By Cathy Rose A. Garcia
Staff Reporter

In the world of K-pop dominated by sappy ballads and bland pop songs, Clazziquai Project stands out for their unique brand of chill-out electronica music. Clazziquai's name describes what its music is all about: a soothing combination of classical, jazz and groove.

Clazziquai Project, comprised of producer and mixer Kim Sung-hoon, also known as DJ Clazzi and vocalists Alex Chu and Choi Ho-ran, sat down with The Korea Times for an interview at a coffee shop in Yeoido last week.

Clazziquai members eagerly talked about their third album ''Love Child of the Century,'' which once again brings a new kind of music surprising even their fans.

''In our first album, many people said the songs sounded Japanese. But no artist wants to be told that their work sounds similar to other artists. The second album had an acoustic sound, while the third album has a new wave and European sound. We are constantly searching for originality in our music,'' Kim said.

Clazziquai has come a long way from its start as a ''project group" formed by Kim, a classically trained musician and jazz music enthusiast who also worked as a web designer. He started experimenting with music, creating a cross between ''chill-out lounge and house music.''

In 2001, Kim started sharing his music, featuring Chu and his sister Christina as vocalists, online. He received positive feedback from netizens, which eventually led to the release of their breakout album ''Instant Pig" in 2004. Then Choi joined the group as female vocalist.

While Clazziquai has been steadily gaining fans, the turning point came when their songs ''Be My Love'' and ''She Is'' were featured in the hit MBC drama ''My Lovely Samsoon'' in 2005.

Kim said he did not write the songs specifically for the drama. However, the show's producers heard the songs and requested to use them in the show. ''Having the songs appear on the drama was good for us because it introduced Clazziquai to the public,'' he said.

Clazziquai's sound has become so distinctive that Kim has been sought out by other artists to mix their music. ''Sometimes someone asks me to do a remix in a Clazziquai way. But I honestly don't know what that is. I just do it in a natural way. That would be the Clazziquai way. There is no secret,'' Kim said.

Chu and Choi are the voices that give Clazziquai's sound a dreamy quality, making it soothing and pleasant to the ears. Chu also writes lyrics for the songs, taking inspiration from his past experiences. One of the standout tracks in their third album was ''Friday Blues,'' a song Chu penned about the pain of saying goodbye.

Choi, known for her dreamy voice, said she feels very comfortable being the only female in the group. ''Sometimes I feel more comfortable being the only girl with two guys than with a group of girls. We spend all our time together, so our lifestyles match each other's,'' she said.

Even though Clazziquai started out posting their music online, now they are also being affected by rampant illegal music downloading. Chu said that with the growth of the digital market, it's a question of whether musicians should still produce CDs or just go digital.

However, the Internet has helped Clazziquai gain fans from all over the world. Some of their music videos have been uploaded on You Tube and other Web sites. Their albums have also been licensed in Taiwan, and they have released a mini-album ''Love Mode'' in Japan. Plus, the group has collaborated with Japanese artists like m-flo and Ryohei.

''In the future, we would like to expand to Europe and if things work out, the United States. But we're doing everything slowly, taking baby steps,'' Kim said.

Clazziquai will hold a concert, featuring many of the songs on their new album, on July 14 at the Olympic Hall, Olympic Park, while Chu will perform during m-flo's concert in Tokyo on July 20. Then, the group will hold shows in Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka to round out the month.

When asked about Clazziquai's future plans, Kim, Choi and Chu could not give a definite answer. ''I don't know. Nothing comes to mind. We are just going with the flow. We'll see how it happens… fans have asked us why our third album sounded so different. We're always changing, we're always evolving, nothing stays the same,'' Kim said.

cathy@koreatimes.co.kr