Back in 2017, HUNJIYA sent an email about Lineage. Now in 2022, she has released KHAMAI. Honestly, with each release, HUNJIYA has jumped forward and introduced more elements and polish to her artistry. Look After August was an amazing full length created, produced, and released in a specific environment. KHAMAI is the same. It’s the result of HUNJIYA’s environment. It’s the next step forward in her career and I’m here for it.
“take care” from Look After August is the transition to KHAMAI. There’s definitely a different level of polish on KHAMAI with the mixing and mastering. But it’s also clear, that there was a lot of care to not disturb HUNJIYA’s vocals on the mix. “MASQUERADE” as the opener has some FOLD elements. “FAVORITE” is an amazing single because it combines her origins and steps forward on each release to present a cross indie and R&B song. It’s a celebration of her journey even though the lyrics are somber.
If there’s any comparison to Look After August, KHAMAI feels more direct and simple as opposed to the multiple layers that many songs on Look After August had. “Main Character” presents a very big and expansive chorus, but offers a simple presentation. I think the production of the KHAMAI benefited a lot from collaboration. This is still HUNJIYA across the board, but it feels and sounds like there’s an improved endpoint focus on every song.
“TALK2ME!” with the pH-1 feature is a big sign of how HUNJIYA is improving as an artist. In the past, added vocals sounded like simple additions, but now collaborations sound like they have a stronger point to be added. The seven songs on KHAMAI (though “CONFIDENCE HAT” sounds more like an interlude”) present HUNJIYA’s balance between pop, indie, and R&B music. She selectively chooses what works best for the specific song she’s composing and arranging.
I’m continually surprised that she didn’t blow up because she’s shown her potential over and over again. Now as an artist under PAIX PER MIL and hearing what KHAMAI contains, she has the biggest chance to grow and continue to build her significant abilities. They better not fuck it up.
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Chris P
Korean Indie owner and Editor at Large. Constantly looking for new music and working on library parity on Spotify and YouTube Music.