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“I’m different, but in a good way; like Neapolitan ice cream,” he laughs. “Sometimes you want more than just one flavor and that’s how I see music …and myself.”  

Justin Patrick, a Vancouver-born, Seoul-based, Asian-Canadian singer-songwriter is just as comfortable crossing musical boundaries as he is crossing international waters. Patrick’s pretty voice, boy-band looks, and one-inch punch are combined with multicolored originals incorporating elements of jangly British rock, Seattle grunge, Latin-American funk, and ebullient Korean pop.  Simply put, one listener described his tunes as “The Beatles having kimchi in Buenos Aires.”  

“When I write a song I feel like a kid in a toy store, or a mad scientist,” Patrick jokes. “I love playing around with different melodies, rhythms, and experimenting with sounds from unlikely genres.”  

Patrick’s musical background consists of years of arduous self-training in piano, choir, guitar and punk bands since the age of seven. By high school, Patrick began writing songs culminating in his first studio recording.

“My debut album, PREFACE was about my personal experiences growing up uncertain, being in love and scared of the world,” he notes. “LET IT GO is a song I wrote in high school about all these fears and doubts I had of myself. The album itself is quite uplifting, heartbreaking and most importantly, pure. It was very untainted and not egotistical compared to songs I heard playing on the radio at the time. On top of that, I was too shy and unconfident to even promote these songs at a young age.”   

Years later, upon graduating from university, Patrick seized the opportunity to live abroad and explore his Korean ancestral roots. 

“My mother is Korean so for me it was important to learn and explore that side of my background,” he explains. “Growing up in Vancouver, I had a multicultural upbringing and neighborhood yet never had much exposure to Korean culture aside from mum’s home cooking.”  

Since arriving in South Korea in 2006, Patrick has happily immersed in his Korean roots and has worked relentlessly to build his music career, teaming up with expat musicians from around the world. Patrick’s second album, IN TIME commemorates his exploration through Seoul’s music indie scene with songs of bittersweet love, reflection, chronic fatigue, tragic endings and triumphant riffs.  

“IN TIME is like Sesame Street on steroids,” Patrick admits. “The beats are bigger; the sound is in your face and the progressions will make your head spin. For example BIRTHDAY is a simple love song which shifts from hip hop beats, lush orchestra strings and punk riffs. If anything, I hope people walk away saying, ‘well that was different.’”

With two albums and nearly hundreds of intimate performances under his rhinestone-studded belt, including talent shows, music festivals and club, café, street performances, Patrick is currently beginning to see the fruits of his labor: a steady and growing draw in Hongdae (the epicenter of Korea’s burgeoning independent music scene), local attention by Korean and international media outlets, and a blooming YouTube-powered web presence. 

“The attention I’m getting here in Korea is great but eventually my goal is to return home and go from there,” Patrick says. “I’m not sure if I want to sign with a record label but perhaps if I meet the right people something may happen.”

On tour with his band, Patrick continues to write, record, and perform original music sparking his return to North America by mid 2011. His latest release IN TIME is currently available for download at iTunes store. 


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