Label: Seoul Records, Inc. – SPER 078
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: South Korea
Released: 1989
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Ambient
Scarce South-Korean ethno-ambient LP from Soo Chul Kim on Seoul Records. At a bit of a loss here as I know next to nothing about Korean music, although this one carries the odd piece with the typically light flute and soft guitar picks you'd expect to find in a Kitaro piece from around the same time. However, diving deeper the obvious comparisons Korea's far-eastern neighbours run dry, as here we're offered sparse proto-industrial drumming and twinkling neon-hued synth licks, followed by what feels like a piece of ancient ceremonial court music, similar to gagaku in it's somewhat minimal aesthetic yet ENTIRELY different in tonality and delivery. With literally no idea on the context of this one and not familiar with other works, it's unclear whether this is an accurate representation of, or modern twist on traditional Korean Music from Soo Chul Kim, or just a really varied mish-mash of styles. Regardless, this one's hugely enigmatic. RARE. (NM).
