Guckkasten ( ko, 국카스텐) is a South Korean
indie rock band. Formed in 2003 under the name The C.O.M. (더 컴), the original lineup consisted of vocalist
Ha Hyun-woo,
guitarist
A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...
Jeon Kyu-ho,
drummer
A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...
Lee Jung-gil, and
bassist
A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a Bass (instrument), bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboar ...
Kim Jin-eok. Due to
conscription
Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...
, The C.O.M. disbanded. In 2007, they regrouped with Kim Ki-bum as bassist under the name Guckkasten, which is the German word for
Zograscope
A zograscope is an optical device for magnifying flat pictures that also has the property of enhancing the sense of the depth shown in the picture. It consists of a large magnifying lens through which the picture is viewed. Devices containing onl ...
. The band intends to make music with psychedelic images hidden under
analogous art.
History
In 2000, Ha Hyun-woo and Lee Jung-gil met while attending the same university.
The following year, Jeon Kyu-ho, who earned a
crane operation license at the time,
was found through the internet.
The band was founded in the
Hongdae area of
Seoul with the name The C.O.M., an acronym for Compass of Music, in 2003.
Due to their
conscription
Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...
, the band was dismantled.
In 2007, the three members regrouped under the name Guckkasten in the
Gangwon-do Province, with the addition of Kim Ki-bum.
The name "Guckkasten" is derived from the
German language
German ( ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and Official language, official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Ita ...
, which translates to "Chinese-style
kaleidoscope".
The band chose the name because they wanted to "show off a never-ending, fire-work like image of the passion of the young and the mirage of life".
Initially, Guckkasten attempted to create an independent
record label themselves. After negotiations, they were signed a three-year
recording contract
A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists ...
with Yedang Entertainment.
In 2008, the band earned the Hello Rookie of June award by the
Educational Broadcasting System (EBS) Space Sympathy.
Guckkasten released their self-titled debut
studio album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
on February 4, 2009. They held their first solo concert on February 21, 2009, in Seoul, South Korea, at
Hongik University's V-Hall.
Throughout that year, the band performed at several music festivals, including the Summer Rock Festival in
Shanghai, China,
the
Pentaport Rock Festival, and
Jisan Valley Rock Festival in July.
The band was selected by the
Korea Creative Content Agency (KCCA) to usher in
Korean culture
The traditional culture of Korea is the shared cultural and historical heritage of Korea and southern Manchuria before the division of Korea in 1945. Manchuria refers to the ancient geographical and historical region in Northeast Asia, includ ...
into Japan. The
hard disk drive where original album was saved had been lost by the band, which required them to re-record the album. As a result, Guckkasten lost all their money, which left them "speechless for about three seconds when we got the bill".
Guckkasten won Rookie of the Year and Best Rock Song for "Mirror" at the seventh annual
Korean Music Awards in 2010. In March 2010, Guckkasten performed a "special stage" at
Mnet's music chart television program ''
M! Countdown'' with girl group
Kara.
In 2011, Guckkasten performed at their first major music hall concert. The event, which seats 2,000 people, sold out tickets in ten days.
They were also a feature on
hip hop duo's
Leessang's album ''Asura Balbalta''.
Musical style and artistry
Guckkasten's music has been classified as
psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...
,
a genre that is underrepresented in South Korea.
Due to their
experimental nature, Guckkasten has expressed they can not define the sound of their music.
The band has stated that their guitar
riffs tend to be "on the heavy side".
The band's intent is to create music with psychedelic images hidden under
analogous art.
The band members cite different musicians as their favorites: Ha Hyun-woo chose
Gotan Project and
Arcade Fire; Jeon Kyu-ho chose
Steve Vai and
Joe Satriani; Lee Jung-kil admires
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
's drummer
Lars Ulrich
Lars Ulrich (; ; born 26 December 1963) is a Danish musician best known as the drummer and co-founder of American heavy metal band Metallica. The son and grandson respectively of tennis players Torben and Einer Ulrich, he played tennis in his ...
; Kim Ki-bum chose
Red Hot Chili Peppers's bassist
Flea.
Guckkasten has been described as having developed a unique sound and that the band strives for "musical perfection".
Jeong Ho-jae, a writer for News Donga, felt that Guckkasten created "explosive and creative" music.
Vocalist Ha Hyun-woo's singing technique has also been described to be "explosive".
Their self-titled debut album received critical acclaim
and was credited for the development and rapid growth of Korean
indie music.
Performance
At their 2011 Guckkasten Visual Art Concert, the band employed
three-dimensional effects, which displayed different items on the screens behind them for each individual track they performed. They aimed to combine their "intense"
rock music with a visual exhibition.
Members
;Current members
*
Ha Hyun-woo () – vocals,
guitar
* Jeon Kyu-ho () – guitar
* Lee Jung-gil () –
drums
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...
* Kim Ki-bum () –
bass guitar
;Former members
* Kim Jin-eok () – bass guitar
Discography
Studio albums
Compilation albums
Extended plays
Singles
Awards
, -
, 2003
, The C.O.M.
, rowspan="2", Samzi Sound Festival for Hidden Whiz Award
,
, -
, 2007
, rowspan="5", Guckkasten
,
, -
, rowspan="3", 2008
, EBS Space Sympathy for Hello Rookie of June
,
, -
, Samzi Sound Festival Murim Whiz Award
,
, -
, EBS Space Sympathy Grand Award for Hello Rookie of the Year
,
, -
, rowspan="2", 2010
, 7th
Korean Music Awards for Rookie of the Year
,
, -
, Mirror ()
, 7th Korean Music Awards for Best Rock Song Award
,
, -
, rowspan="2", 2016
, rowspan="2",
Ha Hyun-woo (''
King of Mask Singer'')
, 43rd Korean Broadcasting Grand Prize for Musician Category
,
, -
,
16th MBC Entertainment Awards for Special Award
,
, -
, rowspan="2", 2016
, rowspan="2",
Ha Hyun-woo
, Korea Brand Of The Year Award
,
, -
, 8th
Melon Music Awards Rock Category
,
, -
, 2020
, Guckkasten
, Brand Customer Loyalty Awards for Rock band
,
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guckkasten
Experimental rock groups
Musical groups disestablished in the 2000s
Musical groups established in 2003
Musical groups reestablished in 2007
Musical quartets
Psychedelic rock music groups
South Korean indie rock groups
Korean Music Award winners