Clazziquai prove they were worth the hype.
Instant Pig was the first official album released by Clazziquai and after 2 years of their music circulating on the internet, expectations were high. Whether or not they were able to live up to the hype remained to be seen.
The first sounds on the album are pure noise; giving the listener the impression that something heavy is about to come along. This couldn't be further from the truth. The beautifully smooth You Never Know is a perfect introduction to the album and shows Alex Chu's pitch perfect vocals. This combined with samba style drumming and the occasional burst of jazz trumpet mean that the song is never in danger of becoming boring: while there are a few simple ideas throughout, the song expands and grows whilst still maintaining the same feel throughout.
The next track, Exploit, is another smooth, summery song which gives Choi Horan her first chance to show off her vocals. While the female vocals are only included in parts, it is a nice addition to the song. DJ Clazzi's jazz influences for the first time with the inclusion of a trumpet sample. The song has a more dancey feel than You Never Know does but still continues the same theme.
Futuristic continues the dance influences within the album and even has some synth violins as well as a subtle jazzy piano part. Overall, it is the perfect example of where their name came from and why they are classed as a fusion band. After the song has reached its peak, the album slows down with the ballad After Love. Despite this being a ballad, Clazziquai don't try to strip down their sound, which would be an easy temptation for most groups. The song flows from beginning to end and makes use of the group having both a male and female vocalist very well. Throughout the track there is a beautiful Spanish guitar which adds an extra, more exotic, sound to the song.
Novabossa is a smooth jazz influenced song that almost makes you feel as though you are in a cocktail bar. While on its own it doesn't add a lot to the album as a whole, it does act as a lead in to the next track, Sweety. The upbeat, summery atmosphere is a nice break from smooth jazz songs while still maintaining the group's ethos. What stands out most about this track is the use of vocals, particularly towards the end of the track. Several different vocal tracks are layered together to give the impression of there being more music than there actually is.
Stepping Out is a dance track highly reminiscent of 90s western dance music with its use of scratching and "skipping" vocals. After this the album slows down for a few tracks until Playgirl, one of the strongest songs on the album. It is indisputably a summer song, which will leave you wanting to dance. This is followed by My Life, which is wonderfully simple in its composition, relying mainly on the fast backbeat to carry the song.
It's easy to see why the album was such a success in Korea and why it played such a big part in the "Korean Wave" in Japan. The music is very easy to listen to without being over simplistic. This album has something for (almost) everybody and proved that Clazziquai definitely lived up to the hype.
