We’ve crossed the Pacific for this month’s featured stream: a 22-song compilation of Korean punk bands from the World Domination, Inc. (월드 도미네이션 인코퍼레이트) label.
We’re excited to premiere Us & Them 3: Korea’s Punks at Binary Studios, the third installment is a series where each band plays one original and one cover. While the covers are cool, we especially enjoy hearing the mix of skatepunk, skacore, metallic punk, a fun Ramones rendition, and more. It’s a diverse collection with even production, since it was all recorded in-house at Binary Studios in Seoul.
The album formally releases on Jan. 22 in Korea, with limited CDs available from the bands. Volumes 1 & 2 in the series coincided with US tours from the bands involved, but COVID has made that scenario untenable this time around.
To pull from the liner notes, which we think is fair since this isn’t available internationally in physical form, label head Jeff Moses (also in …Whatever That Means) says:
This issue of “Them & Us” is the product of over 400 hours in the studio, and once again, it features some of the best punk rock and ska Korea has to offer. We’ve got 2 bands that have been on all 3 compilations and 1 who made their first appearance on “Them & Us 2.” Most importantly, it includes some of the most exciting new bands that have come out of the Korean scene in the last few years. We all appreciate bands with longevity, there there’s something especially exciting about working with the new bands.
Listen to volumes one & two on WDI’s site, where you can also check out volume 3 here if the player above isn’t working for you.
