In 2017, eight-piece roots reggae band NST & The Soul Sauce joined forces with multi-award winning Korean pansori vocalist Kim Yulhee to create “Korean reggae” – surely, one of the most thrilling cross-genre mashups that had never been heard before!

For many years, bassist Noh Seonteck had been a driving force in the Korean reggae scene; first, with his band Windy City, and since 2015, with NST & The Soul Sauce. The latter allowed him to take reggae into the uncharted worlds of Afrobeat, jazz, funk and psychedelic soul. Then, in 2017, the band upped their game several notches by inviting multi-award-winning traditional pansori vocalist, Kim Yulhee into their ranks, resulting in a totally original fusion that defied categorisation. With her commanding presence and powerful voice, Kim Yulhee effortlessly moulded the stylised vocal mannerisms of pansori into the deep Afro-reggae grooves of the band, creating a new international soul music built on the pillars of traditional Korean philosophy and music. Kim Yulhee and NST & The Soul Sauce’s first album together, titled Version, was released in 2019, leading to a busy pre-COVID 19 tour at home and abroad, with stops in Japan, Hong Kong, the US, Colombia and Chile.

The lineup for NST & The Soul Sauce is Noh Seonteck (bass, vocals), Smiley Song (percussion, vocals), Lee Soojin (guitar), Uniqnote (keyboards), Lee Jongho (drums), Song Seongho (saxophone), Yoonapal (trumpet), Bak Jun (dubwiser), and Kim Yulhee (vocals).