Chip Post Gang: "Caveman Noise Rock" Band Making Waves

Written by Charity Lynn (@_charitylynn_)
Photos by Ji Hoon Kim (@h00n00h) and Dong Ryeal Kim (@dongryeal0315)

Chip Post Gang is the "caveman noise rock" band no one knew they needed. "We do weird stuff, we steal, we hijack, we snatch, we do violence, all within the legal boundaries," is a concept members Sean (drums), Sanguk (guitar and vocals), and Sumin (bass) ironically try to uphold. But in reality, they're just friends who like to have fun on stage.

The band formed just over a year ago when Sanguk and Sumin met through a mutual friend via Twitter. After a few jam sessions, they realised they needed a drummer, which is when Sean joined. "Actually, Sanguk and I messaged before about him possibly joining my other band, Lilly Eat Machine, a few years back. But he ended up ghosting me," Sean mentioned, contrary to Sanguk's claim of there being no ghosting at all. "But I had been wanting to play drums in a band, so I ended up joining Chip Post Gang."

Their name has an interesting backstory. "My friend helped me come up with the name," said Sumin. "When I asked her for ideas, she thought of 'Shit Post Gang' because we shitpost a lot online. I really liked it, so we went with that at first." However, they later changed it to Chip Post Gang. "What if we get big one day? My mom can't say Shit Post Gang," Sanguk laughed. "So we changed only the first word to something that sounded similar. I also like that it can be shortened to CPG, it makes us sound like a cool punk gang from a Japanese cartoon."

Initially, the band wanted to make music similar to The Cure and Joy Division. "It started out that way, but after playing a few shows and practising, we've finally developed our own sound: caveman noise rock." When asked to elaborate, Sean stated, "Just follow your instinct. Our songs don't need any intelligence, so take out your brain and just put noise inside. We are all weird and noisy on stage, and we want the audience to feel what we express. There is a rough texture to our sound, so remember to bring earplugs." Sanguk added, "We like to be loud. I've even used two amps at one time before."

The members draw musical influence from various artists. "I really like the Korean band Apollo 18," stated Sumin, "their sound is more noise and less melody, so I wanted to sound similar to them." Sanguk takes inspiration from bands like Fugazi, 3rd Line Butterfly, and Lightning Bolt. "Lightning Bolt is only made up of a bassist and drummer, and I really like their distorted bass sounds," he added. Sean's inspirations differ when drumming versus singing. "I just wanna smash the drums," he stated, "some bands that come to mind are Tool, Deftones, and And So I Watch You From Afar."

Their songwriting process is collaborative. "We start out just improvising," Sean said, "and then we build onto that improvisation until it sounds good." Sanguk added, "Sumin starts with a bass line. Then Sean and I add guitar and drums. Once we like it, we record it and practice it." Most of their songs focus on instrumentals, with Sanguk occasionally adding vocals.

Each member brings unique personal elements to the band. Sean, a film graduate from City University of Hong Kong, creates videos for the band. "At one of our recent shows, I made an 'intro fighter' style video to introduce the members of all the bands playing." Sanguk is interested in video games. "I grew up playing a lot of indie games, like Stardew Valley. But I also like fighting games a lot, which has inspired many of the band's gig concepts." Sumin studies fashion design. "I even made what I'm wearing today," she said, pointing at her shirt. She gives fashion advice to the others. "They don't know what they are doing, so I have to help them out."

Chip Post Gang also produces zines: PATCHROOM and one highlighting the band's activities. Sumin handles design, while Sean and Sanguk contribute writing. "I used to work for a webzine called BOKEH, but I wanted to make something physical and offline for the band," stated Sanguk. "Many countries, like Japan and Taiwan, have a huge zine culture within their indie music scene, and I wanted to do something similar. PATCHROOM is more like a subculture magazine based on Korean indie music, especially in Hongdae. We want to bring attention to the people involved in the scene."

When asked what album they would bring to a deserted island, Sumin chose Seaweed Mustache's album "2": "There are so many complicated compositions and layers in their music, I think it would save me." Sean selected "Belong" by The Pains of Being Pure at Heart: "Their music is like the essence of me." Sanguk picked "The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess" by Chappell Roan: "I know that I play brutal music and look like a Korean dad, but men with beards can like Chappell Roan too."

The band hasn't released much recorded music yet, but they are planning to release an EP sometime soon. For now, you can listen to a demo of their song Luka on YouTube. Currently, they're focusing on PATCHROOM. "Our purpose is just to have fun," said Sean. "If there's something fun or cool that comes to our mind, we'll do that. We love having gigs with our friends, like The Pictures, Peach Truck Hijackers, Guinneissik, and NokeNok. We'd also like to play at some festivals soon." You can keep up with them on their Instagram (@chippostgang).