Chudahye Chagis

After making an international splash as a member of Korean Folk-inspired Ssing Ssing , CHUDAHYE has delivered a fierce followup, leading the dancy, sublime, psychedelic, sometimes-brash-sometimes-ethereal CHUDAHYE CHAGIS. Their debut album, Underneath the Dangsan Tree Tonight, is an aurally beautiful tapestry of genres, traditions and talent. Dear reader, my advice is that you prepare for your very first listen to Underneath the Dangsan Tree. You’ll need a comfy spot and the best pair of headphones you can borrow. The production, mixed by Naoyuki Uchida of Japanese reggae band Dry & Heavy, is rich, subtle and should be enjoyed on something other than airpods. The album opens with, what seems like, CHUDAHYE conjuring the elements: first, Earth and Fire in undo and then Wind and Water in Binasoo+. The former, a violent incantation with crunchy unison metal riffs while the latter contrasts as a peaceful, floating-down-the-river dub, driven by bassist Jaeho Kim. While the groove runs deep through the whole record, things stay ethereal, if not smooth for the first half. Soul Birds kicks with a jazzy guitar on top of an extra-slow funk. As the song progresses, the band jams under and in between aerial vocals and descends into a frantic honking madness.