This article written after an interview with Bloody Cookie, the girl rock band now known as Story Seller, was edited by Philip Gowman and first published on London Korean Links.
In 2005 I came across a band making music unlike anything I had previously heard coming out of South Korea: Bloody Cookie. A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to get an interview with Bloody Cookie’s lead vocalist, Binna.
Some years ago, Binna decided she wanted to launch a girl band and began looking for members. In 2004 she had assembled all her collaborators: guitarist Noji, bassist Hobak (“Pumpkin”) and drummer Jihae. Noji had been the guitarist in Gissele and was the last to join, after the others had been impressed with her sound.
When asked to categorize the sound of Bloody Cookie into one or more genres, Binna answered Hard Rock or Grunge. Binna describes the sound of her band as strong with beautiful melodies, influenced by Guano Apes, Exilia, Evanescence and No Doubt. In her song writing she finds inspiration in stories — movies, novels, plays etc. — as she wants to talk about them.
Their first mini album, The Immature Flower, was released in 2004 and the follow up, A Curer, was presented to the public in December 2006. I found that they had changed to a softer sound with A Curer. Binna explained that change is their goal as they’re trying to develop their music. Both mini albums were released by Bloody Cookie themselves — only if they are able to cling to their personal sound will they join a label.
For now Bloody Cookie plays at small rock clubs, but in the future they might come looking for a bigger audience. Binna’s own favourites in the Korean underground are Yellow Puffer — “They’re genius”. “Korea is a small country, and the underground scene is very small too”, says Binna. “But I hope you remember this: you can hear great sounds in Korean music!”
And long may she and her band contribute to it.