Monkey Hotel

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Monkey Hotel
Studio album by
Jannabi
ReleasedAugust 4, 2016
Genre
Length29:24
LanguageKorean
Label
ProducerChoi Jung-hoon
Jannabi chronology
See Your Eyes
(2014) 		Monkey Hotel
(2016) 		Legend
(2019)
Singles from Monkey Hotel
  1. "Summer"
    Released: August 4, 2016

Monkey Hotel (stylized in all caps) is the first studio album by South Korean indie rock band Jannabi. It was released on August 4, 2016, through Peponi Music, distributed by LOEN Entertainment, and produced by Choi Jung-hoon. The album features a total of ten tracks, including the lead single "Summer."[1]

Background and conception[edit]

On the album's introduction note, Choi Jung-hoon shared that it is the prelude to a long series that Jannabi is attempting. It connects the songs to one storytelling against the background of a fictional place called Monkey Hotel, revealing the characters and relationship scenarios to each song with illustrations.[2] In an interview with Busan Ilbo, Choi explained the album's concept, stating, “When I went to Hong Kong to play, there were many (people wearing costumes of) monkeys on the street because it was the year of the monkeys. When I went to the hotel, the bellboy was wearing a monkey hat. Conversely, since we are Jannabi, I thought it would be fun to dress up as a bellboy. This is how the Monkey Hotel began.”[3] Later on, the band explained on You Hee-yeol's Sketchbook, aired in 2017, that they were inspired by Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel and tried to make an album with a story.[4]

The album attempted various genres such as hard rock, blues and rock and roll that they wanted to play through songs such as "Wish," "Hong Kong," "The Secret of Hard Rock," and "Monkey Hotel," starting with the title track "Summer" (Korean: 뜨거운 여름밤은 가고 남은 건 볼품없지만; RR: Tteugeoun Yeoreumbameun Gago Nameun Geon Bolpumeopsjiman) without losing its psychedelic color.[5] When discussing the title track, Choi wrote the melody for the first time around the middle of 2015.[6] Described as a ballad with an old pop sensibility, it depicts lonesome and empty feeling after a breakup.[7][8] In a JTBC interview in 2022, he shared that "Summer" is the song he is most thankful for because it promoted the band steadily and gave them a lot of strength to work on their next album confidently.[9]

Release[edit]

Their sixth solo concert, titled "Monkey Hotel," was held to commemorate the release of their first full-length album of the same name on June 18, 2016, at KT&G SangSang Madang Live Hall in Seogyo-dong, Seoul.[10] Jannabi revealed that the album was delayed several times as they did a lot of trial and error recording for the first time in a studio. From July 28 to August 3, the two video teasers for "Summer" and the preview of all the tracks in the album were released through the official YouTube channels of the band and 1theK Originals.[11][12] On August 4, the "Summer" music video was released on the same channels.[13] From August 6 to 7, Jannabi held a "PREVIEW" event featuring an art exhibition and live performance at Space Art 1, a gallery in Jung-gu, Seoul, to celebrate the release of their first album with the fans.[14]

Reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
IZM[15]

Im Jin-mo of IZM found Monkey Hotel to be the long-awaited pop or pop rock album. The reason why they dare to use the word pop is because they have harvested the 'popularity' of rock band music that is difficult to come across these days through "proper arrangement and balancing of emotions and energy." With the album's soft theme, "the large stem is taken and the overall unity is given, but the individual songs constantly violate the hearing as if shooting a double-barreled gun."[16] Korean Indie praised the stylistic shift the band did commenting that the album is "curiously old-fashioned-sounding, with a character reminiscent of classical musical theatre and the Roaring Twenties."[17] Music critic Bae Soon-tak called Monkey Hotel "a masterpiece of rock in 2016 that proved that you can have a familiar yet clear personality." He also commended the band with no obsession that "something must be different," but pursued an album "made only of goodwill for familiar things, but like a skillful curator."[18] Commercially, the original version of the album released in 2016 peaked at number 41 while the special edition re-issued in 2018 peaked at number 10 on Gaon Album Chart.[19] The song "Summer" rose to various domestic music charts and peaked at number 15 on the Gaon Digital Chart following Jannabi's rise to fame in 2019.[20]

Year-end lists
Critic/Publication List Rank Ref.
IZM 2016 Album of the Year [21]
Naver Music [22]
8 albums in 2016 that you won't want to miss [23]

Track listing[edit]

All tracks are written by Jannabi. All tracks are produced by Choi Jung-hoon.[24]

Monkey Hotel track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Goodnight (Intro)"1:08
2."Summer" (뜨거운 여름밤은 가고 남은 건 볼품없지만)4:03
3."Surprise!"3:22
4."Wish"3:49
5."The Secret of Hard Rock"3:16
6."Hong Kong"3:37
7."Tell Me" (꿈나라 별나라)2:43
8."Jungle"3:09
9."Monkey Hotel (Finale)"2:00
10."Waltz (Bonus track)" (왕눈이 왈츠)2:17
Total length:29:24

Notes

  • "Waltz" is stylized in small caps.
  • "Hong Kong," "Jungle" and "Monkey Hotel" are stylized in all caps.

Chart performance[edit]

Chart Peak
position
South Korean Albums (Gaon)
(Original Version)[25] 		41
South Korean Albums (Gaon)
(Special Edition)[26] 		10

Release history[edit]

Release history for Monkey Hotel
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
Various August 4, 2016
[27]
South Korea April 18, 2018 CD (Special Edition) [28]
April 10, 2020
  • LP (Limited Edition)
 [29]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "잔나비 측 "학폭 멤버 유영현, 잘못 인정하고 팀 탈퇴" [공식입장]". May 24, 2019.
  2. ^ "밴드 잔나비 첫 정규앨범 'MONKEY HOTEL 1'". August 5, 2016.
  3. ^ "잔나비 "왜 음악 시작했냐고요? '관종'이라서요. 하하"(인터뷰)". August 18, 2016.
  4. ^ "'유희열의 스케치북' 잔나비 "우리를 키운 건 윤종신 독설"". February 18, 2017.
  5. ^ "[인디레이블탐방] (55) 잔나비, 트렌드를 파괴하는 '사이키델릭 록' 대형밴드 보인다". August 14, 2016.
  6. ^ "잔나비, '뜨거운 여름밤은 가고 남은 건 볼품없지만' 시적인 가사 사라질 뻔했다?". May 18, 2019.
  7. ^ "[I'm LIVE] JANNABI (잔나비) & Summer (뜨거운 여름밤은 가고 남은 건 볼품없지만)".
  8. ^ "헤어진 연인과 친구로 지내기, 가능 VS 불가능? 잔나비 최정훈과 함께하는 《고막메이트》 Ep.74".
  9. ^ "[Differential Class All Night Talk] The musician Jannabi wants to collaborate with?!".
  10. ^ "밴드 잔나비, 정규 1집 발매 기념 단독콘서트 '몽키호텔' 6월 18일 개최". May 19, 2016.
  11. ^ "[Teaser 1] JANNABI(잔나비) _ Summer(뜨거운 여름밤은 가고 남은 건 볼품없지만)".
  12. ^ "[Teaser] JANNABI(잔나비) _ 'MONKEY HOTEL' Highlight Medley)".
  13. ^ "[MV] JANNABI(잔나비) _ Summer(뜨거운 여름밤은 가고 남은 건 볼품없지만)".
  14. ^ @bandjannabi. "Band Jannabi Instagram Post on Seoul Additional Seats". Retrieved May 20, 2023 – via Instagram.
  15. ^ "MONKEY HOTEL" (in Korean). IZM. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  16. ^ "MONKEY HOTEL". September 1, 2016.
  17. ^ "Jannabi (잔나비) : Monkey Hotel". November 7, 2016.
  18. ^ "2016년 놓치면 아까운 8장의 앨범들" (in Korean). Naver Music. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  19. ^ "2019년 20주차 Album Chart". Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Retrieved May 28, 2019.
  20. ^ "2019년 17주차 Digital Chart". Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  21. ^ "2016 올해의 가요 앨범" (in Korean). IZM. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
  22. ^ @bandjannabi. "Band Jannabi Instagram Post on 2016 Album of the Year". Retrieved May 20, 2023 – via Instagram.
  23. ^ @bandjannabi. "Band Jannabi Instagram Post on 8 Albums in 2016 You Won't Miss". Retrieved May 20, 2023 – via Instagram.
  24. ^ "MONKEY HOTEL by Jannabi" (in Korean). Melon Music. August 4, 2016.
  25. ^ "2016년 37주차 Album Chart". Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  26. ^ "2019년 20주차 Album Chart". Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Retrieved May 28, 2019.
  27. ^ "잔나비, 데뷔 후 첫 정규앨범 'MONKEY HOTEL 1'…오는 4일 발매". August 2, 2016.
  28. ^ @bandjannabi. "Band Jannabi Instagram Post on Monkey Hotel Special Edition Release". Retrieved May 20, 2023 – via Instagram.
  29. ^ @bandjannabi. "Band Jannabi Instagram Post on Monkey Hotel LP". Retrieved May 20, 2023 – via Instagram.
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