Cifika’s third studio album Bonfire, a heartfelt reflection on connection and acceptance, has released on November 19.
After being nominated for Best Electronic Album at the 2024 Korean Popular Music Awards for her second album ION, released in 2023, and winning the Best Electronic Song category for the track “Hush,” Cifika has put her musical thoughts and communication for the past year into this album, and has drawn inspiration from various genres to go beyond her previous category of electronic music and portray a charming journey with a richer and warmer sound.
With 11 tracks in total, the album blends various elements of electronic music, alternative folk, ambient, pop, and more, and features up-and-coming producers Nancy Boy, who has gained extensive production experience working with artists such as BTS’s RM, Qim Isle, and Seori, and Umaka, a guitarist, producer, and singer-songwriter, who worked with Cifikato finalize her musical vision, enhancing the album’s depth and resonance.
In particular, the album’s roots track “Little Drama,” inspired by the “drumming boy,” actively reflects the language and performance of metal, psychedelic, and other rock music, as well as electronic sounds, and culminates in a soaring drum sequence, depicting a ritual of people gathered around a campfire, and asking for comfort and tranquility. Recorded in collaboration with musical collaborators Nancy Boy and Umaka, the album’s ethos is best exemplified on Bonfire, an alternative folk track that features the voices of Sipika’s dear friends in the chorus.
Speaking to what it means to find connection and authenticity in today’s world, Bonfire offers comfort, inspiration, and true connection, creating a unique and personal aural experience between people sitting around a campfire, away from the rigid hierarchies of the concrete jungle.
“Bonfire Live Session at EQL Seongsu”
Track Intro note by CIFIKA
1. View
The album’s intro, created with the intent to deliver a pure voice.
2. If I Could Be
“If I Could Be” lies in its use of a vocal harmonizer during the electric guitar solo, which enhances its unique character. The song prioritizes preserving the raw, unpolished feel of the demo, capturing the primal essence of the guitar and vocals. Through the lyrics, CIFIKA symbolically assures the listener that their potential remains intact.
3. Little Drama
The foundational track of the album, inspired by the imagery of a “The Little Drummer Boy”, featuring tribal-like drums and guitar riffs. When Nancyboy and Umaka joined for arrangement, they incorporated a one-chord riff structure often seen in metal and rock, creating a sequential progression. Umaka recorded a powerful, raw guitar performance, imagining a “warrior” image, while Nancyboy incorporated psychedelic synth textures reminiscent of their early influences.
4. Hand in Hand
Created to be a minimalist composition with a repetitive loop, CIFIKA drew lyrical inspiration from the 1988 Korean Olympic anthem “Hand in Hand,” contrasting the unity of that era with today’s skeptical society.
5. Babes in the Wood
This song began as a jam over a drum loop created by Nancyboy and developed into a track centered on themes of an “eroded digital world.” CIFIKA’s lyrics express the story of outcasts seeking refuge in the woods, away from digital media and biases. The title is derived from the American folk tale “Babes in the Wood.”
6. Selena
Built on an arpeggio pattern Nancyboy created at his age of 19, this song highlights CIFIKA’s dreamlike qualities. The track combines both real and electronic drums, with a later section featuring guitar effects recorded live. Through the lyrics, the protagonist loses themselves under Selena’s(Meaning “The Moon” in Greek) influence, depicting a blend of attraction and confusion.
7. Bonfire
An alternative folk song driven by drum machines, with a top-line that embodies a dystopian protagonist. Featuring actual friends of CIFIKA’s voices in the chorus, “Bonfire” symbolizes resilience against life’s trials, with a determination to keep moving forward, much like the image of tribes gathering around a fire.
8. Brush
Describing the emotional thrill of falling in love, symbolized through the gentle act of brushing hair, this track explores the sensation of love and vulnerability. Nancyboy contrasts soft vocals with carefully crafted synth textures.
9. Pebble
A reinterpretation of Umaka’s earlier song “Rolling Pebble,” this collaboration captures an intimate, conversational atmosphere by preserving the ambient sounds of the guitar recording. Nancyboy and Umaka use guitar trills and strings to create an ethereal feel, exploring ideas of time, wounds, and moving forward despite differences.
10. Heart Piece Collector
A dream-pop track with shoe gaze-inspired elements, this song incorporates a vocal narration in its latter half, designed to sound like an AI voice, adding to CIFIKA’s electronic style. Her operatic vocals here draw inspiration from the barcarolle in Act III of Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffmann. In the lyrics, CIFIKA takes on the persona of a “Heart Piece Collector,” gathering fragments of torn and broken hearts. The song expresses a journey through lost memories and emotions that have sunk to the ocean floor, symbolizing voices of people holding on to unsent love letters and unhealed emotions.
11. Totem
Inspired by Hermann Hesse’s concept in Demian that “fate and emotion are two names for the same concept.” This outro track, “Totem,” provides a peaceful return from dreams, contrasting the album’s opening song “View,” which marked the beginning of a dream journey.
“PS: If you wish to dream again, return to View.”
씨피카 CIFIKA
Listen to Bonfire https://linktr.ee/cifika
