Hello! I’m Jooyoung Kim, an engineer and music producer.
It’s already the last day of 2024…
It feels like I’ve barely done anything, yet the end of the year has come around again. 😊
This year, I want to take a moment to look back on what I’ve done.
First Half of the Year
In January, I started writing introductory posts about mixing techniques.
I’d been wanting to publish articles elsewhere, but after receiving rejections from various outlets, I decided to focus on writing consistently on my blog instead.
I lost count of how many times I revised those posts! Eventually, I submitted them to Kyobo Bookstore’s POD (Print on Demand) service. To my surprise, Joongpil Goo, an engineer from Klang Studio with extensive experience as an SM engineer, graciously wrote a recommendation for the book. Even now, it feels surreal! 😊
This was finally completed by late September, and it was quite an intense journey just to publish a single book.
From January to April, I worked with a studio called Studio Dolphin, producing YouTube videos where AI collaborated with indie musicians to create songs.
We used Soundraw for the AI-generated music, ChatGPT for lyrics, and melodies were composed by indie musicians. The challenge was to create a full song in just 90 minutes.
I participated as both an engineer and a panelist, but unfortunately, the videos didn’t garner much attention, and they’ve since been taken down.
At the start of January, I was extremely busy with various recording and mixing tasks for school projects. In February, I spent a lot of time preparing paperwork to apply for government-sponsored projects. Sadly, none of these applications were successful, which left me feeling rather deflated.
In March, I returned to school, and things got busier from there.
In May, I launched my English blog and started promoting Plugin Boutique products more actively, which kept me even busier.
Summer
From July to August, I worked on producing Danny Boy’s EP from start to finish.
I handled everything—recording, arranging, mixing, and mastering. 😊
At the same time, I collected measurement data for my thesis. The data turned out well enough that I’m now preparing to submit it to an international academic journal.
While processing the data, I found myself delving into coding—a field I never thought I’d explore! Surprisingly, tools like Copilot and ChatGPT were lifesavers. At first, I barely understood anything, but after asking countless questions, things started making sense. 😊
Second Half of the Year
September was tough. I applied for several positions but didn’t get any of them. My final interview was with the Gyeonggi Arts Center, but, well… things didn’t work out. Back in May, I’d also made it to the final round for a position at Kumho Art Hall at Yonsei University but was ultimately rejected. I guess that’s just how life goes. 😊
In October, I filmed a music video, and November passed without anything particularly noteworthy.
In December, I wrote a short paper about loudness in audio and submitted it to a domestic academic journal. It was accepted and will be published in early January.
Also, during this semester, a professor from Sorigeo joined the faculty, and I took his class. In collaboration with him, I gathered data for another research paper, spending two days on measurements. The data looks promising, but I haven’t organized it yet. Once I do, I plan to publish another paper and share the details. 😊
In addition to all this, I continued working on my own music, doing external mixing/mastering, composing/arranging, and providing guide vocals.
Unforgettable Projects
One of the most memorable projects this year was mastering the EP for the Bulkuksa Team’s Random Game. My favorite track was definitely “Microdust.”
A heads-up: the song contains explicit language. 😊
A friend had asked if I could master the track using only an MP3 demo, as they’d lost the original files. I was initially concerned about the sound quality but was blown away by how creative the music was. I couldn’t say no!
Some tracks were well-balanced, while others were completely off, but I managed to improve them significantly through proactive mastering. While the sound quality wasn’t ideal due to the limitations of MP3, the sheer fun of the music made up for it. 😊
Gear Purchases
- Stam Audio SA-4000 MK2 Compressor
- KEF Kube 15 MIE Subwoofer
- Stam Audio SA-2A Compressor
- Earthworks M30 Measurement Microphone
- Rack Cabinet and Patch Bay
- Wharfedale D310 Passive Speakers
- Cort A4 Bass
- A broken Heritage Audio Successor Compressor
I bought quite a bit this year…
Next year, I’m thinking of adding a tube microphone preamp and an EQ. Maybe another compressor or a mic too? The gear wishlist never ends! 😊
Jooyoung's Music Blog 