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| (Image Source: ABS-CBN News) |
After topping the search chart of South Korea's most promising music streaming service Melon in 2020, Filipino folk-pop collective Ben&Ben teamed up with Seoul-based singer-songwriter and rapper Young K for the new version of its 2017 hit single "Leaves". The re-recorded material set for international release comes with fuller, more intricate arrangements and subtle background harmonies. Aesthetically, there is something inherently grand about the new version of "Leaves" which transports listeners to the 2000s where acclaimed musicians like Fleet Foxes and Sufjan Stevens made intricate chamber pop music with indie folk sensibilities.
In a statement, Ben&Ben's lead singer and guitarist Miguel Benjamin said, “The new version of Leaves is based heavily on how the full band adapted the song for live performance through the years. As compared to the original piano and guitar only arrangement, the new one features the rest of the band’s full instrumentation and additional choir-esque harmony arrangement by Toni, Andrew, and Poch on the intro and first verse.” For lead singer and guitarist Paolo Benjamin, the collaboration was an extremely smooth process with Young K contributing his vocals to the second verse and chorus of the song giving it an edgier, more pop-oriented sound and seamlessly reinterpreting the song with a clean, powerful vocal on top of the band's organic arrangement. “No revisions were needed, as everything worked as a result of natural chemistry, and Young K’s affinity to the band sound as well," Paolo added.
Multi-talented artist Young K has been a constant presence in the Korean pop/rock music scene, starting out as the bassist, vocalist and rapper of South Korean rock band Day6. He scored a No. 1 hit in 2015 as the featured artist in Baek A-Yeon's multiplatinum certified single "Shouldn't Have" and earned songwriting credits for some of the biggest K-Pop acts such as GOT7, Park Ji-Min, Nakjoon and Eric Nam to name a few. The partnership between Ben&Ben and Young K began when several K-pop artists listened and reacted to "Leaves" on V Live as requested by their respective fanbases. The videos propelled the song to trend at No. 1 and occupy the second, third, sixth and seventh positions in the Melon real-time search chart and the rest of the story, as they say, is history. Percussionist and background vocalist Andrew De Pano points out, “The band’s and Day 6’s management were able to reach out to each other, and the artists’ mutual respect for each other’s music eventually led to Young K agreeing to a collaboration."
Young K, on the other hand, shares that he immediately accepted the offer to work with Ben&Ben because he believes in the band's music and vision more than anything else. “Out of few songs that I listened to, Leaves caught my ears the most. The message given through the lyrics and the entire vibe was very heart-warming. And the vocals were amazing. It would’ve been better if we could meet in person, but still the fact that I could have my voice with them is enough for me. Maybe in the future we could work on a new song together,” he adds.
