Royal Pirates fans got a sweet Valentines Day treat yesterday as lead vocalist Moon Kim released his first solo track, Dark Chocolate. Moon (also known as Moonchul) composed both the music and lyrics for Dark Chocolate himself.
Moon’s solo release may be bittersweet for some fans as last month one of his fellow band members, James Lee, announced he is leaving the band due to health complications.
Korean-American band Royal Pirates debuted in Korea in August 2013, but the trio of Moon, James and EXSY (aka Kim Sooyoon) have been playing together since 2009. In fact, Moon and EXSY have been playing together since 2004, but their first band – Fading From Dawn – changed forever after their bassist, Moon’s brother Richard, died in an accident.
Jamming as a duo before James joined, Royal Pirates gained a lot of online fans and fame prior to their official debut by covering other artist’s songs in a rock style on YouTube. This Britney cover was featured on Britney’s own homepage.
Their debut track in 2013 was Shout Out. An English version of this song, along with English versions of their other tunes Drawing the Line and Fly to You can be found on the 2014 Japan EP Shout Out.
Here’s their last release from 2016, Dangerous.
Here’s Moon Kim’s twitter account.
Keep up with Royal Pirates at the Royal Pirates’ official Facebook page.
