10.

Hyangni - Promise

It's been about three years since Hyangni blew us away with her incredible album, 3, which is still never far from our speakers. A singular talent with an incomparable knack for crafting genre-smashing dance music, Hyangni has been largely quiet since then, with just the odd, interspersed single to satiate our hunger for her funk-and-R'n'B-driven electro. But then, every once in a while, material like this emerges and gets us moving our limbs like absolute idiots. This infectious funky house jam has Hyangni's eccentric style on full display.

9.

87dance - How Can I Forget You Girl

Another band who have had a meteoric rise in 2022 is 87dance. Their newfound success leans heavily on their breakout single - How Can I Forget You Girl (although playing a Platform Magazine show in the spring didn't hurt). On this song, they have evolved their earlier loungy bedroom pop into a silky smooth organ-led funk odyssey. Its sleazy psychedelia undertones mesh superbly with Yang Seung-yeon's seductively whispered vocals.

8.

playbook - Rainbow

Silica Gel's Kim Minsu, aka playbook, got the year started in a special way with the release of his 5-track EP, Spirit #2. Like much of his solo work, Spirit #2 draws on influences from the 60s and 70s with splatters of soul, psychedelia and, most importantly, the lo-fi style of R. Stevie Moore. Accompanied by an inexplicably endearing video, Rainbow is one of the more polished offerings on the EP. It's a hushed, McCartney-esque ballad about staying hopeful with a healthy serving of tongue-in-cheek humour.

7.

Japanese Breakfast (featuring So!YoON!) - Be Sweet (Korean-language version)

We're kind of cheating here since the original of this song came out in the middle of 2021. For some reason, we overlooked it on last year's list, but that's actually great because it means we can include the Korean language version on this year's rundown. This gorgeously retro synth-pop track draws heavily on 80s pop sounds but reimagines them as something very now. The reworked version features Se So Neon's So!YoON!, both of who performed the track on the main stage at this year's Pentaport Music Festival.

6.

sogumm, Keumbee - Waters of March

One of the most surprising releases came back in March when two icons of Korea's alt-pop scene, sogumm and Keumbee, released a 3-track EP that saw them move away from their bigger, electronic sound towards an ethereal, almost minimalist style. The opening track, Waters of March, is a cover of a classic Brazillian song written by Antônio Carlos Jobim in 1972. Written about the excessive rain Brazil experiences in March, the song is often considered one of the best the country has produced. Here, sogumm and Keumbee put their spin on it with a delicate soft-jazz style.

5.

Sasami - Make It Right

American-born musician Sasami is a descendant of the Zainichi, Korean citizens who were forcibly taken to Japan during the Japanese occupancy. The singer brings her connection to Korea, Japan, and America for her confrontational aesthetic. Her recent album, Squeeze, mixed the singer's alt style with her heavier influences from the worlds of rock, industrial and electronic. It's a real challenge for the listener but in a good way. Our favourite track is the relatively poppy Make It Right. Its bouncy chorus and direct riffs cry out to be played at full volume.

4.

Yonha - Childhood

This deliciously simplistic soft rock song by newcomer Yohna manages to hit you in a really emotional place. It is in the song's simplicity that it finds its power as it drives home universal messages about the nature of growth, regret, and gratitude. An outstanding vocal performance by Yohna, whose voice is layered in a way that perfectly fits with the song's 90s-esque warm college rock guitar strumming.

3.

Say Sue Me - Around You

OK, full disclosure, this song holds a special place for the Platform Magazine team. In the summer, we held two amazing nights of live music in the gorgeous sun of Busan. The highlight of our trip to the south was the Ovantgarde crowd going crazy to Around You. Despite the sad-ish lyrics about only feeling good when you're around certain people, Around You is probably Say Sue Me's most joyous-sounding song. Their sunny energy is here, but it's turned up to 11 as the deceptively-deep anthem glistens away for 3-and-a-half minutes of upbeat indie-pop. This will forever be the anthem of the summer of 2022.

2.

CHS - Highway

What makes CHS special is the incredibly rich set of international influences that drip from every neo-psychedelic song they put out. This has never been truer than on the rhythmically insane Highway. In typical fashion, it's a sprawling concerto, with each movement bringing in a different country's core sound to their audio jambalaya. This, however, sees CHS at their liveliest, with South American influences in the driving seat. Soaked in samba-inspired rhythms and afro-cuban vocal harmonies, Highway is a joyous celebration of broad horizons and the freedom of travel. I think we all agree we could really use that right now.

1.

Haepaary - Nothing to Envy

What a year it has been for this enigmatic electronic duo. Haepaary reinterpret traditional Korean aesthetics, such as Joseon-era melodies and Namchang Gagok vocal styles and place them in a modern, experimental context. Mesmerisingly fused with trance beats, the band's unique style has seen them rise meteorically in 2022 with some high-profile awards and international live dates.

Nothing to Envy was Haepaary's sole release this year, but it's quality that matters, not quantity, and this song is a real corker. An enthralling listen that threads their off-kilter vocal harmonies through constantly twisting electronic sounds.

This is the sound of an already-incredible act in their pomp, reaching a new level. It's an essential song.