Ballad sweethearts Taesabiae have recently collaborated with rapper Shingun for quite the ear candy titled “이 또한 지나가리라” (This Too Shall Pass). My familiarity with the up-and-coming rappers of Korea is shamefully minimal, so I can’t say that I know too much about Shingun other than I think he’s released some pretty ballin’ tracks (here and here). As for female duo Taesabiae, I vaguely remember them promoting with Sunny Side in 2010. After some head scratching and some research, I found out Taesabiae have actually been dropping digital releases left and right all through last year and that I’ve been completely oblivious to it (here, here and here). Whoops.

In fact, “This Too Shall Pass” actually marks Taesabiae and Shingun’s second collaborative digital release. The first (연애에 필요한 세가지 테크닉) saw Shingun featured on a Taesabiae-esque track. It was very frilly, light-hearted, and basically sounded exactly what Taesabiae like to go for in their songs; sweetness with a slight edge. In “This Too Shall Pass”, the roles are reversed, in that it’s a Shingun song featuring the voices of Taesabiae. The styles of these collaborative songs are very different from each other, but they both work really well in highlighting the best of both artists.

“This Too Shall Pass” is a dim and somber single, so listening to Taesabiae’s voices on the hook of ‘dark’ colored song really brought out a different character to their performance that I wasn’t completely convinced they were capable of achieving. Yet they nail it. Their choruses add an almost chilling effect that parallels Shingun’s heart-felt verses. All of their power is delivered through the tone of the song while the rest of the pieces (like the light-synths and thunderstorm soundscape) help soften the blow.

It’s simple and beautiful.

Composed and Arranged by Donnie J & 1sagain
Released Date: Jan 2, 2012

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Thoughts?