CIFIKA, a 27-year-old South Korean singer/producer, is making waves on the Korean music scene with her electro-soul sound. Two years into her career, the singer has two EPs under her belt - Intelligentsia and Prism.
Her collaborations with premier indie artists like Oh Hyuk have helped her make a name for herself in the underground music scene. With a spot secured for her at SXSW in March, CIFIKA extended her sojourn to the states by adding so many tour dates she has now become the longest U.S. touring South Korean act ever.
On April 4th, CIFIKA stopped in Washington, D.C. to hold a concert at Songbyrd, a small intimate music venue in northwest D.C. The location is a staple in the music community for showcasing artists from all over the world. So after reading many articles highlighting this rising singer/producer, I decided to play hooky from work and headed over to Songbyrd to get my own CIFIKA experience.
With all the hype that CIFIKA has been receiving, I was surprised to see that there weren’t as many people in attendance as expected. Nonetheless, we were a small but enthusiastic audience. Many people, like myself, had come alone. Some people I talked to had just bought tickets on a whim because they thought CIFIKA sounded like an interesting artist.
After a brief opener, CIFIKA took the stage without much fanfare, even helping the crew set up her mixing equipment, mic and two laptops. In the basement venue, known as "The Byrd Cage," the artist stood on a small raised stage with no barricade separating her from the audience. She ran through her set, layering vocals as she went, something she did with ease. She performed songs from both her EPs, including "Doorogo," "Mal" as well as her collaboration track with DJ/producer Graye, "D.A." Even though we were a small audience, people were swaying to the songs, dancing, and singing along with the words (as best we could, it didn’t seem as if there were many Korean speakers).
In between songs, CIFIKA sweetly thanked us, quietly speaking into the mic. Although fluent in English, as she lived for ten years in California before returning to South Korea, she didn’t like to speak very much during the set, something she warned us about in the beginning. After about 45 minutes, CIFIKA finished with her last song, “Pieta,” thanked us one more time and walked off the stage.
Although much lauded by the hypebeasts that are Billboard and VICE, the reality is that CIFIKA is still working to make a name for herself in the American music scene. She’s already put in the work in South Korea, and now is in the process of doing so in the US. With huge events like SXSW under her belt and the continued coverage by the American media, she might be able to break through to the American audience as a self-producing Korean act outside of the K-pop world. Her challenge is greater though, as CIFIKA is uniquely CIFIKA, and therefore forging her own path. Without the push of a huge K-Pop music label, she represents only herself and her music as the first of its kind.
CIFIKA performs at SXSW 2018, photo courtesy of Live in Limbo
While having a post-concert drink at Songbyrd’s bar, I spoke with two girls who were also there for the show. I asked them what they thought of the concert and expressed my sadness that CIFIKA hadn’t performed a particular song that I liked. One of the girls shook her head and said, “I wouldn’t know, I hadn’t heard of the artist before today. We just decided to show up because she seemed interesting!” They both enthusiastically agreed that she had a great sound and they enjoyed the music before turning back to their own conversation.
In the end, that is the appeal of CIFIKA. She piques the interest, even without having heard her music before. How can you not be intrigued by someone who describes their music as cyber-psychedelic? This is where success begins, in dark basements beneath noisy bars with curious music lovers who become fans in a short 45 minutes.
CIFIKA wrapped up her U.S. tour on April 7th in Boston, presumably to return to South Korea. I expect her success to only continue and hope to see her return to our side of the world someday soon.