Korean indie veterans zzzaam wake up
Indie veterans zzzaam are a band that refuse to go to sleep. They have been defying easy categorisation since 1997, when they formed at the live club Drug in Seoul's Hongdae district, a neighbourhood that would become the beating heart of Korean indie music. Drawing on the artsy guitar-abuse of Sonic Youth and the haze of shoegaze, they crafted a sound that critics described as wholly unique: distorted, psychedelic, and deeply felt. Three albums followed: Siesta (2000), Requiem #1 (2002), and Mirror Play (2004). Each of these were released in such limited quantities that they have become artefacts of the early 2000s scene, circulated among a well-plugged-in few. Then, silence.
Twenty years on, the band now comprising Jang Daewon, Park Seongwoo, and Do Jaemyeong, returned in 2024 with shine, their long-awaited fourth record. We sat down with them to talk burnout, beauty, and quietness.
When asked how the Korean indie scene has changed since their early days, zzzaam speak with positivity. "The genres have diversified, and there are more individual artists and bands now," they say. "Even music genres that were once seen as very niche now seem to be gaining an atmosphere where they're respected for their unique identities, which I think is really great." What they hope for, ultimately, is sustainability: "Rather than musicians taking a break or suspending their activities, I hope there will be more and more musicians who can keep at it, consistently creating their own music while evolving and growing."
The irony of that isn't lost on them. Their own hiatus was not originally on their agenda, but after they released Mirror Play, something broke. "It wasn't so much planned as it was something that just happened," they explain. "After releasing our third album in 2004, I realised what 'burnout' really meant. I didn't want to do anything anymore; both my body and mind were in pain and had completely broken down." The questions that followed were existential ones: how do you keep making music? Does a band have a physical age limit? “We agonised over this countless times," they admit. The answer, eventually, was to wait, to push through with the desire for music until it became unignorable. "That break has become the driving force behind my renewed passion for music today."
The music itself has never fit neatly into a single label. Shoegaze is the term that tends to follow zzzaam around, though they wear it loosely. "I've never once thought of zzzaam as a shoegaze band," they say frankly. "But since so many people say we are, I just went along with it." What they will claim is something more intangible: "The root and essence of zzzaam's music stems from sadness and melancholia - specifically, the hazy, wistful feelings found within them. Those emotions that can't be put into words or written down - I believe zzzaam's sound is about capturing exactly that." That the result often comes across as bright and warm is a surprise, even to them.
The density of their sound, those fuzzy layers of noise and tenderness, comes not from repetition but from a meditative process. "It's simply a cycle of listening and listening, playing and playing - repeat after repeat," they say. "A continuous, endless cycle of repetition until it's over." Each of their four albums has its own distinct energy, and a fifth studio album is planned for 2026.
Live performances have always been the band’s biggest strength. They speak boldly about recent shows in Daegu and Busan, and their well-received performances at Block Party and Delay Relay. Their hopes for future shows are ambitious - Seoul's ancient palaces, Cologne Cathedral, and vast natural landscapes are high on their list of ideal spots. "I dream of performing in the awe-inspiring natural world - deserts, oceans, mountains," they say. "I also dream of the day when I can perform in Pyongyang, gazing out at the Taedong River - even if that's not possible right now."
Asked what they hope listeners take away from zzzaam, the answer is clear: "I would be really happy if they thought, 'This is a great band making really good music.'"