SMTO NO- NOISE (London Purcell Room, 15/11/24)

Yeah boy, it's gayageum time! As anyone who hangs around me for any amount of time will know, I'm a huge fan of the annual London K-Music Festival, and this year's offerings included Jambinai's more restrained, less metal side-project- a non-brainer for me! The festival has historically showcased several ensembles like this, fusing Korean traditional instruments with Western genres, and initially I found this enjoyable but a bit "same-old, same-old". Thankfully, the last third, featuring a poignnan tribute to a bandmate fighting cancer, was considerably more rousing.