Shortly before embarking on his American tour, Paris-based musician Lewis OfMan visited Seoul for a much-needed holiday. Having collaborated the previous year for a small but decidedly rowdy live performance, the SOL team showed Lewis around town - including a visit to LEMON Seoul. The foremost purveyor of rare and coveted music gadgets, Lemon is where dedicated musicheads make pilgrimages for vintage synthesizers and obscure musical paraphernalia. Immediately upon entering the shop, the music geek in Lewis kicked in - within minutes, he and the owners were eagerly discussing the various equipment on display.

As if on cue, the idea of putting on an intimate live show came up, and soon a date was set - April 21st, the day before Lewis would fly out. To create new sounds specifically for the show, the musician picked out a milky-white transparent limited edition of the Pioneer EFX-500 effector, to tinker with and give new life to his tracks. Two days later he set out for the Jeju Islands, and what was originally planned as a relaxing island retreat turned into an intensive three-day workshop. Tracks from his recent album <Cristal Medium Blue>, as well as some of his earlier works, were rearranged into a seven-track collection. Over a zoom call with SOL, the set was dubbed the <Seoul Variations>.

With Lewis busy in Jeju, SOL worked together with Lemon to transform their space for the show. Working with long-time collaborator, set designer Jeon Minkyu, the shop was refitted to serve as a lounging area and performance venue, a cozy nook for the 30-something industry friends and family guests.

On the slightly cloudy Sunday afternoon of April 21st, guests started to trickle in. Catching up over drinks, they filed into Lemon, its large window overlooking Changgyeonggung Palace slightly ajar to let the draft in. Soon, familiar faces were slouched on the central sofa and surrounding rugs, while further back crowds shuffled around makeshift benches and chairs. With a well-rehearsed ‘Annyeonghasaeyo’, Lewis started his performance, fluctuating between the softly intimate and tongue-in-cheek rock and roll over the course of an hour.

Towards the end of the set, audiences were surprised by an all too familiar tune - the strumming guitars of ‘Je Pense a Toi’ morphed into the catchy keyboard jingles of ‘Horangnabi’ (Swallowtail Butterfly), the 80’s track permanently carved into the minds of every Korean by cult singer Kim Heungkook’s 1989 mega-hit disco rendition. While in Jeju, Lewis had discovered the track inside a knockoff USB stick filled with the greatest Korean oldie hits, hawked by roadside vendors for weary travelers and truckers. The two tracks, seemingly discordant, somehow worked - forming a melancholic and trippy whole.

With that final ode to his Seoul friends both old and new, the performance came to an end. And after one final night out with SOL and Lemon, ever-transient Lewis flew off to his next tour. To commemorate the fleeting moments of the show, SOL and LEMON created a small batch of cassettes, to be gifted as tokens of gratitude for the many friends who helped put together the impromptu event.