It has been 15 years since classic rock singer Han Young-ae released a new album. Yearning to tackle the arduous task of adapting her original ’80s psychedelic music style to today’s more eclectic music scene, Han admitted to adding a new word to her repertoire to help jumpstart her upcoming sixth studio album, “Shakipo.”

“‘Hybrid’ ― have you ever heard of this?” asked Han, during a press showcase Wednesday for her new album. “This is a new term that I didn’t know until recently.”

“The music scene has changed so much in these past years,” she continued. “So for this album, I worked alongside a lot of talented people, listening to their opinions and trying a lot of new things to come up with this ‘hybrid’ music concept.”

Making her music debut nearly 40 years ago in 1976 as a member of the folk quartet Sunflower, Han has had an illustrious career, both as part of a band and as a solo artist. Often referred to as the “Sound Witch” for her deep and desolate vocals, Han embarked on a solo career in 1986 and has since released five studio albums, the most recent being in 1999.

“Anyone who calls themselves a singer will undoubtedly be filled with the desire to continue releasing albums,” Han explained. “As soon as you finish one album, moving on to the next becomes almost like your homework.”

“I had some personal reasons for why I wasn’t really able to keep my head on straight for 10 years,” she continued. “However, last fall I just said to myself, ‘You really have to release a new album.’ Because I have been doing a lot of concerts and radio spots over the years, I never really had a chance to realize that it has indeed been 15 years since I released an album. It actually felt more like 15 days.”

For her comeback, Han says she is introducing a new side of herself; with varied beats spliced with hints of folk, blues, rock, teuroteu and even a touch of reggae, the veteran singer is looking to take her old-school Korean ballad pop background and giving it a modern rock twist.

Han’s vibrantly upbeat and rock heavy 10-track album “Shakipo” is slated to be released Wednesday, and in celebration of her long-awaited comeback, the singer will be holding a series of solo concerts from Dec. 23-25, and Dec. 27-28 at the Gangdong Arts Center in Seoul.

“Now that I am officially back, I promise it will not take me another 15 years to release more new music,” she says.

By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)