Woozoostar breaks boundaries in music

Composer Woozoostar in her studio in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul / Courtesy of Woozoostar

By Kwon Ji-youn

Woozoostar is not your average composer ― not only does she create the music, but she also writes the lyrics, arranges the score and sings the prerecording guide. She is a true utility player ― her work spans background music for films and advertisements to tracks on K-pop albums.

Especially catchy is her most recent jingle, the “Hope Song,” which she wrote for the Industrial Bank of Korea’s (IBK) new commercial. The song may be less than a minute long, but writing a jingle is not as easy as many people think, she says.

“Music for advertisements and films are conceptual,” Woozoostar said in an interview with The Korea Times, Monday. “It must fit the images like a custom-made suit, and we are not always provided with the images. So at times we’re working with just visual continuity, a comprehensive script or scenario.”

Woozoostar did not start as a composer of popular music. In college, she majored in piano and classical music. But after graduating, she realized “concert pianist” just was not a label she wanted, so she jetted off to the U.S. where she studied music engineering. She then got herself a job at an advertisement music recording studio as an engineer. There she began creating popular music.

“I gave up the piano because I wanted to work with artists in different fields, creating music freely,” she said. “Both composing and engineering requires a lot of creativity, which is great. The more I work, the more I think, which in turn helps create great songs.”

In 2012, Woozoostar released an album filled with songs she wrote, arranged and sang, “Malddong Mode.”

“I created the songs, so I thought, why not sing them too?” Woozoostar said. “Composers these days do it all.”

Woozoostar worked with girl group Minx on their first mini album, “Love Shake.” Minx, who debuted in 2014, returned in July with an album that boasts a stellar production lineup that includes sought-after composing team “Gold Monkeys.”

Regarding the recent controversy over the music copyright royalty system, Woozoostar said it is one of the many reasons musicians like her give up music. The culture ministry in April approved a new system that does not differentiate between background and general music, but charges royalties based on the length of the clip. Background music royalties had been about a tenth of those paid for general music, or songs with lyrics.

“I think the boundary between general and background music is unclear,” she said. “In fact, I think categorizing music into these two tiers doesn’t make sense. General music can be used as background music, and vice versa. Background music that doesn’t come with a vocal part is considered incomplete, but it is background music that plays up a character’s emotions. Classical music isn’t deemed incomplete after all.”

Some composers claim the new system only benefits foreign companies. To this, Woozoostar said, “If the issue is that a lot of background music is imported, I’m sure we can find a solution that doesn’t affect Korean artists as much. For instance, in Japan, the royalties paid to foreign and local musicians are different.”

But no matter how unstable and insecure the lives of musicians may be, Woozoostar said her life has always been, and always will be, about making music, classical or popular.

“The name of my studio is I am Sound,” she said. “I want to create music that represents me and is remindful of the work that I do. They say the hottest musicians make music that doesn’t fall into one genre, but is nonetheless great to listen to. That’s the kind of music I want to make.”