Group Pentagon member and solo singer-songwriter Kino is ramping up comeback excitement by previewing a unique rave party ahead of the release of his second EP.
Kino's independent label NAKED said on the 25th that Kino will hold a rave club party "WURK(?e)" on Oct. 5 at Bolero Seoul in Itaewon, Seoul, as part of album release promotions. Ahead of that, Kino heightened curiosity by releasing related posters on his official social media channels.
The party is themed "office detox," which aims to relieve the sense of fatigue and anger from office life that many people in modern society can relate to.
Under the free-spirited message "Tonight's work is dancing, playing and drinking," the event will give office workers a feeling of liberation from fixed rules. The party name "?e" is inspired by an onomatopoeia that, depending on pronunciation, expresses the act of vomiting; it carries symbolic meaning of expelling suppressed emotions while also showing freedom. In particular, the event is running an unusual marketing campaign by recruiting ravers (participants) through major online job sites, offering the public an even more distinctive form of entertainment.
Notably, producer yunj (Yunji), who participated in Kino's new album, will join as a DJ for the event, and top techno DJs including DJ co.kr (Coker), JUSTIN (Justin) and THE MEMBERS will also take part. Not only will some songs from the album be unveiled for the first time at the venue, but unusual experiential programs matching the concept are also prepared to stimulate listeners' senses.
Earlier, Kino captured global fans' attention by releasing two new concept photos for his second EP EVERYBODY'S GUILTY, BUT NO ONE'S TO BLAME on the 22nd over two days.
In the released pictorials, Kino used handcuffs as a prop to metaphorically express a desire to break free from social oppression. In another cut, he confronted the suffocating feeling of a closed space with a resolute gaze, creating an intense mood and foreshadowing a striking visual transformation.
Kino named the keyword that runs through this comeback concept "Kino 2.0" and declared a bold reboot of his artist identity. Based on a pledge to embrace multiple inner selves and stand as a whole being, he plans to completely shed his previous image and prove his growth as a renewed solo artist.
Kino's second EP EVERYBODY'S GUILTY, BUT NO ONE'S TO BLAME, set to be released abruptly on Oct. 13, captures inner conflict and contradictions and the honest self that blossoms within them. It lays out emotions everyone experiences — repression, lack, longing and frustration — in a blunt and intimate narrative, and is expected to show Kino's true colors as he tries new transformations across music, performance and visuals.
The agency said the album will serve as a moment of "rediscovery" where listeners can confirm Kino's mature musical world, solidified as a solo artist, as he "acknowledges another self and reveals a new image."
Meanwhile, Kino will further heighten comeback anticipation by unexpectedly releasing the music video for a pre-release song shrouded in mystery on his official YouTube channel on the 26th.
[OSEN]