2012 (Pink Vinyl)

MUKIMUKIMANMANSU, or MUKMAN for short, were a duo formed in the May of 2011 by two students at Korea National University of Arts. The unit was put together in a rush for a school film club’s music festival. Within just three days, they managed to create two self-written songs. Footage of their first live performance was posted on YouTube, bringing the band to wider attention. While the bare-bones ensemble simply includes an acoustic guitar by Mansu and Muki on the ‘gu-jang-gu-jang’ (a jang-gu, which is a traditional Korean drum, modded for vertical play), Mansu’s uncanny songwriting and Muki’s sheer expressiveness made for a compelling sound, making their 2012 debut album a sensation upon release. The jarringly dissonant acoustic punk, somewhat reminiscent of the Raincoats or the Violent Femmes (though neither member has actually made mention of this), came together with lyrical folk melodies to create something truly unique.

The debut album was produced by Dalpalan, one of Korea’s foremost film score composers since the late 20th century. The album was praised for its witty, bizarre, and near-untranslatable Korean lyrics that conveyed the band’s biting commentary on the socio-political realities of the time. Old footage of a live appearance they had done during their debut for a local broadcaster later went viral, attracting an international cult following. Active for only 6 months following the release of their debut – and final – album, MUKMAN played a live performance for broadcaster EBS, where they smashed Muki’s custom ‘gu-jang-gu-jang’ along with an announcement that the unit would be disbanding. Mansu has gone on to release two albums as a solo artist (@lee.minhwi_official) in addition to a prolific career as a film score composer. This stand-out example of 21st century Korean indie / new music scene is the second title in the Reissue Campaign commemorating Beatball Music’s 20th anniversary.