☆Taku Takahashi has a long history with K-pop. With m-flo, he worked with one of the original queens of Korean music, BoA, on the song “the Love Bug.” In more recent times, he’s big-upped the country’s music industry, with some pretty rapturous language mixed in there. “‘K-pop knew to expand overseas,’ he says, ‘but they were forced to since they went bankrupt. But the Koreans are definitely better singers and dancers,’” Takahashi told The Japan Times’ Ronald Taylor in 2015. His admiration is clear.
Now he gets the chance to work with a group operating in that space. Takahashi produced “Bad Girl For You,” the second Japanese single from the group EXID and his second for them. At this point in time, only the short version of the song and video are available online, but that’s all you need to get into this meeting. Watch the video below.
EXID is a group best known for higher energy numbers that get right to the point and push themselves squarely into your area. Even Takahashi’s first go-around with EXID, this Spring’s “Trouble,” was a galloping dance-pop number wasting no time getting into its lane (operating in much the same way recent m-flo songs have). “Bad Girl For You” takes a little more time to develop. After a spacious intro that utilizes some distorted vocal samples as a way to build atmosphere, a beat sneaks in but hardly takes off. Rather, it kind of strolls forward while members of the group take turns singing verses. The intensity slowly picks up in tune with the vocals, but it isn’t until the chorus arrives and a flurry of new percussion enters into the number. It’s a great payoff for a slow build, and really makes one wish the full version would hit the web a little sooner. It also shows Takahashi is right at home working with K-pop.