Sonic BOOM

Seoul-based collective Balming Tiger are on their way to redefining what Asian music looks like to the world. Their latest step? An electrifying, 14-track debut album titled January Never Dies.

- AZRIN TAN

Balming Tiger have stopped working from home. Instead, their office schedule demands that everyone in the group of 11 report at their studio in Seoul by 10am. Rather than rigid disciplinary action, the new framework is a result of the music collective learning how pertinent it is to see one another in the process of creating music. This is but one of the many things they gained from going on not one, but two, far-flung songwriting retreats in the middle of the mountains with no one licensed to drive.

One other thing they’ve gained from their time together on the retreats? Their first full-length album. At the time of writing, the Seoul-based collective—comprising performers Omega Sapien, Sogumm, Bj Wnjn and Mudd the Student; producers San Yawn and Unsinkable; video directors Jan’ Qui and Leesuho; visual artist Chanhee Hong; DJ Abyss; and writer Henson Hwang—have already released four songs from January Never Dies, and are on the precipice of releasing the rest of the 14-track effort.

Taken in full, the album refuses to be defined by any one genre. According to Balming Tiger, that is precisely the point. The first track to be released was the explosive ‘Sexy Nukim’ in 2022 featuring the deep, sensual vocals of BTS’s RM. The next three pre-releases—‘Trust Yourself’, ‘SOS’ and ‘Kamehameha’—are a prime showcase of the group’s colourful soundscape.