The iconic rock band JAURIM is our latest feature for our Indie Pick. They’ve been on the indie scene for more than twenty years, so let’s take a closer look.
Debut
JAURIM started off in 1993 under the name Full Count. In 1997 they rebranded to the name JAURIM and they released their first single ‘Hey, Hey, Hey’ which was an OST.
Even before their huge success with ‘Hey, Hey, Hey’ they already had a massive following. Hongdae, where they had their start, was the place to be for indie artists.
The group started off with four members; Kim Yuna, Kim Jin-man, Lee Sun-kyu and Goo Tae-hoon. Yoon-ah is the vocalist and songwriter. Jin-Man plays the bass and guitar. Sun-kyu plays the guitar and also is part of the vocals. Tae-hoon, the drummer, announced he was leaving the band in 2017.
Kim Yuna has more than 250 credits to her name. She didn’t just write for JAURIM, she also created tracks for other artists. Yuna also has a bunch of solo albums.
Discography
JAURIM’s first album was ‘Purple Heart’. It is still a great listen today. The title tracks ‘Beeswax Angel’ and ‘’Deviation’ are awesome.
Their next album ‘Lovers’ came out in 1998. It’s 90s angst wrapped in excellent vocals and instrumentals.
‘Irregular Works’ (1999) ventures into techno and is very much a product of its time.
The next album came out in 2000 ‘Jaurim, The Wonder Land’ and takes them back to their rock roots.
‘JAURIM 04’ was released in 2002.
Two years later, they dropped ‘All You Need Is Love’. The album has a happier outlook than their previous releases.
Their 2005 remake album ‘Ode To Youth’ is definitely an interesting release. The songs are remakes of hits by groups like Nirvana and The Crash and huge artists like Phil Collins, Madonna and David Bowie.
Their sixth official album is ‘Ashes To Ashes’. In their own words; “Even numbered albums are dark and depressing”. One of my favorites is ‘Seoul Blues’.
‘Ruby Sapphire Diamond’ came out in 2008 and seems to have drawn inspiration from The Beatles and ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’. The carnival theme makes it an entertaining, fresh listen.
First EP
In 2009 JAURIM released their first ever EP ‘Untitled album’.
‘Conspiracy Theory’ was dropped in 2011. Their title track ‘IDOL’ has rather interesting lyrics, considering the entertainment industry they’re in.
“What’s so wrong with getting hooked with something sweet?
source
What’s so wrong with falling for a vain delusion?
I’m just loving something, as long as the show continues
Idol
Because the world doesn’t make me dream
Because the reality only reveals to me with pain
No one gets hurt, you’re my idol”
‘Goodbye Grief’ speaks about the growing pains of youth. The album was released in 2013 and it is one of my favorite albums by them.
In their tenth album ‘JAURIM’, released in 2018, my all-time favorite song ‘있지’ came out. This is the first song I discovered by them and it remains a banger to this day.
Last year, they released their second EP ‘HOLA!’ The title track we’ve featured in our MV Rec series.
The most recent single they’ve released is ‘Written on a leaf’.
Overall
It is impossible to mention Korean indie without bringing up JAURIM. They’ve released so much music in the past twenty years and it pretty much all stands the test of time. The band isn’t afraid to touch on political issues which is another plus.
You can find their official website here. Go ahead and check out their Spotify here and have an amazing afternoon just going through their discography. It’s definitely worth it.
