Nothing screams millennial (or for that matter, Gen Z) more than small caps and screaming ‘MOOD’, which is coincidentally slchld‘s entire brand. He literally has a song called ‘huge mood’. Born Jang Doohyuk, the indie artist who currently resides in Canada chose the moniker ‘slchld’, an abbreviation of Seoulchild, as a homage to his birthplace.
Although singing mostly in English, slchld effortlessly sprinkles Korean in when necessary. Perhaps it’s to prove that he’s familiar with his Korean heritage. Perhaps it’s for poetic effect. Whatever the case, these transitions are never jarring and instead lend a personal touch to his music. In fact, all his music stems from something deeply personal and is influenced by the changing tides of his youth.
While he generally leans towards lo-fi R&B, there’s hip hop and soul littered into the mix too. This is even more impressive considering he’s completely indie with no label to his name. slchld is completely self-made. It’s a fact he takes much pride in. And rightfully so. Having only started in 2017, he’s already amassed close to a million monthly listeners on Spotify with over 60 self-composed songs. That’s an average of 20 songs a year. With his eyes set on breaking into the Korean music industry, there’s no telling where his talent will take him.
Here are the top three tracks you should check out from slchld:
1. huge mood
huge mood tells the story of a loved one shutting themself off from the world and from receiving love, and the subsequent efforts to try and get them to open up. Truly a #mood.
My love, my love
Please don’t wrestle the pain
2. hurting
If huge mood was about someone else shutting themself off, hurting flips the narrative and talks about the isolation one feels from hurting alone without nobody to turn to, yet recognizing that deep down we want someone to understand us.
I smile just to function
But it’s not who I am
But I had enough
3. my insecurities, not yours
In every new relationship, we often contemplate and wonder if we’re actually good enough for the other person, or whether we even want to open up to someone only for the off chance they leave you with more wounds than you started with.
Someone like you
Would you understand me?
I’m used to being alone
I’d be depressed if you were gone
