Released on June 17, 2016, “A Heritage” is the second album by the South Korean band Jambinai, the first on Bella Union. It’s a cliche already to state that Jambinai it’s not a band, but a force of nature.
Formed in Seoul in 2009, the core members are Kim Bo-mi playing haegeum, Lee Il-woo playing electric guitar, piri, vocals and Sim Eun-yong playing geomungo. On stage they are enforced by Choi Jae-hyuk – drums, Ok Ji-hoon – bass guitar and Yu Byeong-koo – bass guitar. Not really a traditional rock band, actually nothing is really traditional about their music, not even the reimagination of the traditional Korean music which they all studying at Korea’s National University of Arts.
The self-titled debut EP was released on GMC Records in 2010, followed by their debut album entitled “Différance” in 2012.
What Jambinai sounds like?
Imagine Pink Floyd, back in 1969 (Ummagumma), on a cold, cloudy, rainy day, in the haze of a dark studio room playing some Oriental tunes. Well, with some Gary Numan/Nine Inch Nails additional flavors. That was my first impression watching their video of “They Keep Silence”. It have that growing tension and exploding energy which was so impressive in emblematic tracks written by Waters in the good old days such as “Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun”.
There are two kind of musics.
One is coming from the inside, burns you like a fever and eats you like a rash you can’t scratch it away. This is the Music. Some may call it sacred because it’s hypnotic, it’s spiritual, it feels up the emptiness of your dark and wasted soul.
The other one is on the radio, on the music television channels, it’s everywhere and there is no place on this earth to hide away from it. It produce big sells and make some people famous and lot of people rich.
Some people feel the need to express and share something with the world, some people want to be rich and famous.
Jambinai have something to give to the world if you take your time and listen to them.
It’s not just some background noise to cover up all the other noises that bury you day by day.
It’s quite gloomy, that’s true, but somewhere at the very end of it there is light. The light of creativity. The light of creation.
My personal favorites are “They Keep Silence”, “Wardrobe” and the industrial flavored “Abyss”, but there are no dead moments on this album, I love it throughout.
Do yourself a favor: buy it.
Tracklist:
1. Wardrobe
2. Echo of Creation
3. For Everything That You Lost
4. Abyss
5. Deus Benedicat
6. The Mountain
7. Naburak
8. They Keep Silence
Buy “A Heritage” on itunes
Buy “A Heritage” on Amazon
