Korean American-led DMZ//38 Releases No Man's Land Album

“We can be as one, look what the split has done” proclaims DMZ on “Reunify,” an impassioned anthem from No Man’s Land, the debut album from the LA-based band DMZ//38. “Reunify” is featured in both English and Korean-language versions on the CD, which follows 2005’s acclaimed Never Surrender EP.

DMZ//38 is led by vocalist/songwriter DMZ, founder of the ground-breaking Korean American political rap group Fists of Fury, and also includes guitarist Ben Palvera and drummer Pat Godwin. Named Outstanding Political Band of the Year in 2005, DMZ//38 has been showcased recently in several media, including Korea Times, LA’s premier Korean daily newspaper, and a TV feature on YTN, South Korea’s top 24-hour news network. Their music has been compared to artists such as Neil Young, The Clash and Bruce Springsteen.

Ranging from anthems such as “Never Surrender” to the deep lyricism of the title track “No Man’s Land,” the album’s thirteen tracks cover an impressive range of material. Reflecting musical influences as wide-ranging as hip-hop, punk and folk, No Man’s Land is focused on conveying DMZ’s passion for peace and re-unification of the divided Korean peninsula. Other contemporary social issues, such as globalization and incarceration, are explored on tracks “Heart Like A Rose” and “No One Can Stop the Rain,” a poem written by famed African American activist Assata Shakur.

DMZ//38 has performed recently at American River College in Sacramento, a major antiwar concert at the Westwood Federal Building, clubs throughout Hollywood and LA, and a Hurricane Katrina survivors’ benefit at the Century Club.

No Man’s Land was mixed by Eric Arm (Ben Arnold, The Scooters) and mastered by Mike Lazer (Gnarls Barkley – St. Elsewhere, All American Rejects, Rob Zombie) of Paramount Mastering. The album is available from DMZ38.COM through Taegukki Records.

The name DMZ//38 refers to the De-Militarized Zone located at the 38th Parallel separating North and South Korea from the close of the Korean War in 1953 to the present day. It is perhaps the most heavily militarized region on the planet, an area former President Bill Clinton referred to as the "scariest place on Earth." DMZ pledges "to never be silent until Korea is reunified and my name itself becomes a historical term."