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| Members of indie band Jambinai — Sim Eun-yong, second from left, Lee Il-woo, center, and Kim Bo-mi, second from right — join with members of the audience after a performance in Europe. / Courtesy of Jambinai |
By Baek Byung-yeul
When three graduates from Korea National University of Arts (K-ARTS) formed the band Jambinai six years ago, no one expected they would be recognized around the world for pursuing their own unique sounds combining gugak (traditional Korean music) instruments with modern rock music.
Using traditional instruments such as the "piri" (flute), haegeum (fiddle) and geomungo (six-stringed zither) with an electric guitar, they have delivered their signature frenzied sounds, breaking expectations of what Korean music can be.
While the band was first recognized here, receiving the Best Crossover Award at the 2013 Korean Music Awards, Jambinai has earned more attention in Europe than at home, featuring in a slew of European festival stages. Last year, Jambinai became one of the first Korean bands to draw crowds at the UK's Glastonbury Festival, along with funk band Sultan of the Disco and singer-songwriter Choi Go-eun.
Though they have released three records so far ― their first self-titled EP in 2010, first studio album "Difference" in 2012 and a remastered recording of "Difference" last April ― Jambinai made headlines last month for inking a deal with prestigious British indie label Bella Union.
In a recent interview with The Korea Times, the three-member band comprised of Lee Il-woo, the band's frontman who plays electric guitar and piri, Kim Bo-mi on haegeum and Sim Eun-yong on geomungo said they would like to be identified as "a band delivering new sounds of this era."
"Whenever people characterize us as gugak meeting with rock music, we are pretty unhappy with that prejudice as we have diverse elements in our sounds," the band's leader Lee said at a cafe in central Seoul last month.
"Even for us, it is complicated to define ourselves in short. I think the reason why people always try to give a description is because we are using traditional Korean instruments. But one thing is for sure that we have tried to make new sounds of this era."
Lee is the only male member of the band and the only performer using both Western and Korean instruments. All three members entered the School of Korean Traditional Arts at K-ARTS in 2001.
Kim, who plays haegeum in the band, said the reason they started the band is to break a stereotype against gugak.
"Much to no one's surprise, gugak had been mainstream here before Western classical music was imported in the 20th century, but it lost its chance to develop its own style in tune with the times compared to Western music," Kim said. "What I am disappointed with in the current gugak scene is there is a boundary between classical gugak sounds and fusion style that combines gugak with other genres. Given that the traditional songs in gugak were also creative products at that time, I think there is a high degree of contradiction in the gugak scene."
Kim said that she wants to let more people know how charming traditional Korean music sounds.
She began performing on the haegeum herself after seeing the 1993 film "Seopjyeonje," introducing pansori, a Korean folk style of narrative singing.
"After watching the film, I thought gugak can appeal to people around the world," Kim said.
Kim said another question they always have been asked is the meaning of their band's name.
"Frankly, there is no meaning. The word Jambinai just popped up in my head when I was riding a bus," Kim said. "And I suggested the title to Sim and Lee, and they agreed to use the name."
Sim, who plays geomungo, said everyone can make his or her own interpretation. The word "jambi" means rain in summer in Korean.
Hoping for more chances to perform in Korea
Talking about their future plans, Lee said he would like to have more chances to perform in Korea.
"Before the news that we were featuring in European festivals, we were often rejected to perform in Korea. We were rejected by a jazz festival as organizers said we sound too noisy and we were unable to perform at a rock festival as we sound too soft.
"The funny thing is we are now invited to perform at many music festivals in Korea regardless of the festivals' musical character. But, we are not disappointed as we know that's just how it is," Lee said. "As a Korean band, it is good for us to have more opportunities to perform here," he said.
Sharing their experiences performing on European stages, Kim said she envies the advanced live music culture of European countries.
"While performing in Europe, I was surprised that there are so many concerts and local music festivals that residents can enjoy compared to Koreans," she said. "Even in Belgium, which is smaller than Korea, I heard that there are some 300 music festivals a year. I thought they really enjoy a culturally opulent lifestyle."
When asked about the band's next album to be released on Bella Union, Kim said they have already completed the new record and are waiting for its release.
"We could make a record contract with Bella Union while we were looking for a label based in Europe," said Kim. "As a matter of fact, we already finished working on the next album. With Bella Union, we are expecting that we can meet with more fans in Europe."
