Nerd Connection (Korean: 너드커넥션) is a four-member South Korean rock band. Nerd Connection formed on 31 May 2017, later officially debuting on 12 August 2018 with their single "Hymn of the Birds". The band's slogan is "(in a) dizzy world, warm music" (Korean: "어지러운 세상, 따뜻한 음악"). Nerd connection's music is heavily inspired by western bands from the 1990s and early 2000s such as Radiohead, Coldplay, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Muse, and Oasis as well as Korean artists such as Kim Kwang-seok, San-ul-rim, and Nell.[1]
Formation
Nerd Connection's Seo Young-joo and Choi Seung-wo met at Yonsei University's college band club 'Medusa' in 2012 after they were assigned to the same team. In 2013, Park Jae-hyun joined 'Medusa' as a new member and subsequently teamed up with Young-joo and Seung-wo. In 2017 the three members decided to take up their band activities professionally (previously they had been playing together as a hobby) and recruited Shin Yeon-tae (who had previously worked together with Jae-hyun on a project band) as their drummer.[1]
Musicality
Nerd Connection writes their song lyrics in both Korean and English. According to the band's vocalist Seo Young-joo, the band writes both a Korean and an English version of their song, afterwards choosing "the language which resonates more". When writing in Korean, their lyrics are reported to be "emotional and beautiful metaphors".[2]
Career
2018–2021: career beginnings
In 2018 Nerd Connection competed at the Emergenza World Band Competition 2018 Korea. The band competed in five preliminary rounds held in Korea, before winning the Korean branch of the competition's final round. The final of the Emergenza world competition was held in Germany. The winning bands from each country performed at the Taubertal Festival 2018 in Germany.[3]
On 5 April 2019, band members Jae-hyun and Young-joo featured in episode 12 of season 6 of I Can See Your Voice. While both members joined as representatives of Nerd Connection, they performed individually. Jae-hyun performed first in the Lip Sync round as a "good" singer. Later in the episode Young-joo performed as a "good singer" in the Evidence round.[4]
Nerd Connection's first EP was released on 6 December 2019. Their EP, Too Fast, runs for 22 minutes and features five songs.
On 22 October 2020, Nerd Connection's fourth single "Back in Time" was released.
On 21 January 2021 the band released their fifth single titled "Time Falling".
Nerd Connection's sixth single, "걸어갈래요" (English translation: "I'll Walk") was released on 24 March 2021. The song "attracts the sympathy of many people with its lyrical lyrics that contain a voice of support".[5]
On 6 June 2021, Nerd Connection released their next single titled "Nan". Following this release, on 15 June 2021, Young-joo and Seung-yoon featured in episode 11 of JTBC's Sing Again spin-off show, Famous Singers.[6]
On 17 June 2021, Nerd Connection signed with the Korean record label/agency Your Summer.[7]
"Life Dancing", Nerd Connection's eighth single came out on 15 August 2021. This song compares the motions of everyday living to a dance. Through their lyrics, Nerd Connection suggests that "Our struggles are quite sad when you look closely, but beautiful from a distance".[8]
2022–present: budding popularity
Nerd Connection's released their first song to feature on an OST (Soundtrack) on 15 January 2022. The song, titled "Lullaby", featured on the Korean TV show, Through the Darkeness's soundtrack titled Through The Darkness OST Part.1. The song features "a repetitive and heavy acoustic guitar with a folk rhythm" that "leaves a hazy yet clear impression".[9] The band released their next OST single soon after titled, 'Fly Away'. The song (which was released on 19 March 2022) featured on the album I Have Not Done My Best (Original Television Soundtrack) Pt.5, which was released for the Korean show, I Have Not Done My Best. The song expresses the appearance of a character who "bravely breaks from reality to move toward their dreams".[10]
On 16 April 2022, Nerd Connection auditioned for the show Great Seoul Invasion and performed during a live streaming of the auditions. While the band passed the audition round and were meant to advance to the finals (the broadcast television program) they withdrew on 9 May 2022. They stated that their withdrawal was due to issues they had with the contents of their contract with MNET.[11]
Nerd Connection released their ninth single "Beodeul-gil" on 8 June 2022. The song's keyword "road" reflects the theme Nerd Connection strove to convey of "not forgetting the events, memories, wishes and values contained within".[12]
On 18 June 2022, Nerd Connection started their first tour titled, Supernova! with their first stop being at KT&G Sangsang Live Hall in Busan. On 20 and 21 August, Nerd Connection continued their tour in Seoul, performing at Hyundai Card.[13]
On 6 September 2022, Nerd Connection released their tenth single "Pablo".
Nerd Connection continued their Supernova! Tour from 17 to 18 September 2022, hosting a concert at Sejong Music Creation Centre in Sejong.[14]
On 22 September 2022, Nerd Connection performed at the Germany Reeperbahn Festival 2022 as part of the joint 'Korea Spotlight' performance. The Korea Creative Content Agency held the event at the festival after recruiting various Korean musical acts. The agency held two rounds to select which acts would perform at the festival. The first round had 48 teams apply, with 10 passing to the next round. During the second round a final 4 teams (Nerd Connection, Dajung, CHE and 250)[15] were selected. These teams performed as part of the 'Korea Spotlight' stage.
Nerd Connection released their third single to feature on an official soundtrack on 22 October 2022. Their song "I'm Lost" appeared on the album Blind (Original Television Soundtrack), Pt.4, which was released for the Korean TV show Blind. This single was produced as a collaboration between singer-songwriter Ra.L and composer Jang Hyun-ho.[16]
On 29 December 2022, Nerd Connection released their eleventh single named "That's Also Our Love". Following this release, Nerd Connection held the final concert of their first tour, Supernova! Final from 30 to 31 December 2022 in Seoul.[17] At the beginning of 2023, on 18 February 2023, the band held a sequel concert to their national tour titled, Supernova! Encore. This concert was held at Rolling Hall in Seoul.[citation needed]
"I Robbed a Bank", the band's twelfth single came out on 31 May 2023. The single features "wild electric guitar and drum" accompanied by a "dull yet sharp vocal" to convey a message of "the way to deal with chaos is to counter it with a strong will".[18]
On 1 and 2 July 2023, Nerd Connection held concerts at the first stop of their second tour Well! Are You Good?, at Mushinsa Garreji in Seoul.[19] Their second stop for this tour was in Gangneung, where they hosted a concert at the 'Gangneung Cultural Foundation Performance Hall' on 8 July 2023.[20] The last stop of this tour was held on 22 and 23 July 2023, at KT&G Sangsang Live Hall in Busan.[21]
Nerd Connection released the single, "If I Have You Only" (My Love X Nerd Connection) on 15 August 2023. The song was released as a collaborative piece for the Taiwanese move remake My Love of the Korean film On Your Wedding Day.[22]
Soon after, Nerd Connection's second EP, Hard To Explain, was released on 13 September 2023. It features five songs, with a duration of 16 minutes. In this album, "the bass sound (with heavy resonance) incites a rhythmic beat, leading the story of the entire album".[23]
"Losing Myself", Nerd Connection's fourteenth single, was released on 23 June 2024.
On 28 July 2024, Nerd Connection featured in the lineup (among Scottish rock band Travis, American singer-songwriter Alec Benjamin, English singer-songwriter King Krule, Korean girl-group Kiss of Life, Korean singer-songwriter Ha Hyun-sang, and various other artists) for the summer music festival, Have a Nice Trip 2024. The festival took place at Kintex (in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province) and was run by The Vault. Nerd Connection performed on the festival's second day with a 50-minute set.[24]
Nerd Connection's second full-length album was released on 12 August 2024. It is titled, And Yet, We Still, and features 14 songs (with a total duration of 57 minutes).[25] The band's bassist explained that Nerd Connection's aim with this album was to create a maximum amount of sound however rather than using synthesiser as the band had in the past "filled the sound with only strings and percussion instruments".[2] The cover art for this album was created by the artist Go Yoo-Sun (Korean: 고요손) and, "conveys a minimalist yet intense image".[26]
On 8 August 2024, Nerd Connection performed a dual concert with the Taiwanese rock band the Chairs, sponsored by Wishing Well (Taiwanese Mandarin: 微醺樂) and titled Lost & Escape.[27]
From 27 to 29 September 2023, Nerd Connection performed their first concerts as part of their national section of their tour And Yet, We Still. The first set of performances were performed in Seoul at Blue Square.[28]
On 4 October 2024, Nerd Connection made an appearance on the Korean talk show Lee Young-ji's Rainbow, which is broadcast by KBS. The band performed their songs "Good Night Good Dream", "Silently Completely Eternally" and "If I Have You Only" (My love X Nerd Connection).[29]
The second stop of Nerd Connection's national leg of the And Yet, We Still tour was held on 19 October 2024 at Daegu's Exco.[31] The third stop was in Busan where they performed at Busan KBS Hall on 26 October.[32] Following this, Nerd Connection with be performing at '우송예술회관' in Daejeon on 2 November 2024.[33] The last stop of Nerd Connection's national leg of their And Yet, We Still tour was held on 9 November 2024, at Chonbuk National University Samsung Cultural Center in Jeonju.[34] Following this last stop in Korea, Nerd Connection held their first solo concert outside of Korea in Tokyo, Japan. They performed at Garrett Udagawa on 15 November 2024.[35] After this performance, Nerd Connection traveled to Taipei, Taiwan for their last stop of the And Yet, We Still tour. They performed at Corner Max on 22 and 23 November 2024.[36]
Members
Shin Yeon-tae (신연태) – drummer (2017–present)
Choi Seong-won (최승원) – leader and guitarist (2012–present)
Seo Young-joo (서영주) – vocalist and guitarist (2012–present)
Nerd Connection participated in the arrangement of the song 'Ordinary Day' which was sung by Bae Suzy, appearing in Episode 8 of Netflix's TV Show Doona! (released on 20 October 2023)[98]
Regular 2nd album Still Us pop-up store held 6–12 September 2024
Pop-up store signing event held 7 September 2024
Notes
1.^ The scheduled offline date was 7 March 2020 however due to the COVID-19 pandemic it was postponed and later uploaded as a video
2.^ Nerd Connection's first time performing at a University Festival (at KAIST)
4.^ Cancelled due to an increase in social distancing measures as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic
5.^ Nerd Connection participated as South Korea's representative band
6.^ This was a joint performance between Nerd Connection and the Taiwanese band, THE CHAIRS
7.^ Nerd Connection advanced to the finals however left the show on 9 May 2022 due to issues they had with the contents of their contract with MNET[11]
^Choi, Ji-Eun (22 March 2021). "너드커넥션, 오는 24일 '걸어갈래요' 발매" (in Korean). Top Daily. Retrieved 17 October 2024. [이번 싱글 [걸어갈래요] 역시 응원의 목소리를 담아낸 서정적인 가사로 많은 이들의 공감을 이끌어낼 것으로 기대된다]
^"너드커넥션, 신곡 '라이프 댄싱'..."인생은 하나의 춤"" (in Korean). Yeonghap News. 7 August 2021. Retrieved 17 October 2024. [어딘가 하나씩 아픈 곳을 숨기고 살아가는 우리의 발버둥은 가까이서 보면 꽤 슬프지만 조금 멀리서 바라보면 꽤 아름다운 춤사위로 보인다]
^Ji, Jung-eun (8 June 2022). "계절을 기억하게 만드는 밴드 너드커넥션, 여름 향기 담아낸 '버들길' 발매!" (in Korean). KBS Media. Retrieved 17 October 2024. [사건들과 기억들, 그리고 그 안에 담긴 염원과 가치들을 잊지 않겠다는 메시지를 던지고 있으며, 그 모든 것들이 서려 있는 '길'이라는 키워드를 통해 곡의 주제를 뚜렷하게 형상화했다.]
^Kim, Tae-gyu (28 October 2022). "현대카드, 8월 다양한 공연·전시 이벤트 마련" (in Korean). News 2 Day. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
^Jeong, Sang-rae (15 September 2023). "너드커넥션, 신보 '설명하기 어려운 것들' 발매!" (in Korean). Gukje News. Retrieved 17 October 2024. [특히 이번 EP <설명하기 어려운 것들>은 묵직한 울림을 가진 베이스 사운드가 리드미컬한 비트를 선동하며 앨범 전체가 가진 스토리를 이끌고 있다]