A HERMITAGE (隱棲은서)

This album was one of my highlights in 2016! I am not a postrock fan at all, but Jambinai is a great exception. I think the reason is, that I believe the bands leader Ilwoo Lee is not trying to do postrock, I think he just wants to do great music. Also of course the traditional Korean instruments make their sound very personal. To me Piri is not sounding oboe at all, it has much more higher sound. Also Haegum is more like rebab, geomungo looks like some bass kantele, but has really own sound. Also I believe the warm production is one reason, why I like this album so much, in "They Keep Silence"-video it looks, they´ve used analog equipments in recording. Jambinai`s music is mostly instrumental, but there are also few sung and spoken songs.

Jambinai played their first outside Korean gig in Finland, World Village-festival 2013. To my shame I wasn´t there, but I was really glad my friend brought me their first album there. In 2016 I noticed they´ve released this album. Then another friend told me, they were performing Modern Sky-festival in Finland. Then I didn´t miss that memorable gig.

Starting piece "Wardrope" in Hermitage really hits listeners face. It hammers 7/8 rhythm straight to the head and Ilwoo screams the vocals. "Echo Of Creation" starts also with very hard beats, but soon there are only two guitar notes repeating and Ilwoo and Eynyoug start to hymn very sad melody. The song grows into end. The next "the Everything that you lost" starts again with four repeating guitar notes, then Ilwoo starts to play piri and piano also joins. This song also grows in a very great way and stays very beautiful. "Abyss" is again very cruel piece, there non-band member Ignito saying spoken words. It´s shame lyrics are not translated into English, but it´s not hard to me imagine Ignitos is telling death sentence to me or someone else.

The very harsh feeling continues into next "Deus Benedicat Tibi", but just when you are thinking the end chaos is too much for you, you hear great, sad melody played by acoustic guitar, when "The Mountain" starts. It´s really a masterpiece of this album, Haegum starts soon repeat same sad melody when guitars and geomungo develop the melody same time. "Naburak" returns to the cruel side of the album, but it´s more acoustic than other heavy pieces. In the end of it there is silent part, where Haegum sounds like Rick Wright ´s organ in Pink Floyd silent psychedelic parts. In this song it was really great to see how Eunyoug gives geomungo a ride making also interesting sounds, just like guitar heroes have done to guitars. Don´t have no idea, how this instrument is played in Korean traditional music. Album ends really great way in "They Keep Silence" which has the most hitpotential in this album, although it´s just too dark to the world´s hitlists. In this song Ilwoo sings very chill way.

Really recommend Jambinai to the people who likes Pink Floyd and Ministry. I can´t listen whole Ministry album through, but in this Jambinai album those really heavy and really sensitive parts are in a very great balance. I think this great, original band really deserves much more attention in this today´s world, where too many musicmakers haven´t got courage to take risks to go outside their music genre. Last year I could have given this five stars, but because I wait this band to make their masterpiece in next album, I give now four.