A groundbreaking use of traditional instruments

Kang Ilkwon (music critic): Modern artists have taken many different approaches to harkening back to the past through pop music, be it through their choice of genre like retro soul revival or old-school hip hop, emulating the recording and mixing methods or using instruments from days gone by. And in some cases, all of these approaches can be heard working together in unison.

When using traditional instruments, the emphasis isn’t on simply repeating the past but on the way the instruments themselves are put to use. The sound of the instruments blends together with contemporary digital production, leading to a sound that resonates with listeners in a very unique way. Ever since Seo Taiji and Boys’ “Anyhow Song” (1993), there have been numerous attempts to play or sample traditional instruments and blend them into Korean popular music. In that sense, BLACKPINK’s song “Pink Venom” can be considered a continuation of that legacy. One unmistakably attention-grabbing sound in the song, and a highlight right from the opening, is the geomungo, a traditional Korean stringed instrument. Just as how the tabla and tumbi are a brilliant combination of traditional Indian percussion and string instruments in Missy Elliott’s classic “Get Ur Freak On,” such music creates an unfamiliar and exciting atmosphere. The same can be said of the Korean instruments played on BLACKPINK’s track.

The way the geomungo experiences a sudden shift in the role it plays is particularly fascinating. It plays the part of the rhythm in the intro while the group chants their name but passes that responsibility on to the drums once the song starts in earnest and from there becomes the main loop. But in this capacity, too, the geomungo is soon replaced by loops laced with digital filters. In terms of time, this traditional instrument doesn’t make up that much of the song overall, but there can be no mistake that it’s one of the most memorable parts of “Pink Venom.” Although combining modern genres with traditional instruments is far from a novel idea, the groundbreaking approach in “Pink Venom” separates the track from mundane club bangers that attempt the same thing.

The 2020s are ours

Kim Doheon (music critic): With their pre-release single “Pink Venom,” BLACKPINK has declared themselves stars on the world stage—a bold reflection of the group and their producers’ belief that the most popular girl group in the world isn’t some group of wannabes but true pop stars in the history books of popular music.

The producers’ tastes and vision permeate the entire track. It opens with a geomungo, but the core melody borrows mainly from Bollywood film music and bhangra, a genre with roots ultimately in Punjab. Their influences come across in more than just the melody, hiding in plain sight with the high-pitched vocals in the chorus (“this that pink venom”). Preceded by a similar strategy in “Pretty Savage” and LISA’s solo song “LALISA,” the method of sampling used in “Pink Venom” is a frequently used technique when it comes to pop music, from Dr. Dre in the 1990s to the pop hits in the early and mid-2000s and today’s hip hop tracks. Jay-Z's “The Bounce,” the Game’s “Put You on the Game,” Pusha T and Future’s Kanye West-produced track “Pain,” Britney Spears’ “Toxic” and the Black Eyed Peas’ “Don’t Phunk with My Heart” all come to mind.

They make direct references to some big names, too. Lyrics to Notorious B.I.G.’s “Kick in the Door” are right there in JENNIE’s part in the intro (“Kick in the door, waving the coco”) and LISA interpolates 50 Cent’s “P.I.M.P.” (“You couldn’t get a dollar outta me”) before passing the baton to ROSÉ. It’s a tried-and-true approach for YG Entertainment and one that keeps with the recent Y2K throwback trend.

With their massive popularity, BLACKPINK confidently seems to exclaim, “If the 2000s were Rihanna, Fergie and Britney Spears, the 2020s are ours.” Their overflowing pride is the perfect way to announce their new album, BORN PINK, due out September 16.

A stunning break away

Na Wonyoung (popular music critic): LISA’s groundbreaking Best K-pop win at the MTV Video Music Awards for her solo song “LALISA” neatly overlaps with her outstanding role as a part of BLACKPINK recently. From YG’s use of the sound of exciting, unfamiliar instruments to embellish their music tracing back to the label’s so-called family days, to their emulation of mainstream American pop rap, time-tested characteristics make “Pink Venom” sound instantly familiar. Adding to its immediate recognizability are bits the song borrows from Notorious B.I.G.’s rap in “Kick in the Door” and part of the melody in “Pon de Replay” by Rihanna combined together to form something new.

As popular music has continued to evolve towards pointillism by passing down traditions and borrowing from other genres, the way the song easily and unabashedly hides clippings of the BLACKPINK and YG soundscapes within itself is enjoyable, to say nothing of the joy of actually finding them scattered throughout. But what makes “Pink Venom” all the more enjoyable is when the song, which looks to position itself firmly as American-style pop, suddenly embraces the fact that it is indeed Korean idol pop, which it does through its incongruous sections. This is the moment when the G-funk synth rings out and the rattling power of the breakbeat is particularly emphasized and in comes LISA spitting impassioned rhymes with JENNIE. Just like how “Ice Cream” is most memorable when it deviates slightly from the more conventional pop structure of the song built up for guest singer Selena Gomez, and just as LISA uses a similar causal mash-up in the catchiest part of “LALISA” to represent Southeast Asian culture and its complex, intertwined roots (like idol pop itself has), “Pink Venom” also breaks away from the consistency of the most international K-pop group of our time. Indeed, the eruption of dissonance arising from qualities that seem as though they could never be united, whether intentional or not, is the most interesting thing to look out for in those songs that aim to maintain some coherence of their pop music sensibilities within one track.