Recently, former Mew frontman Jonas Bjerre released the ethereal and original motion picture soundtrack album “Hana Korea.” Previously, the album’s lead single “Hike To The Sun” emerged as the centerpiece of the new record, featuring the vocals of Yeohee Kim.
After digitally releasing on Aug. 21, the soundtrack album will be followed by a vinyl release on Nov. 20 via Invisible Hands Music. A new Korean-Danish movie directed by Frederik Sølberg, the accompanying music of “Hana Korea” evokes intense emotional longing, synchronizing with the movie’s plot. Highlighting the challenges a North Korean girl faces in exile in South Korea, the album sees Bjerre shifting away from his indie-rock past and trading it in for a more simplistic, drone-heavy instrumental-music expertist.
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How did you come to be the person behind the soundtrack for this movie?
I had met director Frederik Sølberg on a few occasions, but didn’t know him super well. He reached out to me, I suppose because of my work with Mew, and some of the scores I have made over the years. Felt that I was the man for the job :)
How did you capture the feel of the movie in your music?
The original pitch was “electronic, cold, and alienating.” We wanted to capture the mental state of the main character, and her experience of coming from North Korea into South Korea, how different that world felt to her. So I initially used some of my vintage digital synths, as well as a lot of modular synths, but eventually we started to add some more natural sounding elements, like strings and human voice.
What was your take on the movie?
Well the movie was still being edited as I was working, and this made it a constantly changing thing. I was really into the idea of capturing the atmosphere of the movie, but we quickly discovered that it simply became too cold and bleak, that it needed some humanity, so the music gradually becomes more emotional throughout. I’m really happy with the mix of those elements.
Is there a particular song that connects with you?
I quite like the main theme, it has this feeling of the unknown, something about to happen, and these polyrhythmic pulses that drive it forward. Also, there are a couple of scenes taking place in a Spanish restaurant in Seoul, and I recorded these flamenco-inspired vinyl string guitar pieces for that, which was quite new for me, and very enjoyable.
How was it working with Yeohee Kim
It was great! We did not actually meet in person, just had meetings online. She recorded her parts in her studio in Berlin, and I mixed the song in Copenhagen. That song came to be because Frederik wanted to have a real song in the end credits, and he had this guitar figure that had a nice innocence and hopefulness to it. I then came up with a melody and added more instruments but we kept the production sparse to keep its vulnerability. The lyrics were based on some key words from Frederik, and are meant to capture the contrast between her old world and her new one. Yeohee Kim added the Korean words and it just turned out so lovely!
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