*
*piano*
WAIT A MINUTE!
NONOnonononono, we gotta listen to the chorus again!
U: Why?
K: Wait, this sounds like something!
K: Okay, never mind. (U: Okay)
So as I was listening to this I had a *BEEP* in my head, it's... U: Okay, okay,
U: *BEEP*
K: ...for an interview question...
K: For something that sounds pretty generic both harmonically and-
Like even the "Zombie biebiebie biebie..."
U: Right, that kind of hook.
K: The 1-2 punch of that chorus should not work
but because of all the production choices
and everything that's surrounding it
it really works. I really think it works.
U: What's the chord progression you're talking about?
K: It's just the i and minor v, the
[plays F♯m - C♯m - D (i-v-VI)]
U: Okay so this kind of underlying harmonies K: You know? Or does it goes to iv [Bm] this time, it's one of those.
U: is what we hear in a lot of pop music. (K: Yeah, yeah.)
K: And it's an old one, it's one that, I feel like,
just has pervaded the Asian pop industry,
like I feel like I've heard C-pop songs when I was younger
that just used that all the time. Yeah.
U: I wanna almost do a second listen, K: It's a very comfy...
U: so just to - okay, an we can pause at fun moments? K: I almost want to as well.
K: Yeeaah. U: Let's do it.
K: Also Yuki has rap in - or at least a presence -
in every single section that's not the chorus.
That's pretty fire.
U: Mmm~ (K: She's in everything!) Yey! [She also participated in writing the lyrics.]
U: 3 2 yey! K: Yeah.
U: *reading* "The kiss of death, knowing how."
U: *Imitates bass* K: The beginning production...
K: ...is so nice, it's perfectly balanced,
the punchy, the funky.
K: Oh it goes down to iv. U: And then they decend [after singing "down"]
K: They start doing the *demonstrates*
which is the main motif of the chorus.
U: "Wew"
"Aaargh!"
K: Her rap voice is just... the best.
U: Cool lower harmony? K: Yeah.
K: That, that was interesting!
Yeah, the pre-chorus is sort of mind-blowing,
We have *piano*, I think that's what she does?
That sounds like Steve Reich.
Something that sounds like that,
where it's like a 1, a 5 and then another 5 on top of the 5,
so it's 1-5-9.
Yeah. And then I think she goes down to the 2, so it's like a -
Oh no, it's:
U: Yep.
K: Which is really weird, and then we hear a synth,
which is like a buildup, and they sing something,
and then we hear another funk guitar buildup.
It's - yeah, that single section is so... confusing to me
that yeah, I mean-
U: It makes you wanna re-listen (K: Exactly) yeah, and pick it apart.
K: It's gonna come back later, so... U: Yeah, excited to hear it again.
U: 2 1.
U: And yeah, I love how busy the violin part is. K: Oh the strings. Yeah, I never noticed the strings until now.
K: *imitates*
U: Cuz this kind of disco-esque inspired music,
U: usually the strings are just like *vocalizes slide*. K: Or one note *demonstrates*.
U: Yeah, right, right.
But they have like glissandi up and ascensions.
K: Oh, they do the *mimics* every time.
U: Yeah, even the mixing is fantastic, lots of panning.
K: Oh, there's a pun on "b b b" and "c c c"
even though it's the "see", yeah, I like that
U: "Brrrr"
U: It's so fun.
K: It's so weird.
U: *sings along*
K: I think I got my chord wrong, earlier. U: Was it the first time it was sung
U: and this time its a little bit more spoken?
K: A little bit, I think the vocals-
I think the instruments may be a bit more muted this time
and the vocals are mixed differently,
like different equalization. (U: Yeah)
U: There is like a few very subtle changes. K: It hits different, yeah.
U: And I think some of the inflections are a little bit different.
*Kevin still figuring out the chord*
U: It sounds so different on piano. K: I don't think there's the extra fifth.
K: Yeah, something is wrong with my chord
but I love to keep trying.
U: 3 2 1.
K: Haha. Too good. U: I love that.
K: The music video just makes it better.
U: *imitating sounds*
U: *vocalizes slide* K: Even the slap bass - oh yeah.
K: It's just on the root notes, but it's so playful.
K: Oh there's a major hint, I didn't notice... (U: Yeah.)
K: I never noticed that, too much going on.
K: Oh, very major. U: And that octave, ugh.
U: *sings said octave*
Oh, I wanted her to resolve so badly! (K: Yeah)
U: 2 3 4 - *sings tonic on 1*
K: Yeah, I like that it doesn't, though. U: You like that it doesn't?
K: Yeah, it messes with my perfect theory writing thing
and I always like that...
And you know she can hit it
because she hit it earlier in the section. (U: Right, right.)
U: AY!
K: Yeah, right?
We all wanna be zombies.
Ayy!
U: Oh, and even the bass is *demonstrates*
K: Little, little, yeah.
K: Sure...
I love the ending, it's so overwhelming.
So what I noticed was, the very last buildup to the chorus,
instead of doing the funk guitar thing,
they actually did like big, like "boom (x5)" percussion,
and I think that contrast is really great.
U: Well the "boom(x3)" is there the first two pre-choruses,
but it's a lot more muffled.
K: Well no, it replaces the *plays chord*
U: Oooooh. K: Instead of that, which is
U: Whaaat? K: the thing that is immediately before the chorus.
U: Ooooh! K: Yeah, we hear that, but the last time it's actually,
we hear the big punchy percussion.
U: 39", 3 2 1.
See, there is like some muffled low percussion here.
K: This song is a grower.
U: So instead of- K: No, there's one more, that wasn't it.
U: Argh, 3:06, 3 2 1! K: That wasn't the immediate thing.
K: That's why I said this section is confusing cuz -
okay, so we're here.
U: *Follows percussion*
*Sings melody*
K: Right? This!
Yeah.
K: Second time is also that, and then we get to the bridge.
U: 3 2 1
U: I think the guitar is still there but it's very gentle. (K: Wait wait wait)
K: Maybe, yeah yeah yeah.
It probably is still there cuz - but it's just,
they changed the rhythm a bit, it's not *original rhythm*
it's *demonstrates* and then drop, I like that,
I just like that I can notice more details... yeah.
U: Yeah, I like a song that is as colorful to listen to,
likewise based on the soundscape they create and
you know, instrumental textures,
as is the music video, which was so fun.
I think this might be one of my favorite music videos.
K: Yeah, I think I like this aesthetic more than their debut,
I think in their debut they were figuring it out
and they went for a really dark and edgy thing,
but this is like, it's got some weird darkness,
a little bit of grotesque with the flowers and the eyes,
but then they also can do a "fire",
or something really cute in between that, (U: "Fire", yeah)
and I think this fits their vibe a lot.
U: But also, I know,
after researching them and watching a lot of their interviews,
they want to be a group that can do any concept,
so we know that they probably won't be sticking to this.
K: Yeah, well I like...
purple is that type of color for me (U: Oh)
where I think it can fit a bunch of things
cuz when you see like a purple flower in the sun it fits so well,
but then when you see it in the darkness,
or on the macaroni box across the room, you know...
U: Anyways. That was super fun. K: Great song, I like it.
U: Thanks for watching, everyone.
Let us know what your favorite song is off of Hide & Seek EP!
BYE!
K: bye.