At 2:47 the Sound Vanishes Entirely — Song Sohee's 'NANSEN'
Out this evening at six. There's a hole in the middle of the song, a second and a half long.
Six o'clock this evening. Song Sohee's new single 'NANSEN' is out.
2:47
This song feels written for one single moment.
Up to 2:46 it is packed full. Then at 2:47 the sound cuts out completely. The highs collapse in an instant and the sound keeps receding until, by 2:48, it is almost silent. For a second and a half there is nothing.
And at 2:48.5 the band returns, all of it, on one beat. The final chorus starts right there.
Listen and you'll know. It really does cut out.
The Opening Is Built in Three Steps Too
The first two seconds are effectively silent. At exactly two seconds a single mid-range instrument rises alone, and past three seconds the low end jumps 15dB at once. Bass and kick arrive then.
Silence, then one instrument, then the whole band. Three steps inside three seconds. Exactly the same device as that gap at the end. What they stack on the way in gets used once more before the close.
This Isn't Song Sohee's First Rock Record
It's easy to read this as the singer known as "the gugak girl" turning to rock, but this isn't the first time. Last October's EP 'Re:5' and June's single 'PARADE (生)' are already filed under rock/metal. It's a direction the singer has been on for at least eleven months, and 'NANSEN' continues it.
It's the second single since signing with authentic in March, arriving 86 days after 'PARADE (生)'.
The lyrics are about a voyage. "Endless, this voyage / toward that snowfield over there." "Looking around at the end of the polar night." "Even the compass hesitates."
The Video Catches Up to the Lyrics Late
The song talks about a snowfield the whole way through, but the screen is a city. Song Sohee standing on a utility pole in black, someone with a backpack walking night streets and crosswalks and overpasses, a truck wheel frozen over with icicles, an aurora above the city.
The snowfield only arrives in the last 15 seconds. The composition at 3:16, facing a sun halo across a grassland, has turned into a snowfield in the same spot by 3:30.
Where to Listen
At night, walking. That second and a half is worth what it's worth only somewhere quiet. On the subway or in a café the surrounding noise fills the hole in.
Just give it a listen, trust me. You only have to make it to 2:47.
Share
Sources
- 1.[벅스] 송소희 신곡 'NANSEN' 발매 ↗
- 2.[뉴스컬처] 송소희, 록 방향 심화한 새 싱글 ↗
NONOL Editorial
The NONOL Magazine editorial team — we hear it first, then pass it on.
Keep reading
It sinks once at 30 seconds, and the band comes in at 50
LUCY sang 'Stay' for the drama 'A love other than yours.' It flows on violin and piano before the band joins in.
NONOL Editorial·
In at 11.5 seconds, and it doesn't back off for three and a half minutes
Brown Tigger Band released a new single, 'Seize the Day,' a year after their last. True to the title, it never takes a break.
NONOL Editorial·
Before the drop at 40 seconds, the bass comes and goes five times
ONEUS released their 12th EP, 'FIRST LIGHT : 井,' last night. It's an album with all five members together.
NONOL Editorial·