Seoul trio, SYOT, blends traditional Korean music with something more modern
South Korea keeps tossing sparkling little sonic gems into the global music scene. The latest outfit to pop up on our radar is SYOT — a three-piece indie band out of Korea. Their music delicately weaves Korean tradition with modern sensibilities to create a soundscape both timeless and contemporary.
SYOT (short for “See Your Own Tradition”), aims to fuse traditional Korean music with something closer to the contemporary pop world. As K-POP continues to capture global attention — and as projects like K-POP Demon Hunters highlight Korean heritage — there is a growing curiosity toward traditional Korean culture on an international scale.
Their new EP is called ‘X’ and it was born from a deep desire to bring this fusion to life. The first track on the EP is called ‘Hassla’ (an old Korean word meaning “the great sea”). Each instrument, gayageum, bass, and piano, moves with its own independent melody, yet together they create a vast, organic wave that embodies harmony between nature and humanity, tradition and modernity.
“We hope listeners feel a sense of harmony and coexistence,” says Yoolim Lee when talking about how she envisions people listening to the new album. “Korean culture embraces a wide range of traditional styles and genres, yet what we think that connects them all is the aesthetic of balance.”
The second track, ‘Velvet,’ begins with a quiet, trembling emotion that gradually builds into instinctive passion. It captures the moment when restraint gives way to release, when reason and impulse collide in a single breath. Blending the sensitivity of jazz and ballad with subtle rhythmic asymmetry and traditional nuance, the piece unfolds like an intimate dialogue suspended in midair, where emotion lingers between stillness and motion.
