Client: Dazed Digital.
1. RED VELVET – “DUMB DUMB”
Five-member girl group Red Velvet made their debut last year with “Happiness”, a track that took cues from K-Pop peers f(x). But a year later, after revamping themselves into the sassy Red Velvet we see here, they surpassed their idol competitors with a flick of a plaited pigtail. With its complex concoction of handclaps, looped saxophone and a clattering cowbell, and with each sound pinned together with airtight harmonies, “Dumb Dumb” marked a monumental, career-crowning musical tornado.
The music video was pretty spectacular too. Showcasing K-Pop’s on going love affair with French fashion photo genius Guy Bourdin via startling primary palettes, off-the-wall graphics and a winking re-enactment of Bourdin’s “Suitcase Full of Legs”, the video felt like a shower of artistic reference points that had been sliced, diced and sewn back together to create something unique. With their sparkling debut album The Red in tow, “Dumb Dumb” quickly evolved into this year’s K-Pop benchmark, leaving everyone else reaching.
Taylor Glasby 