Before I begin to gush about just how much I love this duo, I must mention that this group’s name has changed. They’re now called 디에이드 (The Ade), but I’m stubbornly calling them Acoustic Collabo because, one, it sounds better, and two, they were known as Acoustic Collabo for a very, very long time, and left behind an amazing collection of songs before moving onto becoming The Ade. They still make similar music and it’s not like the members have changed or anything. Their name change occurred after they came into conflict with their company. But that’s a story for another day, and now let me start gushing about how amazing they are.

You’ll love them if:

• you prefer female vocals
• you like acoustic music
• you like Korean ballads
• you genuinely enjoy depressing music (hey, these people exist)
• you feel sad and you want to wallow in that sadness, rather than pretending to be happy by listening to happy songs (not speaking from experience, no, not at all)
• you like clean and clear, beautiful vocals
• you appreciate highly emotional lyrics

Acoustic Collabo is made up of two members: the guitarist, and the vocalist. A guy plays the guitar and a girl sings. Both of them write songs, but they never swap roles. This duo is one of my favourite k-indie artists. The girl’s voice is absolutely, unbelievably clear and untainted, like pearls or glass beads. She also has amazing control. I recently went to their concert, and was amazed at how good she sounded live. She sounded just like the recorded version.

Acoustic Collabo has two main themes: fluttery, or downright sad. According to them, you’re either in love, or you’re out of it. Half of their songs are perfect for when you’re crushing on someone or you’ve just started dating them and it’s the unbelievable honeymoon period. The other half is for when you’re in pain, from an intense one-sided love or a recent break up. There doesn’t seem to be an in between. ㅋㅋㅋ You’re either super happy or super sad. But that is also another piece of evidence that points to just how skilled the singer is: the range of emotions she can express through that one voice.

Here are some of their most famous (and my favourite) songs:

그대와 나, 설레임 / 너무 보고싶어 / 묘해, 너와 / 제발

And my current favourite: 고백해요

You’d be able to guess by reading through my blog that I mainly listen to male vocals. Acoustic Collabo is one of the very few female vocals that I listen to, and they have always been one of my favourite k-indie artists. I don’t listen to them all the time (because their songs tend to affect my mood, ha) but I’m definitely always going back to them.