Mixtapemotions

The Seoul Jazz Festival is an annual music event held in Seoul, South Korea, that celebrates jazz and other related genres, such as blues, soul, funk, and R&B. Since its inception in 2007, the festival has grown into one of the country’s premier music events, attracting both local and international artists. It usually takes place in late spring, typically in May, and is hosted at scenic venues like Olympic Park, which provides a relaxed outdoor setting for music lovers. The festival features a diverse lineup of musicians, ranging from jazz legends to contemporary artists across various genres, offering a fusion of styles that appeal to a broad audience. Besides jazz, the Seoul Jazz Festival often includes performances by indie, pop, and crossover artists, making it accessible to a wider range of music fans. This year, Lauv headlined the festival for 2 of the 3 nights. 

THERE’S A UNIVERSE WHERE WE BOTH GET HURT. For his first headlining set on Friday, May 31, Lauv performed his debut 2018 compilation album I met you when I was 18. Then on Sunday, June 2, Lauv headlined again but this time the bill said “Lauv w/ Special Guests.” Also performing earlier that day were Jeremy Zucker and Alexander 23. The three artists had been closely associated with each other, touring and collaborating occasionally.  Born in 1994, Lauv is the eldest and the most veteran of the three in the music business, beginning his music career on MySpace. Zucker is the youngest, born in 1996, and debuted on a major label in 2015. The singer-songwriter has had modest success in his home country of the United States but has more charting singles in New Zealand and South Korea. Zucker supported Lauv on two tours, the 2018 I Met You When I Was 18 Tour and the 2020 ~How I’m Feeling ~ Tour, though the tour was canceled after performing in Australia, New Zealand, and Indonesia. Alexander Glantz, known as Alexander 23, began his music career the latest of the three in 2019 but quickly began collecting production and songwriting credits in addition to recording his own songs. He co-produced Olivia Rodrigo’s “good 4 u” and has a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year for his work on Rodrigo’s SOUR. 

FELT THE WORLD SLOWING DOWN. On May 22, Jeremy Zucker, Lauv, and Alexander 23 released the collaborative single “Cozy.” In the promotion for the laid-back single, the three male singers called themselves “The Girls,” printing T-shirts and tweeting that they were performing for the first time together in Seoul, South Korea. Naming their troop, whether officially or unofficially, The Girls, puts Lauv, Zucker, and Alexander 23 in a comparative category with the singer-songwriters in boygenius. Critics argued that there was no male singer-songwriter equivalent to the likes of Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus, and Julien Baker. While the two trios may not be comparable, there is an interesting comparison between the so-called “sad girls” and “sad boys” of indie pop. Calling themselves “the girls” a generation ago may have carried a streak of mean-spirited misogyny. The “sad boys” of pop music may not be making as much of a statement on gender and sexuality as boygenius—Lauv is the only out member of the group, identifying as bisexual—but The Girls’ “Cozy” is a nontoxic masculine love song to somebody. The song could be a homoerotic love song, possibly to each other. A decade ago, it would seem that way. The music video of Lauv, Zucker, and Alexander 23 enjoying an innocent sleepover—dancing, playing music, pillow fighting, dressing up—seems more like a stereotypical girls sleep over, hence the name. “Cozy” seems to be three men comfortable with themselves expressing their love for a significant other in an articulate way. It’s refreshing to see that a soft model of masculinity exists.