Jambinai
Part of Robert Smith’s Meltdown
Come hear the genre-melding Korean band Jambinai perform their distinctive mix of folk, metal, and traditional music for Meltdown. Support comes from post-punk romantics Tropic of Cancer.
Creating some of the most innovative sounds in East Asia’s underground scene, Jambinai are an award-winning post-rock and world music hybrid act.
The band was formed in Seoul, South Korea in 2009 by guitarist and piri (oboe) player Ilwoo Lee, haegeum (a fiddle-like instrument) player Bomi Kim, and geomungo (zither) player Eunyong Sim.
Ushering Korean traditional music into the 21st century, Jambinai’s stunning sonic compositions mix mesmerizing sounds from the past with elements of folk, metal, and electronic music.
The group has been wowing audiences at a number of international festivals since their inception, including South by Southwest, Roskilde Festival, Exit, Primavera Sound, Glastonbury, The Great Escape and Les Rencontres Trans Musicales.
With the success of the 2016 album A Hermitage in mind, Bella Union released Jambinai’s debut album Différance in 2017. This album was originally released in Korea only and sold by the band at shows, but has now had the proper release it deserved.
Jambinai represent a positive force, resisting the old ways and reinventing the future. This came into the international spotlight when the band were among the chosen artists to participate in the closing ceremony of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games. Their performance of the song ‘Time for Extinction’ made a lasting impact among the hundreds of millions of viewers of the event.
Presented in partnership with Korea/UK 2017-18, hosted by Korean Cultural Centre UK.