Spring of 1974, in Seoul: this was the time and place that witnessed the birth of psychedelic power trio Shin Joong Hyun & Yup Juns. "In Korean, yupjun literally means a brass coin," Shin explains. "However, during that time it was used as slang to describe a sense of unpleasantness and dislike. Since I was so unpleasant and dissatisfied [in my career], I told myself, 'Ok, fine, I am just a yupjun,' and named my band with a rebellious attitude." Shin began by renting a spacious room at Seoul's Tower Hotel to serve as a creative home base for the group. After six months of earnest preparation, the group cut ten powerful songs filled with monster grooves, fuzz guitar, emotive singing, and top-notch songwriting. Shin had achieved his goal. The album was pressed up as an ultra-limited, broadcast-only promotional vinyl to test radio response; the response wasn't what anyone expected, and the record label refused to release the album. Shin Joong Hyun & Yup Juns re-recorded the album (with a new drummer), but it is this, the original ten track version, that has become legendary-with good reason. An astounding record, and one that we are privileged to bring to the rest of the world for the first time. Tough and funky tracks, driven by Mr. Shin's ferocious guitar; capped off in blissful head-spinning psychedelic style by 'The Rising Sun', an instrumental in the vein of the Jimi Hendrix Experience's 'Third Stone From the Sun.' Our Lion Productions version of this quintessence of funky psychedelia features Korean/English lyric translations, rare photos, re-mastered audio, and comprehensive liner notes by Kevin "Sipreano" Howes. The deluxe mini-LP sleeve CD version has a 20-page booklet with rare photos, and great stories about Shin Joong Hyun and his continuing place of prominence in the Korean music scene; the 180 gram vinyl version comes in a deluxe old-style jacket, with full color OBI and a full color insert with liner notes, rare photos and translated lyrics.
