PRICE:
$18.00
LOW STOCK LEVEL
1-2 Weeks
ARTIST
TITLE
Selected Tracks For Nacht Damonen
FORMAT
LP

LABEL
CATALOG #
N 055LP N 055LP
GENRE
RELEASE DATE
3/24/2017

LP version. Includes download code. Selected Tracks For Nacht Dämonen compiles rare and early recordings of Seoul's Byul.org, an influential creative collective known for its multidisciplinary/one-stop shop approach, and post-punk-inspired DIY aesthetics. The album was carefully compiled by the collective's director TaeSang Cho and The Notwist's Markus Acher. What started out in 2000 as a group of friends who'd meet for drinks (and for sharing the occasional poem), has long established itself as a shape-shifting key player of Seoul's thriving scene. With a huge amount of both commercial and non-commercial projects under their collective belt, Byul.org's members - TaeSang Cho, Yu Hur, Jowall, YunYi Yi, and SuhnJoo YI - went from publishing to recording, from releasing tunes to doing art shows, offering everything from branding to consulting and art direction, from naming and design to software development along the way. Accordingly, for Byul.org's members, music has always been one outlet among many, one mode of expression to accompany and soundtrack others. Most of the songs on Selected Tracks For Nacht Dämonen were originally released on CDs that came with the collective's own Monthly Vampire, A Magazine, while others were self-published via the group's own label Club Bidanbaem. Featuring sonic diary entries recorded between 2000 and 2007, the album is a nod to personal favorites such as Eno and Aphex Twin, Joy Division and Kraftwerk, personal hero Robert Smith, as well as Korean stalwarts such as Jae Ha Yoo and Min Ki Kim - and yet there's hardly any daylight around, to be precise - hence the title: "Traditionally in Korea a "BamDokkebi" (Nacht Dämonen) is a kind of ghost or monster of the night, but it has also come to mean people who spend their nights out instead of sleeping. We've always been a group of 'BamDokkebi' - drinking, DJing, doing stupid things." Far from polished and often sparse, the 13 tracks all share a rather dark and haunting vibe that's partly inspired by drug culture, dancefloor scenes, the LGBT scene, and the hippie culture in Korea. Ranging from fairly straightforward synth/electro tracks ("Friday Night") to hazy pop ("20thcenturyofmeandyou"), from more experimental textures ("Job") to minimalist bangers ("A Customer"), it's difficult to escape the soothing, cinematic pull of this nocturnal "Secret Show". These 13 tracks offer a peak into a hidden but vibrant Korean music scene: Nocturnal soundscapes, brooding electronics, ambient layers, and occasional hooks.