#25: Jambinai (잠비나이)
Post-metal? Perhaps. What’s clear is that their pioneering style of heavy cathartic rock combined with Korean instruments is an achievement that is one for the books.
Background Info (consolidated from different websites)
Country of origin: South Korea
Location: Seoul
Status: Active
Formed in: 2009
Genre: Experimental rock, Korean folk, post-rock
Lyrical themes: political themes, negative emotions
Current label: Bella Union
Years active: 2009-present
As far as the fusion of rock-traditional Korean music is concerned, Jambinai is one of a kind. I was so freaked out with excitement way back when a friend first introduced me to their music; that was the time when I was scouring the internet for East Asian fusion artists.
I consider some of band’s songs as metal/metal-leaning due to the heavy down-tuned guitar riffs and aggressive drum beats. Also, a significant number of their songs are instrumentals, some of which are introspectively dramatic like Connection and In the Woods, while others are gloomy and evoke a sense of foreboding like Grace Kelly. But, what makes Jambinai’s music truly fascinating is the extra-artistic incorporation and masterful playing of the folk instruments — the haegeum, geomungo, piri, taepyeongso especially.
Favorite albums:
- A Hermitage (2016)
Favorite Songs:
- They Keep Silence (A Hermitage)
- Wardrobe (A Hermitage)
- Time of Extinction (Differance, 2012)
- Sun. Tears. Red. (Onda, 2019)
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