Kingston Rudieska() is a nine-piece South Korean

ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...

band formed in 2004. Their sound is mainly influenced by first-wave Jamaican ska, as well as other Caribbean genres including

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

and

calypso music Calypso is a style of Caribbean music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago during the early to the mid-19th century and spread to the rest of the Caribbean Antilles and Venezuela by the mid-20th century. Its rhythms can be traced back to We ...

. They are heavily influenced by the Skatalites and frequently perform Skatalites covers. Many of the members are jazz musicians, and their sound is heavily influenced by

ska jazz Ska jazz is a music genre derived by fusing the melodic content of jazz with the rhythmic and harmonic content of early Jamaican Music introduced by the "Fathers of Ska" in the late 1950s. The ska-jazz movement began during the 1990s in New York ...

, with band members frequently performing solos during performances. With a high-energy style and a large backing band, Kingston Rudieska has gathered popularity around Korea, touring the country heavily and playing for most of the major music festivals including

Jisan Valley Rock Festival Valley Rock Festival (also known as VRF, Jisan Valley Rock Festival and Ansan Valley Rock Festival) is held annually on the last weekend of July. Sharing many artists, the festival is arranged by 9 Ent, which is Smash Corporation, and in close co ...

Pentaport Rock Festival Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival () is a rock festival which is held annually in Incheon, South Korea for three days in August. Launched in 2006, it is considered one of the biggest live music events in South Korea. The festival covers various genr ...

, and

Busan Rock Festival Busan Rock Festival, inaugurated in 2000, is an outdoor music festival that takes place every summer in Busan. It is one of South Korea's longest running modern music festivals. The lineups accumulate acts of various genres such as rock, metal, ...

. They have had fewer chances to travel abroad due to their large roster, but they appeared at the Philippine Ska Festival in 2012. They have opened for such international acts as Chris Murray,

The Slackers The Slackers are an American ska band, formed in Manhattan, New York in 1991. The band's sound is a mix of ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub, soul, garage rock, and jazz. The Slackers' notability is credited to their prolific career, tours of Nort ...

Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra , commonly abbreviated by fans as Skapara or TSPO, is a Japanese ska and jazz band formed in 1988 by the percussionist Asa-Chang, and initially composed of over 10 veterans of Tokyo's underground scene. At the time, the band's sound was unlike t ...

, and

Dr. Ring-Ding Dr. Ring Ding (Richard Alexander Jung) is a German reggae, ska and dancehall artist. In the more than 20 years of his musical activity, he has become an integral part of the international music scene. Jung lives in Germany, but spent a part o ...

. They have collaborated with famous Korean musicians including

Bobby Kim Kim Do-kyun (; born January 12, 1973), more commonly known as Bobby Kim (Hangul: 바비 킴), is a South Korean hip hop and R&B artist. Music career His father, a trumpet player, influenced and exposed him to music. At an early age, he worke ...

, YB, and

Sim Soo-bong Sim Min-kyung is a South Korean singer known professionally as Sim Soo-bong. When she was a senior at Myongji University, she debuted in 1978 through MBC College Song Contest ( ko, MBC 대학가요제) at which she performed her self-composed ...

. They have appeared on numerous Korean television programs and become well known around Korea. They also appeared on a tribute compilation covering a song by

Sanulrim Sanulrim (Hangul: 산울림), also spelled Sanullim, was a South Korean rock band that debuted in 1977. They are considered to be one of South Korea's most influential rock groups. The band consisted of brothers Kim Chang-wan, Kim Chang-hoon, a ...

Founding

Trombonist Choi put together Kingston Rudieska after responding to a post on an Internet bulletin board looking for musicians for a "Jamaican" sounding band. Many of the original members had previously played in punk bands, including Choi who was the lead guitarist for the punk band Seagull (갈매기) and vocalist Suk-yul who was the bassist in Half Brothers (배다른형제) and Beef Jarky. The early lineup also featured Kim Insoo of

Crying Nut Crying Nut () is a punk band from South Korea. They are often credited as being pioneers of the Korean punk and indie rock scenes. The group began performing in 1995 in the Hongdae club scene in Seoul. They released their debut album, '' Speed U ...

on the keyboard. Their first concert was at the legendary punk club Skunk Hell.

Seoul Riddim Superclub

Kingston rudieska rise again ska reggae festival 20131229

More recently, six members of Kingston Rudieska teamed up with members of Purijah, Rude Paper, and Jah Mai Band to form Seoul Riddim Superclub, a Korean reggae

supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to: * Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields * Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry * Supergroup ...

. The group formed after three members of Kingston Rudieska went to Japan to see

Jimmy Cliff James Chambers OM (born 30 July 1944), known professionally as Jimmy Cliff, is a Jamaican ska, rocksteady, reggae and soul musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer, and actor. He is the only living reggae musician to hold the Order of Merit, t ...

. During their stay, they joined with

Japanese ska Japanese ska is ska music made in Japan. It is, along with its counterparts elsewhere in the world, part of what has been called the "third wave of ska hatcombines the traditional Jamaican Club sound with metal, punk, folk, funk, and/or country." ...

band The Eskargot Miles to perform at an "Asia United" show. Afterward, they were encouraged to start the band.

Critical response

Kingston Rudieska are widely accepted as the leading ska band in Korea. They are noted for their mainly Korean language lyrics which help to give the group a uniquely Korean sound.

Yumi’s Cells

The band makes an appearance in the first episode of season 2 of the popular TV series Yumi’s Cells (2021-2). Yumi (

Kim Go-eun Kim Go-eun (born July 2, 1991) is a South Korean actress. She debuted in the film ''A Muse'' (2012) where she won several Best New Actress awards in South Korea. She is also known for her role in the television series ''Cheese in the Trap'' ( ...

) has a new love interest, Ba-bi ( Jinyoung), who takes her to an outdoor performance by the band on what is effectively their first date.

International collaboration

They first got their name out by appearing on the ''United Colors of Ska'' compilation put out by German label . The song got the attention of German reggae/

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rou ...

singer

who visited Korea in August 2013 to perform with his band Dr. Ring Ding Ska-Vaganza and record an EP with Kingston Rudieska. Their 2014 full-length release was produced by former

Aggrolites The Aggrolites are an American reggae band from Los Angeles, California, United States, which formed in 2002. Overview The Aggrolites are an amalgamation of two previous Los Angeles reggae and ska bands, the Vessels and the Rhythm Doctors. Th ...

member Brian Dixon and features guest vocals by Walter Dunn, former lead vocalist of Stingers ATX.

Discography

Albums

007 The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

Skafiction (Rudie System) * 010Ska Bless You (Rudie System) *

012 012 may refer to: * Tyrrell 012, a Formula One racing car * The dialing code for Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassie ...

3rd Kind (Rudie System) *

014 014 may refer to: * Argus As 014 * BIND-014 * 014 Construction Unit * Divi Divi Air Flight 014 * Pirna 014 * Tyrrell 014 The Tyrrell 014 was a Formula One car, designed for Tyrrell Racing by Maurice Philippe for use in the season. The cars wer ...

Everyday People (Rudie System)

Singles and EPs

* 006Kingston Rudieska (EP) (Rudie System) *

009 009 may refer to: * OO9, gauge model railways * O09, FAA identifier for Round Valley Airport * 0O9, FAA identifier for Ward Field, see List of airports in California * British secret agent 009, see 00 Agent * BA 009, see British Airways Flight 9 * ...

Ska Fidelity (EP) (Rudie System) *

011 The following is a list of different international call prefixes that need to be dialled when placing an international telephone call from different countries. Countries by international prefix Countries using optional carrier selection cod ...

Because of You (너 때문이야) (Rudie System) * 013You Made Me Angry (니말이화나) (Rudie System) *

Ska 'n Seoul (with

) (Rudie System)

Compilations

United Colors of Ska 4.0 (Oscar Wilde) (Pork Pie Ska) * 010The Shouts of

Reds Reds may refer to: General * Red (political adjective), supporters of Communism or socialism * Reds (January Uprising), a faction of the Polish insurrectionists during the January Uprising in 1863 * USSR (or, to a lesser extent, China) during th ...

Sanullim Reborn (Don't Go/가지마오)

References

{{Authority control South Korean indie rock groups Musical groups established in 2004 Post–third wave ska groups South Korean ska groups