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Leenalchi

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Leenalchi is a South Korean pop band that combines pansori with modern styles. Pansori is a traditional Korean form of narrative singing. The group came into being around 2018 and has an unusual line-up: four singers trained in traditional Korean music at Seoul National University, two bassists and a drummer. The bassist Jang Young-gyu wrote the music for the films The Wailing and Train to Busan. The band is named after Lee Nal-chi, a nineteenth-century pansori master and tightrope walker.

Music and breakthrough

The first album, Sugungga from 2020, is inspired by the pansori story of the same name. It includes Tiger Is Coming, which the band also released as a non-fungible token. In 2021 Leenalchi won three Korean Music Awards, including that for artist of the year. The band also regularly collaborates with the Ambiguous Dance Company. In 2025 the album 흥보가 appeared.

Influence

The music sets the rough, powerful singing of pansori to a tight accompaniment of two bass guitars and drums. All the members help to devise the songs. In this way the group shows that an age-old singing tradition works well in danceable pop music, and it reached an audience far beyond Korea.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to Tiger Is Coming and notice the interplay of the two bass guitars and the drums with the powerful, almost shouted singing. Which voice do you hear first and how do the singers take turns?

Discography

Studio albums

Categories: ArtistsPansori