To say Balming Tiger contains multitudes is an understatement. Founded in 2018, the group is less of a traditional band and more like a collection of multidisciplinary creatives.
Within its eleven members you’ll find singers, producers, DJs, filmmakers – all of whom bring their individual skillsets to create a unique world. But it’s not just within its ranks that Balming Tiger is a melting pot, it’s also in its output – flitting between hip-hop, R&B, electronic music, indie rock, jazz and experimental pop – sometimes in the same song.
Although the band have rejected specific genres, one phrase they’ve used to describe themselves has been ‘alternative K-pop’ – a label that they believe captures two ends of a spectrum.
While K-pop has provided artists an increasingly straightforward path to international fame, Balming Tiger are committed to resisting commercial formulas – rather than trying to be pop perfection, they’re embracing the awkwardness and chaos of making music independently.
With so much perspective packed into one shell, it would be hard to pick the group’s defining trait – if it wasn’t for their madcap sense of humour. Their music videos feature members rapping under cloches on banquet tables or flying on the backs of salarymen – and their latest album tells the story of a fictional neuroscientist who runs a dream research institute.
Following the release of their latest album, Gongbu, Noctis sat down with Balming Tiger to ask each member (save Omega Sapien) one question about the collective, their hopes for the new album, and their plans for the future.
What’s your role in Balming Tiger?
Abyss: Officially, I’m the A&R. Unofficially, whenever one of the members is going through a difficult time, I tend to listen, help them work through things, and make sure issues get resolved. I guess you could say I’m the group’s counsellor. I seem to end up in that role quite often!
You’ve just released ‘Gongbu’ – how does it feel?
sogumm: I usually come away from a release feeling like I could’ve done more, but this album was different. I approached it as a chance to truly study and learn throughout the process. Right now, it feels like I’ve just finished an exam—there’s a real sense of relief. I can’t wait to start working on the next project.
Were you more nervous about releasing ‘Gongbu’ than previous albums?
Mudd the student: I think I was especially nervous about releasing Gongbu compared to my previous albums. It was an album where I tried a different approach to the sound, and personally, it’s my favourite album I’ve made.
I think you learn a lot after an album is released. There’s a certain feeling you only get once you stream the album after it’s gone live on the DSPs, and at the same time, you start to notice the areas that could be improved. Every time I release an album, I feel like I end up learning a great deal.
‘Gongbu’ is a concept album about a dream research facility – where did the idea come from?
Jan’ Qui: In the very early stages of making the album, we all got together and started by studying a single person, using them as the inspiration for creating a fictional character. What drew us to that person was the complexity of their personality and background, which gave us a shared focal point that allowed members with different personalities and perspectives to build the story together.
As we began translating those ideas into visuals, we naturally found ourselves thinking from that character’s point of view. Looking back, the way we were analyzing and studying the different members—each with their own unique traits and sense of incompleteness—in order to weave them into one central narrative felt a lot like the work of researchers. I think that’s how the idea of setting the story in a research facility came about naturally.
Dreams also felt like the perfect subject because they’re free from the rules of reality and can unfold in any direction. They offered an ideal way to visually expand each member’s inner world and subconscious. In the end, the idea of a “dream research facility” became the foundation for a concept album where the music, videos, and imagery all come together as one cohesive story.
What’s your process for developing an idea?
Leesuho: When we’re making music, the ideas seem to flow naturally. We talk a lot as a group, and while we’re working, we’re almost always together, so I think our thought processes gradually end up on the same wavelength. Once we’ve gathered a number of songs and listen to them together, there’s usually a moment when we realize, “We’ve naturally been making this kind of album.” From that point on, we focus on developing that direction further.
It’s a similar process with music videos. As we think about the best way to bring out each member’s personality and individual character, different images naturally start to come to mind.
Do you have vivid dreams?
Wonjin: I’m not someone who remembers my dreams very well, but when I was a kid, I had a dream where my father and I were wandering through a huge maze, and my finger got cut off. It’s not a particularly vivid memory anymore, but for some reason, it’s a dream I’ve never been able to forget.
If you could make one of your dreams real, what would it be?
Unsinkable: In a dream, I was making music like I normally do when I suddenly came across the most beautiful sound I’d ever heard—something completely new. I remember thinking: this is the sound I’ve been searching for my whole life. As soon as I woke up, I sat down at my computer and tried to recreate it, but it turned out pretty terrible. I have dreams like this every now and then, and I’d love to hear that sound again in real life.
One of the things that I really admire about Balming Tiger is that you’re all so individual but you have come together as a group. Most people assume individuality is about being alone – why do you think you chose a community?
Hong Chanhee: I think we were able to come together because our interests are actually so different from one another. Rather than having vague similarities, we each have completely different boundaries and individual worlds, which naturally leads us to respect each other more.
What’s the thread that brings all of your different identities together?
Henson: I think all of the members are very strong-willed misfits in our own ways. Each of us has our own missing pieces, and we’ve all experienced our own wounds from society. Maybe we were able to recognize the different ways in which each of us is lacking, and that’s how we found each other—the imperfect parts of one another.
What’s the big dream for Balming Tiger?
San Yawn: Our biggest dream is to keep collaborating joyfully, no matter the situation, no matter where we are. What matters most is being together with our friends. A few years ago, when we were in LA with the members, we were eating samgyeopsal in Koreatown and started talking about how, someday, we should open a really good Korean BBQ spot in LA. It started as a half-joke — the pork belly there just wasn’t as good as what we’d have in Seoul — but it sounded like a genuinely happy life. Art has been the medium that brought us together. But going forward, that medium doesn’t have to be just one thing. It could be a K-BBQ restaurant, or making furniture. Whatever it turns out to be, I feel like it’s possible — as long as we’re together.