There is nothing quite like the feeling of witnessing the moment in time when a music scene is born in a country. For reggae and ska in Korea that time is now and bands like Kingston Rudieska are one of the few intrepid bands carving the way for the future of the scene. They will forever be remembered as pioneers of ska in Korea. Since 2004, back when you couldn’t find a ska CD on sale in Korea to save your live, Rudieska has been playing shows and cutting records for a small group of die-hard fans.

It all started back in high school with a CD called “Dancehall Clash.” None of them can remember where they got it or who had it first, but it was to become the spark that lead to the conception of the band almost a decade later. Since then Rudieska has been influenced by a wide range of ska and reggae from Italy’s Roy Paci to Japan’s Ska Rockets. When I asked them which bands had influenced them the most they all had another band to add. Mostly, they say, they take their sound from the original or first wave of ska from Jamaica that was an off-shoot of Rock Steady and Reggae. But along the way, they say, they have learned from Ska-Punk bands like Operation Ivy (at the mere mention of the name half of them broke into an impromptu rendition of “Sound System” ending in raucous laughter) and Jazz Jamaica Allstars.

About the ska scene in Korea they have this to say: “No scene!” The simple fact is that there is none. They are a part of a small group of bands like Soul Steady Rockers, Copy Machine, Racecar and Ska Sucks who play to small  but growing groups of fans, mostly in Hongdae, Seoul. But that doesn’t seem to phase them a bit. At this year’s Ulsan Summer Festival, Lee-Suk Yul, the exuberant baby-faced lead vocalist of Rudieska, had the hundreds of ajumas in attendance up out of their seats skanking along with him. “The future is bright,” he says with a smile, and tells me that he looks forward to being on tour with “beautiful and famous girls.”

Skafiction, there first full length album is a playful and up beat take on first wave Jamaican ska with a decidedly Korean edge. In Ulsan they played to the crowd, giving the audience the musical equivalent of sweet potato pizza, but listening to their recordings you quickly notice much more depth and breadth. Skafiction (mostly instrumental) offers up some great technical playing with a complexity and proficiency that only a band this hungry to make something from nothing can achieve.

The music they play, says Choi “Mr. Trombone” Chul-Wook, is very similar to Korean music in its passion, pain and deeply felt emotions. Which is why he agrees that the future of ska in Korea is bright. Keep a look out for Kington Rudieska this summer at festivals and clubs across the country. Their CD is available for sale on thier website and on Gmarket. Stop by The One One Four next Friday at noon when we sit down with Korea’s premier dub reggae band Windy City

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