Austrian doom-jazz band Black Air spreads night across Korea

The members of Austria's doom-jazz-post-rock band Black Air / Courtesy of Black Air

By Jon Dunbar

The very oddly described doom-jazz-post-rock band Black Air is coming to Korea from Austria for at least one show and an art event.

"Actually, the music we play is not very common in Austria," said Marian Waibl, drummer of Black Air. "There are some very cool bands that play doom, post-rock, sludge and similar genres. But so far, our style seems to be rather unique ― we tried to take our influences of harsh distorted guitar music, and turn it into something lighter and more atmospheric."

Doom is an odd, but increasingly common adjective attached to various ― usually metal ― bands. But there aren't many bands out there that mix doom and jazz.

According to the band, this style of music can be traced back to Black Sabbath. It's "a kind of rock music which gives space to the feeling of being crushed by an overwhelming world," Waibl said. "So not the typical rock attitude of 'I'm riding my motorbike down the highway, and I'm so cool, yeah!' but rather 'The world is really heavy on my shoulders, and all this is an ordeal.'"

But Black Air's music is hardly depressing.

"Within Black Air, we take this feeling of heaviness, but try to turn it into something different, maybe even positive," Waibl said. "There can be deliverance in accepting life as it is ― not always easy, but still often strangely beautiful."

According to Waibl, the name comes from an Austrian term simply meaning "night" ― "the time of quiet, of sleep and of dreams," according to Waibl.

The band members all come from heavy backgrounds, with impressive resumes listing bands in the sludge, doom, psych and post-rock scenes.

"Generally, our background is mostly in heavier, louder and more aggressive music, but with Black Air, we wanted to take this background and transform it into something different, more introspective and experimental," Waibl said. "It has been a fascinating journey so far, and we are looking forward to going on, to delving even deeper into the mysterious dark night that surrounds us all."

Black Air is all instrumental, with no vocals, just soundscapes laid out by instruments, in order to "let the instruments speak."

"Vocals and lyrics are a great medium of expression, of course ― but they tend to take the spotlight, if you will. When you work without vocals, the sounds and frequencies of the different instruments, the harmonies and disharmonies become the focus of attention," Waibl said. "They invite the listener to imagine their own dreamscapes ― the songs can be about whatever you wish them to be."

The band's debut album, "Impending Bloom," was released Feb. 2, but a limited edition of 100 transparent vinyl records came out over the summer (a few of which the band promised would be available in Korea).

The band members are heavily influenced by cityscapes and liminal spaces, which comes through in their songs. "Liminality is a fascinating concept: There are different explanations and approaches to the phenomenon, but in general, it comes down to the strangeness of emptiness," Waibl said. "Without human presence, some places get a ghostly quality, and seem to become passages to another world. Our music is certainly influenced by some of these strange places that we might have seen in real life, or maybe also in dreams."

It's highly likely that their experiences in Korea will color their music going forward. "Of course, the experiences made in Korea will hold a place in our mind, and find their way into our dreams," Waibl said. "They will surely turn up in our music in one way or another."

Black Air plays a show in April. Courtesy of Black Air

Many of the members have already been in Korea. Guitarist-keyboardist Florian Karg has spent the most time, as his girlfriend Katrin lived in Seoul for many years and was heavily involved with the local scene. She ran the live music venue Alternative Space Moon, which later became GBN Live House in 2015.

Through this connection, the band members got the invitation to come to Korea and each contributed individual art projects for "Hongcheon Crossing," an art exhibition happening at Pink Factory in Hongcheon, Gangwon Province. It is directed by Yong Hae-sook and curated by Kim Min-kwan, and runs from Sept. 23 to Oct. 22.

Florian and Katrin have known Dae-inn, guitarist and vocalist of Korean heavy rock band Pakk, formerly of Apollo 18, for years, so it was natural for them to play a show together while the Black Air members are all in the country.

"We absolutely love what Pakk do," Waibl said. "We think their style is very unique, and we are very much looking forward to sharing the stage with them!"

Black Air and Pakk will perform together on Sept. 27 at western Seoul's Mudaeruk. Tickets cost 15,000 won in advance or 20,000 won at the door.

"We have quite a lot to do with the art project and the music, but fortunately, we have enough time in between to get to enjoy the beautiful nature sights, the rich culture and the great food!" Waibl said. "We are very happy to enjoy the intense experience that Korea provides, and the people here have been very good to us ― they have welcomed us with open arms."

Visit thisisblackair.bandcamp.com to listen to Black Air or follow @thisisblackair on Instagram for more information about the concert or pink-factory.tumblr.com to learn about "Hongcheon Crossing."