Seth Mountain performs at Uplift in central Seoul’s multicultural Gyeongnidan area, Jan. 31. Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar
Seth Martin, better known in Seoul’s music scene as folk singer Seth Mountain, has released a five-song mini-album titled “Over the Mountains.”
This is the latest installment in his push to complete what he calls the “Mountain Trilogy.” This follows “This Mountain” (2016), which focused mostly on U.S. politics and social struggles, and “Through Dark Valleys” (2021), which turned inward and tuned into Korea.
There are some new additions to some of the songs, but these five newly released recordings trace their origins way back to 2016, when Mountain was working on the first album in Portland, Oregon.
After 10 years, he plans to complete the “Mountain Trilogy” with one more full-length album, on which he plans to include these five songs. He pictures that one being “less topical and more personal, philosophical, spiritual… but still acting as a sort of summit for the trio and making it all one mountain, so to speak.”
He added, “As for this EP, I want it to stand on its own as a project. But the songs used here will also feature on the third full-length mountain album, but mixed differently with a lot more added, and set into a different, longer narrative.”
A poster for the concert at Baekusaeng Makgeolli / Courtesy of Seth Mountain
Like many of Mountain’s recordings, this one includes familiar elements: at least one traditional U.S. folk tune, a reworked or updated song and a traditional Korean song. The songs are raw and textured, letting the musicians bare their souls. It culminates with “Lonely Arirang,” a neo-traditional take on Korea’s most famous folk song. It includes lead vocals and drumming by Gwon Jae-hyong and a chorus featuring members of SMB Mountain School, bringing together figures from Mountain’s life on both sides of the Pacific Ocean.
Mountain hopes to finish the full-length album this summer or fall. “That would cap the project after 10 years,” he said. “In a way it became part of my life’s work, a grand gesture, without me having really planned it to be so. I thought it would be finished much faster, but life’s ‘mountains’ decided otherwise.”
Mountain will also have a show this Saturday at Baekusaeng Makgeolli, a brewpub specializing in traditional Korean alcohol, located in western Seoul’s Ahyeon Market.
It will be the first concert held there since Baekusaeng’s remodeling and expansion, which has created more space for music events as well as classes on making traditional Korean alcoholic drinks such as makgeolli and soju.
“This expansion allows us to welcome more participants and continue sharing Korean brewing culture in a deeper and more meaningful way,” Joe Kim, owner of Baekusaeng, told The Korea Times.
“With increased production capacity, our brewery is now equipped to scale more effectively. Over the past nearly three years, we’ve had the privilege of teaching thousands of travelers, expats and food lovers the joy of making makgeolli and experiencing the authenticity of this traditional Korean drink. Our goal is to introduce a wider range of makgeolli not only nationwide, but also to neighboring countries overseas. I would like to sincerely thank everyone who has visited and supported Baekusaeng Makgeolli and helped us grow as a business.”
Mountain will be joined by Kim Dae Jung and the Red Dawg String Band. Entry costs 20,000 won and comes with a bottle of homemade makgeolli.
Visit sethmartinandthemenders.bandcamp.com to hear Seth Mountain’s music, or baekusaeng.com for more information about the makgeolli brewery.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.koreatimes.co.kr ’
