Jambinai on Tour in Europe

If I were to name just one band as my very favorite–regardless of genre and nationality–it would have to be Jambinai. Their use of traditional Korean instruments gives them a unique edge regardless of which style of music they take on. I’ve been a fan for over 4 years already and have had the great pleasure of seeing them live on a number of occasions in both Korea and Europe.

It was completely overwhelming to see Jambinai in Helsinki last spring–taking on an international stage for the first time with such an incredible response from the audience. They played the second biggest stage, the tent was crowded, and the Finns eagerly and loudly showed their enthusiasm for what was happening on stage. It was such an absurd feeling of happiness to be there and find so much unexpected love from others for a band that I myself hold so dear.

jambinai_helsinki_audience

Jambinai returned to Europe during the autumn and I took a couple of days off to go to Norway and see them play the Oslo World Music Festival. After a stint in Brazil the five-piece version of the band was tighter than ever. The sound system in the venue was excellent and Jambinai’s favorite sound engineer Cho Sang Hyun prepared everything to perfection. I have never heard Jambinai sound as good as they did during that soundcheck. The audience for the show, much like the venue, was considerably smaller than in Helsinki but many appeared to have listened in advance and the atmosphere was super lovely.

jambinai_oslo

 
Since a month, not counting last weekend’s appearance at the Sierra Nevada World Music Festival, Jambinai is back in Europe and the band is already halfway through its 2014 Occident Tour. As usual, on this tour the three members of Jambinai are supported by Dokyo (of 13Steps) on bass and Ryu Myunghoon (of Hollow Jan and a number of other bands) on drums with Cho Sang Hyun making sure everything sounds as it should. I haven’t yet figured out if I myself will be able to travel to catch them anywhere this summer, but I heartily recommend everybody to do take the chance should any of the dates & locations be a good fit for you.

 
jambinai_2014occidenttour_300

June 26 – Summerset, England @ Glastonbury Festival
June 28 – Lärz, Germany @ Fusion Festival
June 29 – Tilburg, The Netherlands @ Festival Mundial
July 3 – Roskilde, Denmark @ Roskilde Festival
July 9 – Madeira, Portugal @ Estalagem da Ponta do Sol
July 11 – Trencin, Slovakia @ Pohoda Festival
July 13 – Novi Sad, Serbia @ EXIT Festival
July 21 – Barcelona, Spain @ Sala Apolo
July 23 – Sines, Portugal @ Festival Músicas do Mundo Sines
July 24 – Boechout, Belgium @ Sfinks Mixed
July 25 – Barcelos, Portugal @ Milhões de Festa

Find all past stops on the tour among Jambinai’s Facebook Events

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.