Music from South Korea

Portrait CD of Yongbom Lee: five works for ensembles, sampler and electronics, played by Ensemble Modern, IEMA Ensemble and ensemble recherche, Broken Frames Syndicate and the cellist Kyubin Hwang, recorded in Frankfurt (2023) and Cologne (2024).

On Music To Watch Seeds Grow By 008: Salamanda (Basil), Salamanda miniaturise their left‑field ambient world into a single pot on a windowsill: a slow, luminous day‑in‑the‑life of a basil plant where light, water and time turn into gentle pulses, drips and dreamlike drones.

*2026 stock* The third studio album by Kuang Program, undoubtedly one of Seoul's most daring bands. Novelist Kang Hee-young introduces that this album, which betrays listeners' traditional expectations for 'rock', most faithfully reflects the musical direction that Kuang Program has pursued. This is the first release in 5 years, with new member Seo Kyungsoo. Mastering: Roc Jiménez de Cisneros of EVOL/ Helicopter Records

*2026 stock* Recording Kang Taehwan’s music, his underground practice room has been the place where he has spent the most time with his saxophone and remains his most familiar space. The concrete and brick finishes, high ceiling, and asymmetrical structure in all directions create a unique reverberation. Because the shape of the room is irregular, the acoustic balance shifts constantly from side to side and front to back depending on the pitch. Although Kang’s performance is on a single instrume…

Four post-serialistic "sound compositions" with elements of traditional Korean music from the 1960's, respectively for chamber ensemble, piano and violin, orchestra and solo organ, released on Wergo's great "Studio Reihe Neuer Musik" experimental music series in the 70's. With insert.

** Hand numbered edition of 250 ** There is a profound resonance between the practices of Nam June Paik and Park Jiha - separated by generations yet united by a shared impulse to dissolve boundaries between Korean tradition and contemporary expression. Paik, the pioneer of video art, wove shamanic ritual and Buddhist philosophy into the fabric of technological media; Park Jiha channels ancient instrumental voices through the sensibility of experimental minimalism. Both artists inhabit a liminal …

A rare artist record and sonic memoir. Published in 1977 in an edition of only 100 copies, hand numbered and signed by the artist on the record label. The B-side features grey/black art by Nam June Paik. This extraordinary document captures Paik performing his radical reinterpretation of Arnold Schoenberg's Verklärte Nacht at a Merce Cunningham dance event—playing the original 78 RPM record at 16 RPM, four times slower than intended. Paik writes in the liner notes: "In 2 weeks I will be 45. It i…

A rare screenprint and offset print by the legendary video art pioneer. Published by Edition Block in an edition of 60, signed and numbered, 55.4 x 82 cm. Nam June Paik (*1932 Seoul – †2006 Miami), the founding father of video art, consistently explored the relationship between technology, media, and organic life throughout his career. TV-Dog embodies this investigation—the fusion of the electronic and the biological, the mechanical and the animal. The work reflects Paik's playful yet profound e…

Signed. Comes with its original record bag/shopper! When George Maciunas died in New York in 1978, aged 47, Joseph Beuys and Nam June Paik did what artists do when words fail: they played. The piano duet they performed at Düsseldorf's Kunstakademie lasted precisely 74 minutes, the numbers inverted as if time itself could be bent backward in grief. An alarm clock ended the performance at 9:14 pm, another numerical echo of Maciunas's brief, incendiary life. This wasn't theater. It was something ra…

1993 release ** "Sur cette gravure, Irmela Nolte propose un beau jeu allié à une technique nécessaire quant à ce répertoire, agile, au service des œuvres regroupées ici et dont l’on n’entend pas outre mesure son souffle ni sa respiration. Un panorama intéressant, avec 2 des 4 pièces en solo (1,3) et l’autre moitié où la flûte sera aidée d’un autre dispositif (synthétiseur en 2, bande et enregistrements préalables en 4) qui diversifie les procédés et rompt une monotonie possible dans ce genre de …

"A bewitching fusion of ambient jazz and traditional Korean instrumentation - piri,saenghwang and yanggeum - casting a spell not unlike that of Arooi Aftab's Vulture Prince." - UNCUT

Big two-sided invitation card to a 1983 Fluxus exhibition at daadgalerie in Berlin featuring John Cage and Nam June Paik.

Hardcover, big size. The publication homes in on a feature of the work of media artist Nam June Paik that has been largely overlooked: live moments, a consistent element running all through his artistic career. The immediate experience of the audience and their active involvement are crucial components in Paik’s work. Starting with his early career as a composer, one focus of the book is on the way Paik approaches music as a score, a concept, and an event. His artistic ideas and methods are pres…

Live performance of two of the most important South Korean free music players Kim Dae Hwan on drums and Choi Sun Bae on trumpet.  Recorded live on 26th November, 1999 at Aspirante, Hofu City, Yamaguchi, Japan by Takeo Suetomi.

*2023 stock* "Kami Fusen" is the second volume in the ongoing collaboration between NoBusiness and Chap Chap Records, after the excellent "The Conscience"by Rutherford and Toyozumi. This time, all the musicians come from the Far East: Itaru Oki was one of the first Japanese musicians to explore the free jazz idiom in the early Seventies; Nobuyoshi Ino comes from the same country and musical scene, even if he has often played in more traditional contexts; similarly, Korean trumpeter Choi Sun Bae …

* Hardcover Edition. Large size, nearly 500 pages * Essays, project plans, and correspondence from across Nam Jun Paik's career, much of it previously out of print or unpublished. Nam June Paik (1932–2006) is a pivotal figure in the history of modern art. Arguably the most important video artist of all time, and certainly among the most influential and prolific, Paik was a legendary innovator who transformed the electronic moving image into an artist's medium. He wrote incessantly—corresponding …

Kang Tae Hwan plays alto sax with a rawness that's usually reserved for the tenor – a fantastic sound that really comes through beautifully here in this solo set of improvisations! The material was recorded around the same time as Kang's brilliant (and few) recordings for the Japanese market – and the long-overdue presentation of this performance comes as a much-needed accompaniment to his small catalog – the kind of record that boldly, brilliantly documents a completely unique talent – one whos…

300 copies. Mototeru Takagi (tenor saxophone) Kim Dae Hwan (percussion) Choi Sun Bae (trumpet). NoBusiness Records in cooperation with Japanese Chap-Chap Records has started a series of releases of unreleased concerts that took place in Japan in the 90s. Concerts were organised by big fans of free jazz and improvised music Takeo Suetomi and Sadamu Hisada. The idea of the series of the concerts was to arrange and record cooperative projects of American-European musicians with Asian musicians, as …

Full recording of one of the most engaging and beguiling Late Junction live sessions we’ve ever heard - the one off first meeting between Korean multi-instrumentalist Park Jiha and writer and performer Roy Claire Potter.  Park Jiha plays the saenghwang, a Korean mouth organ which she blows in long multiphonics to set pace for Potter’s words. Together they unfurl a scene slowly in front of you, rich and focused, shifting your field of vision and drawing you in, elsewhere. It’s impossible not to f…

Human Pitch is proud to welcome Salamanda to the label for the release of their 3rd LP, ashbalkum––a portal into unseen worlds, enchanting stasis and laughter in the face of our evolving realities. Across an effervescent 39-minute runtime, ashbalkum provides a spellbinding view into how we interact with the world around us––one where one’s own being, language, & nature itself are all rendered infinitely mutable. Written during the surrealist landscape of summer 2021 somewhere between a sweet dre…

With their 2018–2019 Isang Yun Recording Project, ItalianCellist Luigi Piovano and Pianist Aldo Orvieto pay homageto the late Korean composer and the tragic course of his life. “The events that marked Isang Yun’s life emblematically show the miserable short-sightedness of the human being, unable to act authentically and with love towards others, in striving for a common good and reach a common spiritual elevation. When confronted with the exceptional musical depth and the dramatic power of Isang…

Tip! *In process of stocking* Like its predecessor, Philos, The Gleam is a completely solo work, all the music composed and played by Park Jiha on the piri, a type of oboe, the saenghwang, a mouth organ (shown on the album cover art), the hammered dulcimer known as the yanggeum, and glockenspiel. There’s a stark clarity to the sound, yet it’s never spare or empty. There’s a searching warmth to what she does. It’s minimal without being minimalist, occasionally presenting itself with the formality…

2019 repress. "This is a wide panorama of Nam June Paik work as musician -- 'Hommage à John Cage' (1958-1959), 'Étude for Pianoforte' (1959-1960) and 'Simple' (1961) are good exemple of neodada music and de-structuration in the late 50's, this is basically irreverent audio-collages. 'Prepared Piano for Merce Cunningham' (1977) captures an improvised performance by Paik on a de-tuned piano. While 'Prepared for Merce Cunningham' was later mixed and edited for use by Merce Cunningham, this raw, str…

Park Jiha’s debut album Communion - released internationally by tak:til last year - drew well deserved attention to the young Korean instrumentalist / composer’s vivid soundworld. The widely acclaimed album graced 2018 critics lists at The WIRE, Pop Matters and The Guardian. Her new album Philos - which she calls an evocation of her “love for time, space and sound” - is every bit as inventive, elegant and transcendent as her debut. While Park Jiha’s music is often contextualized by its kinship w…

Edition of 300 copies. Lovely archival recording by this incredible due comprised of Midori Takada - percussion and Kang Tae Hwan - alto saxophone. Recorded live on the 14nd March 1995 at Café Amores, Hofu, Yamaguchi, Japan by Takeo Suetomi. Concert produced by Takeo Suetomi. Mastered by Arūnas Zujus at MAMAstudios. Photos by Akihiro Matsumoto. Design by Oskaras Anosovas. 

Edition of 300. Recorder live in 1995. Creative musicians from Korea are a rare breed. According to the liner notes, when the Kang Tae-HwanSaxist Trio came to Japan to play at Tokyo Meeting in 1985, they were a shock to those who knew about the Japanese Free/Jazz scene & history. The Kang Tae-Hwan Trio consisted of Mr. Hwan on alto sax, Choi Sun-Bae on trumpet and Kim Dae-Hwan on drums & percussion. The members of Mr. Hwan’s Trio began collaborating with established Japanese musicians like Masah…

180 gram vinyl; Includes download code. "I don't want to play only traditional music. I want to play my own music... my own stories." --Park Jiha Over the last few years a rising tide of new Korean artists have staked a place in the global music conversation. Groups like Jambinai, Black String and Park Jiha's earlier duo 숨[suːm] have created exciting soundworlds that deftly combine the instrumentation and complex expression of Korean traditional music with an array of contemporary sounds such as…

Lovely archival recording by this incredible trio comprised of Midori Takada - marimba, percussion Kang Tae Hwan - alto saxophone Masahiko Satoh - piano. Recorded live on the 27th May, 1995 at Design Plaza Hofu, Yamaguchi, Japan

Itaru Oki – trumpet, bamboo fluteNobuyoshi Ino - bassChoi Sun Bae - trumpet

Reissue of tape from 1972. Edition of 200 copies. "a re-issue of a tape originally published by albrecht.d in 1972 through his Reflection Press, Stuttgart. The artists on the recording are supporting Wolf Vostell  because Frankfurter galerist and art dealer  Hans Neuendorf accused Vostell not making art anymore but only makes press conferences. Side 2 contains a chance composition by Nam June Paik. "In the early eighties Dietrich and me were talking a lot on the phone  ab…

Long deleted, last copies around: This is a simultaneous performance of "Coyote III" and "Pianovariation 1984". Recording of a performance at Seibu Museum of Art (Sôgetsu Hall), Tokyo, June 2nd 1984. Paste-on front cover with rubber stamped back cover. Includes double sided b&w insert. Blank white labels

In 1963, Nam June Paik created a new genre of exhibition with his first solo show, The Exposition of Electronic Music-Electronic Television at Galerie Parnass in Wuppertal, West Germany. Fresh from his studies with John Cage and Karlheinz Stockhausen, and already a Fluxus veteran, Paik created a disorienting environment that foreshadowed much of what was to come in the 1960s: visitors, greeted at the entrance by a freshly slaughtered ox head, were not only confronted with the newness of the elec…

Elliott Carter's Oboe Quartet and solo pieces, and Isang Yun's Piri and Quartet for oboe and string trio, played by Heinz Holliger, Thomas Zehetmair, Ruth Killius and Thomas Demenga. Recorded 2001-2002 at Radio Studio DRS, Zürich.

Thomas Demenga (cello) plays Bach's Cello Suites Nos. 5 and 6 between chamber works by Toshio Hosokawa and Isang Yun, with Teodoro Anzellotti, Asako Urushihara, Hansheinz Schneeberger, Thomas Larcher, Aurèle Nicolet and Heinz Holliger. Recorded 1985-2000.

Haydn's Symphonies No. 39 and No. 45 'Farewell' with Isang Yun's Chamber Symphony I (1987), played by the Münchener Kammerorchester under Alexander Liebreich; recorded in May 2007 at the Himmelfahrtskirche, Munich-Sendling.

Private edition limited to 200 copies "A documentation of Charlotte Moorman activities as a performer is generally available only on the iconographic level in various catalogues which documents the crucial intersection with the work of Nam June Paik or the association with events connected to the Fluxus movement. One of Charlotte Moorman's more substantial merits is having consciously reversed the traditional role of the virtuoso performer on her own instrument, uncovering by this overturning on…