Biography
세련된 일렉트로닉을 선보이는 ‘러브엑스테레오’는 2012년 ‘Soul City (Seoul City)’라는 곡을 발표, 그 이듬해 미국 뉴욕에서 열리는 가장 큰 규모의 음악 페스티벌 중 하나인 CMJ뮤직마라톤으로부터 당당하게 초청 받은 최초의 한국 락 밴드로 이름을 알리기 시작했다. 통산 세 차례의 북미 투어와 미국 사우스바이사우스웨스트 등 유수 해외 페스티벌 참가를 통해 그 실력을 검증 받은 바 있으며, 대표곡 ‘Hide and Seek’이 tvN드라마 ‘치즈인더트랩’에 삽입되어 이목을 끌었다. 90년대 얼터너티브 감성과 일렉트로닉적 요소들을 결합하여 21세기형 전자 음악을 구사하는 2인조 락 밴드로, 특히 라이브 무대에서 특유의 몽환적인 느낌들을 매력적으로 발산, 국내외 평단으로부터 좋은 평가를 받고 있다. 서로 연관성이 없는 37개의 곡들을 플레이리스트처럼 쏟아내는 정기구독형 프로젝트 [37]이 모두 마무리되어, 이례적으로 정규앨범을 2017년과 2019년에 각각 2장씩 모두 4장 발매하기도 했다. 최근에는 넷플릭스 오리지널시리즈 ‘좋아하면 울리는’에 타이틀곡으로 참여한 바 있으며, 2021년 1월 세계 최대 음악 박람회인 남쇼(NAMM Show)로부터 초청을 받아 한국 대표로 Believe in Music Week 글로벌 스트리밍 페스티벌을 통해 새 앨범 ‘Xennials’를 최초 공개했다.
Launched in 2011 by former skate punk rocker Toby Hwang and fugitive astrophysicist Annie Ko, Love X Stereo is a dazzling Seoul electro rock duo whose dreamy kaleidoscope of stellar synthpop anthems have enraptured music festival audiences across Asia, Europe, and North America. With the epic release of their double EP series ‘We Love We Leave’ in 2016, Love X Stereo headlined at SXSW’s perennially packed ‘K-Pop Night Out’ showcase, and nabbed a best electronic dance album of the year nomination at the 2017 Korean Music Awards. Accruing artist spotlights and rave reviews in international media outlets such as BBC, Billboard Magazine, and MTV, the critically acclaimed band eschewed the traditional album release routine from 2017 to 2019 and embarked on an ambitious fan-funded project that spawned 37 music video tracks as well as collaborated on original soundtracks for the smash hit Netflix Korea TV series ‘Love Alarm’ and award-winning indie short film ‘Zero One’. To celebrate their 10th anniversary, Love X Stereo world premiered their new album ‘Xennials’ at the NAMM Believe in Music Week in January 2021.
// REVIEWS //
“Beginning with a cut of Annie Ko singing breathily about the end of love over mellow, rollicking beats, the song is an ambient ode to the hardships associated with romance.”
— Billboard ‘Love X Stereo Releases ‘Zero One’ Music Video: Watch’’
“Winning, spiky, dance-pop” — Wall Street Journal ‘Globalization With an ’80s Beat’
“Love X Stereo is the band K-Pop Night Out was made for, an act that international listeners would be open to if they knew it existed.” — PageSix ‘Even the Korean government is at SXSW’
“Annie Ko’s cotton-candy voice is light and fluffy, the perfect match to Toby Hwang’s pastel fever dream production.” — Billboard ‘10 Best Dance Songs About Kissing’
“[Love X Stereo] blew us away with their infectious electronic rock sound. Their sound is packed with spaced out synths, shimmering guitars, and dreamy female vocals.” — BitCandy ‘SXSW 2016: Best Artists Day 4’
“Frontwoman Annie Ko possesses a girlish, fairytale whisper that lends itself to CHVRCHES comparisons. But while the Scottish band floats like an electronic butterfly, Love X Stereo stings like a rock ‘n’ roll bee.” — MTV Iggy ‘Love X Stereo = Delicious Electro Rock From Seoul’
“Love X Stereo are quite frankly and criminally underrated considering the quality of music that they make.”
— Metro.co.uk ‘Artist of the day 13/06: Love X Stereo’
“They may draw from the sound of alt and punk rock from the 90’s, but with a modernized electronic production and lead singer Annie’s powerful, yet girly voice, Love X Stereo has a sound that’s all their own.” — SXSW South By Southwest ‘Four On The Floor: Bands With Seoul (Part One)’
// AWARDS & HONORS //
2018 Canada International Film Festival (Best Music Video [Rage Is Not Enough])
2017 Girona Film Festival (Best Music Video – Nominee)
2017 Korean Music Awards (Best Dance & Electronic Album of the Year – Nominee)
2014 Korea Creative Content Agency (K-Rookies Annual Finals: Runner-Up)
2014 Korea Creative Content Agency (K-Rookies Monthly Competition: Winner)
// INTERNATIONAL FESTIVALS //
2021 NAMM Believe in Music (Global Livestream)
2019 Ubud Food Festival (Bali ID)
2018 Reeperbahn Festival (Hamburg DE)
2018 APaMM (Ulsan KR)
2018 Baybeats (Singapore SG)
2017 FOCUS Wales (Wrexham UK)
2016 Pentaport Rock Festival (Incheon KR)
2016 KCON LA (Los Angeles CA)
2016 SXSW South By Southwest (Austin TX)
2015 Vans New Wave Musicfest (Bangalore IN)
2015 Mu:Con (Seoul KR)
2015 Canadian Music Week (Toronto ON)
2014 CMJ Music Marathon (New York NY)
2014 Culture Collide (San Francisco/Los Angeles CA)
2014 Hyundai Card CityBreak (Seoul KR)
2014 Ultra Music Festival (Seoul KR)
2014 Music Matters Live (Singapore SG)
2014 CAAMfest (San Francisco CA)
2014 SXSW South By Southwest (Austin TX)
2013 CMJ Music Marathon (New York NY)
2013 Indieweek Canada (Toronto ON)
2012 Jisan Valley Rock Festival (Gyeonggi-do KR)
