Artist of the week - Cherry Filter

Nov 07, 2007

PROFILE:

Name : Jo Yoo-Jin (Main Vocals)
Date of birth: July 5th, 1977
Height: 163 cm
Education: Sang Myeong University, English Education Major

Name : Jeong Woo-Jin (Lead Guitar)
Date of birth: April 20th, 1976
Height: 174 cm
Hobbies: Calligraphy, reading
Education: Korea University, International Trade Major

Name : Young Yoon-Geun (Bass)
Date of birth: September 21st, 1976
Height: 180 cm
Blood type: B
Hobbies: Cooking, shopping, collecting perfume bottles, collecting videos
Education: Joong Gyeong High School

Name : Son Sang-Hyuk (Drums, Rap)
Date of birth: January 13th, 1977
Height: 182 cm
Blood type: O
Hobbies: Poetry, collecting records, basketball, weight training
Education: Korea University, Journalism and Mass Communications Major

• 2001 – Winner of Special Rock Award, 13th Seoul Music Awards
• 2002 – Winner of Best Rock Artiste, SBS Music Awards
• 2003 – Winner of Best Rock Artiste, SBS Music Awards
• 2003 – Winner of Most Popular Music Video, Golden Disc Awards
• 2003 – Winner of Motorola Rock Award, 14th Seoul Music Awards
• 2003 – Winner of Best Artiste Award, KBS Music Awards

BIOGRAPHY:

Our featured artiste this week is 4-member rock band Cherry Filter. Like many rock/modern rock bands in Korea, Cherry Filter feature a female vocalist and three male musicians. A lot of female-fronted K-rock bands are quite mainstream-oriented. But that is not the case for Cherry Filter. Perhaps taking advantage with the strong vocal power of female lead singer Jo Yoo Jin, their music are much more hardcore rock. Still, they have gained mainstream acceptance since 2002. They are also quite well known in Japan as Yoo Jin left the group briefly to pursue a solo career in Japan, but returned in time before the group made it big.

The band were actually formed in 1997 and debuted in the local underground scene well before they released their first album. The fun and experimental band have fused rock with punk, ballads, and even trance music. Their talents were soon discovered and they landed a record deal. In 2000, Cherry Filter released their debut album Head-Up. The album received good reviews but they were still considered an underground band back then. In 2001, Yoo Jin left the group and went to Japan, but returned to participate for the group’s 2nd album in 2002.

Cherry Filter’s 2nd album "Made In Korea" was the album that made it big for the group. At that time, there were not too many female-fronted rock groups in Korea, other than Jaurim, that were known to the mainstream audience. Loveholic and Rumble Fish had not even debuted yet. Cherry Filter actively promoted the title song "Romantic Cat" in many mainstream gayo shows and it was very successful. "Romantic Cat" was a top-5 song and Cherry Filter were named "Best Rock Artiste" in SBS’ year-end award ceremony.

Perhaps the best album by Cherry Filter was their 3rd album "Third Eye", released in 2003. Now a well-known rock group, Cherry Filter put a lot of variety into their music in this album. The title song "Ducks Fly" was again a top-10 hit, while the follow-up single "Moonlight Boy" was a pop-oriented rock song which was the favorite for many fans. The album was regarded as one of the best in 2003. Cherry Filter won many awards in 2003’s year-end award shows.

After this highly successful 3rd album, Cherry Filter decided to take a break. They did release a digital single "You Pass Me By" in 2004. But at that time, digital singles were still not as widely accepted, so it did not become a hit. Fans had to wait 3 years for their 4th studio album, which came out in the summer of 2006. The title song "Peace N’ Rock N’ Roll" preached about a peaceful world. Again, the song was a top 10 hit.

2007 is the 10th anniversary of the group’s formation. Recently, Cherry Filter released a remake album "Rewind". The title song "Feel It" was originally a short commercial song but Cherry Filter remade it into a rock hit. The song reached as high as No. 12 on the chart.

Cherry Filter stand out from other rock groups as they don’t often produce pop-oriented music just to please mainstream fans. They stand firm on their rock roots, yet they are very successful in mainstream k-pop scene. Lead singer Yoo Jin has a very unique voice that is perfect for a rock band and fans can easily recognize Cherry Filter when she sings. We are looking forward to more good rock music from Cherry Filter.

DISCOGRAPHY:

Head-Up (1st album, 2000) : Head-Up, Five, Wonder Woman, Fake, I Was A Woman, Paris, Just…Ok!, Smile Jack, Happy, Channel – Non, Paris 2, Heavy Metal KongJwi

Made in Korea (2nd album, 2002) : Blood of Witch, Cherry Filter, Romantic Cat, Reaching the Remains in My Heart, Come To Me, Hawaiian Blues, Yesterday, Special, Jump, Lalala, Why Me?, Seagull Jonathan, Independent You, Lucky Shadow

Third Eye (3rd album, 2003) : Dive, Ducks Fly, Moonlight Boy, Blue Flower White Butterfly, Digital Shockwave, Snow Man, Assarabia, Back To The Future, The Dreaming Sailor, Dr. Faust, Ducks Fly Ver. 2, No Peace Yes War?, Tick-Tock

You Pass Me By (digital single, 2004) : You Pass Me By

Peace N’ Rock N’ Roll (4th album, 2006) : Revolution A.D., Peace N’ Rock N’ Roll, Happy Day, Melody, Cheerful Witch, Madonna of War, I Stay Here…., Never Ending Story, Poison Apple, Extra Chooldonggi, Glass, Rift

Rewind (Remake Album, 2007) : Feel It, Supermarket, Tree of the Goddess, Haeya, Southpaw, Fake, The Wind Beneath My Wings, Island House Baby, A Dog of Flanders, The Apple Of My Eye