Vintage K-Pop Revisited

A French quintet offering modern jazz-influenced instrumental covers of the songs of a Korean crooner? Even the theoretical infinite monkeys at their typewriters might have struggled to come up with that idea. Led by maverick producer Etienne de la Sayette, Baeshi Bang distil the style of 1960s Korean vocalist Bae Ho and the era he occupied, in which the lush arrangements were tailored as precisely as the singers’ immaculate suits.

Retro is skilfully interwoven with modern throughout. On ‘Taeyangei Jeopyon’ a Clavioline electronic keyboard emerges amidst a madcap minimalist orchestration. The use of this unusual instrument, famously employed on the Tornadoes 1962 smash ‘Telstar’, subtly recalls an age when it was possible for instrumentals to rule the airwaves. The Korean elements elegantly sidestep the pitfalls of Asian kitsch. Electric guitar and gayageum (zither) riff in tandem on ‘Hwangpo Dotdae’, an uplifting slice of surf-soul, which features the revelatory French horn playing of Victor Michaud, duetting with de la Sayette's tenor sax on a breezy melody. This atypical album is beguiling, its richly textured arrangements bearing repeat listens.