One thing I appreciate is a well curated playlist. I am a spotify person so apologies if you aren’t a spotify user. The playlists below are my go-to playlists for specific moods and to discover new music. Enjoy!

Deep Focus

This is my favorite playlist to listen to when I need to get some serious work done or when I’m sitting in the sunroom drinking my coffee. All the songs are instrumentals and very calming. It reminds me of all the instrumental songs used in movies during transition scenes. I swear my productivity goes up 100% when I listen to this playlist while working.

Alternative R&B

A friend of mine introduced me to this playlist back in 2012. I don’t really know how to describe it, but there are a ton of artists that I haven’t heard of that pop up. If I were to describe it in several words I’d say: vibey (I made up a new word), fresh, diverse. Most of the songs are a mix r&b with some electronic or pop. This is a very consistent and strong playlist.

Piano in the Background

Ever since I was young, I enjoyed piano instrumentals. I would hear them in k-dramas or during praise at church. My parents tried to force me to learn, but as a rebellious Korean child I didn’t want to practice so my piano career swiftly came to a close after 3 short months. This playlist is perfect for early morning risers. I love laying in bed for 30 more minutes and listening to this quietly with my eyes closed. I recently started journalling in the morning and this is the playlist I listen to during that time.

K-Pop Daebak & TrenChill K-R&B

I had a hard time picking between these 2 playlists because they are different styles. K-Pop Daebak is more mainstream k-pop. Most of the songs are from groups or soloists from the most well-known labels. A lot of these artists participate in the typical promotion cycles where they have “comebacks” and perform for about 2 weeks competing on Korean music programs. This is the playlist I go to when I’m trying to discover new k-pop. The TrenChill K-R&B playlist is more my style. It includes a lot of famous Korean artists, but they just don’t promote in the same way that groups or artists from the larger labels do. This is the playlist where I tend to discover new artists that are lesser known.

Low-Key

I recently discovered this playlist. Of the first 10 songs that came on, I only knew one artist but liked every song that came on. I typically listen to this playlist as I’m driving or cooking dinner. Jamila Woods, Tom Misch, and Xavier Omar are just some of the artists in this playlist. I discovered the singer Umi from this playlist. She’s uber talented and gives off Jhene Aiko and Corinne Railey Bae vibes.