Kim Se-hwang

Kim Se-hwang (; born November 16, 1971) is a South Korean guitarist, singer-songwriter and arranger. In 1991, he formed Downtown, a rock group, and produced their self-titled debut album in 1993. He was a member of the rock band N.EX.T, which he joined in 1994, the metal band NovaSonic and the rock band 2Cell. In 2011, he produced the album Vivaldi: The Four Seasons, reinterpreting portions of The Four Seasons with an electric guitar.

Life and career Early life in the U.S. Kim was born in South Korea and started playing guitar when he was 4 years old,

He returned to South Korea in 1986, after twelve years in America, and started his career in the early nineties.

N.EX.T and other bands He debuted with his own rock band named "Downtown" in 1991. The other members were bassist Jung Han-jeong and drummer Lee Chang-hyun. Sehw produced their album DOWNTOWN in 1993. He rejoined N.EX.T when they regrouped in 2005, and remained with them until 2012.

Kim remembers favorite performances with N.EX.T, rehearsing at the Royal Albert Hall, giving concerts in South Korea with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and recording N.E.X.T's 1997 album Lazenca (A Space Rock Opera) with the London Symphony Orchestra. who had died on October 27, 2014.

Performances and collaborations He has performed and collaborated with musicians including Joe Lynn Turner and Deep Purple, Stuart Hamm, Scott Henderson, Guthrie Govan, Martin Taylor, Akira Jimbo, Steve Vai, Loudness, Lee Ritenour and Vinnie Moore.

He has also performed for and represented brands such as Orange Amp, Yamaha, Boss, Roland, D'Addario, Carvin, EMG, Tronical, Suhr Guitars and Gibson. He described preparing for the album, practicing twelve hours a day with the passion of middle schooler learning guitar. He said he wanted to mitigate the difference between the sound of the violin, which has no breaks, with the guitar, which is quite different.

Television and public appearances In addition to performing on musical programs, he appeared on television as a judge for KBS's 2012 Top Band Season 2 and MBC Music's 2014 Green Song Contest. The show's production team referred to him as "one of the three biggest guitarists in Asia" during one episode.

On August 9, 2012 he performed and served as an events judge with other musicians for mentally disabled musicians at the "Pyeongchang Special Music Festival", in commemoration of the 2013 Special Olympics World Winter Games. Additionally he served as a judge on the Ministry of Unification's music contest "Uni Music Race 2016 (UMR2016)". the faculty at Seoul Arts College (SAC), the faculty at Kimpo University (beginning in 2016),

Style and influences He has described his inspirations as a long list of "Guitar Gods" that increases daily, including Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, AC/DC, Santana, B.B. King, Prince, Eddie Van Halen, Steve Lukather, Def Leppard, and more. They have a daughter and son.

Discography

Downtown DOWNTOWN (1993) NOVASONIC 2 (2000) NOVASONIC 3 (2001) 4th House Han (2003)

2Cell 2Cell (2004)

Filmography Year Title Role Network Note(s) 2015-2016 Knowing Bros Cast JTBC Episodes 1-7