For British musician Rob Nichols, living in Korea has become more than a chapter of his life — it has become the inspiration for Honey Jam Sam’s newest album.
The frontman of the Seoul-based alt-country band is preparing to release “East of Yeadon,” an album shaped by his journey from England to Korea, his experience as a foreign resident and the process of building a new home far from where he started.
The album’s title carries that journey in its name. Yeadon, in West Yorkshire, is home to the airport — now Leeds Bradford Airport — where Nichols began his journey to Korea in 2009. He said the title connects his original home with the life he eventually built in the East.
Rather than presenting Korea simply as a backdrop, Nichols uses the album to explore the complicated experience of leaving home, starting over and finding a place within a new community.
One of the album’s tracks, “If This Is A Dream,” draws on his arrival in Korea while turning real experiences into a fictionalized story. Other songs explore memories, relationships, regret and everyday life in Seoul.
Perhaps the most direct reflection of his life as a foreign resident is “Waygookin Blues.” The song touches on experiences familiar to many foreigners living in Korea, including small apartments, teaching English, language barriers, workplace dinners and the challenge of adapting to a different culture.
Nichols describes the song as both humorous and a love letter to Korea and its expatriate community. Although he initially treated it as something of a joke, it eventually became one of the songs audiences regularly sing along to during Honey Jam Sam performances.
The album also represents a more hands-on chapter for Nichols. He worked on the recordings almost every day from June, handling much of the production himself and using his home recording setup, Sky Cottage Studios, rather than paying for conventional studio time.
That approach helped him pursue a more stripped-back sound — one designed to make Honey Jam Sam sound more like the band itself. The album also carries more of a country and roots-music influence than the group’s previous releases, with contributions from musicians including guitarist Sean-og McKiernan, bassist Jeremy Heaven, violinist Zee Dolfina and drummer Brad Wheeler.
For Nichols, “East of Yeadon” is ultimately a musical record of transition: leaving one home, creating another and documenting the experiences in between.
And as Honey Jam Sam prepares to unveil the album in Seoul, the biggest question may be what listeners discover when they hear the story behind the songs — a foreigner’s journey that gradually became a life rooted in Korea.
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