Updated at: 2026-06-25
Authors: Abie Chan
Kim Oki, from South Korea, is one of the representative figures of Asian avant-garde jazz, not only a crescendo performer, composer, and film director, but also a street dancer and a creator who spans various media.
Although he never had any formal academic music training , his distinctive style quickly gained attention and became popular after the release of his debut album, Cherubim's Wrath, in 2013.
Yet, with a rebellious yet free soul, he detested being labeled as a jazz musician and even more bluntly stated in early interviews:
"I don't think my music is jazz."During the interview, he mentioned that while he first got exposed to saxophone due to accidentally listening to Miles Davis's music, he had never formally studied traditional jazz. His focus was more on black music and hip-hop culture from his youth.
Indeed, his works vary greatly in style, spanning avant-garde jazz, spiritual jazz, post-ambient music, hip-hop, and R&B, making them difficult to define within a framework.
In last year's release of "2025 Hip Hop Retreat," he blended jazz with rap and collaborated with popular rappers such as Wonstein and Omega Sapien, creating a refreshing work that left everyone amazed.
「 아 니 . 」
