Galaxy Express () is a

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock music that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The style is ...

band from

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

that formed in 2006. The trio, which is known for its energetic stage presence, is one of the most popular rock bands in South Korea and has received international acclaim.

Career

Galaxy Express was formed in 2005 and debuted in 2007 with the EP, ''To The Galaxy.'' In 2007, drummer Yoon Hong-gu suffered a hand injury, leading to the recruitment of Kim Hee-kwon, a percussionist with a background in classical music. Their first full-length album, 2008's ''Noise On Fire'', won Best Rock Album at the 2009

Korean Music Awards The Korean Music Awards () is an annual South Korean music awards show that honors both mainstream and underground musical artists from a variety of genres. Unlike other major South Korean music awards, which largely rely on record sales to de ...

. To make their second full-length album, 2010's ''Wild Days,'' the band posted songs online and asked fans for feedback before recording final versions. The entire process of writing and recording the album took less than one month. This experiment helped Galaxy Express win the award for Musician of the Year at the 2011 Korean Music Awards. In 2011, Galaxy Express took part in the Seoulsonic tour of North America, performing at major music festivals

Canadian Music Week The Departure Festival + Conference, formerly known as Canadian Music Week, is an industry conference and music festival held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.David Friend"Canadian Music Week buyers rename event Departure Festival, expand its scope" ...

and

South by Southwest South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

, and at concerts in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. Their travels were documented in the 2012

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

''Turn It Up to 11, Part 2: Wild Days''. Galaxy Express returned to the Canadian Music Festival in 2012 and South by Southwest in 2012, 2013, and 2017. The band has also performed in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

, and

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. In 2013, band member Lee Ju-hyun was arrested in South Korea for

marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...

possession, cultivation, and smoking. At the time, Galaxy Express was participating in the

Mnet M-Net (an abbreviation of Electronic Media Network) is a South African pay television channel established by Naspers in 1986. The channel broadcasts both local and international programming, including general entertainment, children's series, ...

competition show ''Band Generation'', and had advanced to the final round. While the band won the competition, Mnet did not air the final episode. Several days after Lee's arrest, band member Park Jong-hyun was investigated for smoking marijuana. The band released their third album, ''Galaxy Express'', in 2012 and their fourth album, ''Walking on Empty'', in 2015. In 2018, Kim Hee-kwon left the band. In the first half of 2022, singer-songwriter and city pop musician Jeon Yonghyeon joined the band as the new drummer.

Band members

* Lee Ju-hyun: bass, vocals * Park Jong-hyun: guitar, vocals * Jeon Yonghyeon: drums

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Noise on Fire'' (2008) * ''Wild Days'' (2010) * ''GALAXY EXPRESS'' (2012) * ''Walking on Empty'' (2015) * ''Electric Jungle'' (2018)

Singles, EP

* ''To the Galaxy'' (EP) (2007) * ''Ramble Around'' (EP) (2007) * ''Come On & Get Up!'' (EP) (2009) * ''Naughty Boy'' split with

Crying Nut Crying Nut () is a punk rock band from South Korea. They are often credited as being pioneers of the Korean punk rock and indie rock scenes. The group began performing in 1995 in the Hongdae (area), Hongdae club scene in Seoul. They released the ...

(2011) * ''Turn it up!'' (EP) (2020) * ''DOWN'' (EP) (2020) * ''Forget it'' (EP) (2020) * ''LAIKA'' (EP) (2021) * ''You Again'' EP (2021) * ''The way (redux version)'' (EP) (2021) * ''Don't Care Anymore'' (Single) (2023) * ''Choose the Bad One'' (Single) (2023)

Awards

Mnet KM Music Festival The MAMA Awards (, formerly Mnet Asian Music Awards) is a major music awards ceremony presented annually by entertainment company CJ ENM. First held in South Korea, the majority of prizes have been won by K-pop artists, although there are ot ...
(MAMA Awards)

Korean Music Awards The Korean Music Awards () is an annual South Korean music awards show that honors both mainstream and underground musical artists from a variety of genres. Unlike other major South Korean music awards, which largely rely on record sales to de ...

References

External links

*
Official Website
{{Authority control South Korean indie rock groups South Korean punk rock groups Musical groups established in 2006 South Korean rock music groups

Career

Band members

Discography

Studio albums

Singles, EP

Awards

Mnet KM Music Festival The MAMA Awards (, formerly Mnet Asian Music Awards) is a major music awards ceremony presented annually by entertainment company CJ ENM. First held in South Korea, the majority of prizes have been won by K-pop artists, although there are ot ... (MAMA Awards)

Korean Music Awards The Korean Music Awards () is an annual South Korean music awards show that honors both mainstream and underground musical artists from a variety of genres. Unlike other major South Korean music awards, which largely rely on record sales to de ...

References

External links

Mnet KM Music Festival The MAMA Awards (, formerly Mnet Asian Music Awards) is a major music awards ceremony presented annually by entertainment company CJ ENM. First held in South Korea, the majority of prizes have been won by K-pop artists, although there are ot ...
(MAMA Awards)