Sim Ga-eul, Singing the Temperature of Farewell

In September 2023, a song quietly began to settle into listeners' playlists. It was a ballad titled 'Why Back Then', and at its center was Sim Ga-eul. This artist, whose name itself embraces the season, sings of the emotions of separation with a calm and deep resonance, as if autumn itself had gained a voice.

Sim Ga-eul's Story

Sim Ga-eul took her first steps into the music world in the autumn of 2018 with her debut single 'Clumsy Love'. Like her stage name, created by combining her surname with her most beloved season, her music contains all the emotions of autumn. Those complex and subtle feelings that are warm yet lonely, beautiful yet empty.

She has stated that she pursues 'a voice that can deliver comfort and warmth to listeners', aiming for 'trendy emotional ballads' that transcend gender. Recently, she has been actively participating in songwriting and composing, solidifying her identity as a singer-songwriter. Her representative songs like 'Why Back Then', 'I'll Protect You', and 'Love Only Brings Pain' are all sincere confessions born from her personal experiences.

Recent Activities

This year, Sim Ga-eul has been showing even more active movement. Last October, she released the single album 'Where Is There a Good Farewell' after five months, meeting with fans. In an interview with Gonggam Newspaper, she explained about this song, "It contains the emotions of separation between long-time lovers." This work, which showcases rich emotions and an appealing voice, is also being evaluated as a piece that demonstrates her musical maturity.

Sim Ga-eul's Music

Meet Sim Ga-eul at Nonol

Meet their music live at the Singing Playground.

🎵 "Regret"

"Thank you for your hard work, please maintain your beautiful voice" — a comment left by an overseas fan represents the resonance of this song. There's a reason why over 10,000 people stopped in front of this performance.

In this song that compresses all the emotions that rush in after a breakup into the single word 'regret', Sim Ga-eul showcases her own vocal philosophy. As she said, "I tried to express through my voice the complex emotions that were sad but indifferent to the breakup itself," the restrained emotional expression flowing throughout the song is impressive. Particularly, the subtle pitch changes when repeating 'regret' in the chorus are reminiscent of Paul Simon's delicate vocal control.

🎵 "I Remember What You Liked"

Listening to the background of this song's creation gives us a glimpse into Sim Ga-eul's creative method. This song, which started from "the heart that still recalls and misses the pure and beautiful aspects of each other when the season she loved comes, even though a long time has passed since the breakup," shows her excellent narrative ability to expand personal experience into universal emotion.

What's noteworthy about the arrangement is the completeness of the vocal line placed over simple acoustic guitar accompaniment. Particularly, the transition to falsetto at the bridge is natural while effectively creating the song's climax. As the over 10,000 views indicate, this song has a strange addictive quality that settles in a corner of your heart the moment you hear it.

🎵 "Why Back Then"

This is a work that reinterprets the original's full band sound with Sim Ga-eul's unique minimal arrangement. In this song that sings about "times that weren't appreciated as precious when in love," she focuses on the feelings of a self-blaming man rather than the pain of separation.

Particularly noteworthy is the song's structural completeness. The flow from the intro's guitar arpeggio through verse-chorus-bridge is natural, and the vocal dynamics in each part change as if calculated. The smooth transition from chest voice use in the lower register to head voice in the higher register is reminiscent of Lee Tae-won's vocal technique.

This song, officially released as a music source on September 21, 2023, is included in Nonol VOL 20, and the fact that over 12,000 people stayed for this performance proves its completeness.

🎵 "Can a Breakup Song Be This Sweet"

From the moment the first note resonates, you feel like you're sitting alone in a corner of a cafe, drinking tea. In this video, which is another version of 'I Remember What You Liked', Sim Ga-eul shows how differently the same song can sound depending on the performance environment and emotion. Though brief, these are moments where her live capabilities are fully revealed.

🎵 "Why Back Then Release Preview"

This video, released ahead of the music source release, is like a surprise gift for fans. Despite the witty caption "I'm not crying.. it's just sweat coming from my eyes," Sim Ga-eul's expression in the video is serious itself. It's a moment where her sincerity about the song is fully conveyed.

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🎵 "All Your Moments (Original: Sung Si-kyung)"

What to note in this song's intro is the use of piano accompaniment. Sim Ga-eul fills the space that was filled with orchestration in the original with simple piano accompaniment and vocals alone. But within that simplicity, an even greater resonance emerges.

As she revealed it's "the favorite song among the songs of Sung Si-kyung, an artist I respect," Sim Ga-eul's interpretation carries deep affection for the original. Particularly, the melismatic treatment in the 'all your moments' part adds her own color without harming the original's sentiment. The fact that 13,000 people stopped in front of this cover isn't simply because of a good voice. It's because of her musical maturity in respecting the original while incorporating her own interpretation.

This is a performance that well demonstrates Sim Ga-eul's unique vocal style, positioned somewhere between Sung Si-kyung and Park Hyo-shin. Sung Si-kyung's warmth and Park Hyo-shin's restrained emotional expression are appropriately harmonized.

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🎵 "Other Music Sources"

Sim Ga-eul's musical world extends beyond Nonol's stage. Through works officially released as audio sources, we can also confirm her evolving musical journey.

'Love Only Brings Pain' is the title track of a regular album released in July 2021. In this song released through Mirrorball Music, Sim Ga-eul showcases even more mature vocals.

'Looking at You', 'Funny', and even a cover of Paul Kim's 'Every Day, Every Moment'. Each of these works are puzzle pieces showing the multifaceted charm of the artist Sim Ga-eul. Particularly in 'Funny', the lyrics based on the motif of "the experience of tears slightly forming in your eyes when you laugh" are impressive. Though the title is 'Funny', the paradoxical composition dealing with the pain of separation that's not funny at all shows her narrative ability.

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🎵 "Full Version — Everything About Sim Ga-eul"

"'I Remember What You Liked' is so good Please release the music source quickly " — This comment summarizes the value of this full version video in one line. The fact that over 11,000 people spent nearly 20 minutes entirely with Sim Ga-eul shows the immersion her music possesses. This performance, composed of four songs, is a complete portrait of the artist Sim Ga-eul. The composition that starts with 'Regret' and continues through 'All Your Moments', 'I Remember What You Liked', and 'Why Back Then' is like reading a series of connected novels. The natural connections between each song and the emotional ups and downs seem perfectly calculated. This performance, filmed during "the time when the sun warmly illuminates the mountain ridges from the highest point in the sky," visually harmonizes perfectly with Sim Ga-eul's music. The image of singing while wearing a coat, the fallen leaves scattered on the park ground, and the heart-wrenching love story all come together to perfectly recreate the sentiment of late autumn.

What Fans Say About Sim Ga-eul

Learn More About Sim Ga-eul

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Sim Ga-eul's music doesn't compete with flashy techniques or overwhelming vocals. Instead, she competes with the ability to translate everyday small emotions into precise language. When listening to her songs, you find yourself unknowingly recalling past lovers and facing the pain of separations you haven't yet spoken about.

Sim Ga-eul's musical journey, which began in the autumn of 2018, is now in its sixth year. The songs she has accumulated over time and the performances she showcased at Nonol have stacked up one by one, creating her own solid musical world. If you're curious about the new seasonal stories she will tell, meet her first at the Singing Playground.