Honey Jam Sam reflects on foreign experience in Korea in latest album

Rob Nichols, the British frontman of Honey Jam Sam, is preparing to release the band’s latest album, East of Yeadon, on Saturday in Seoul. The album reflects his journey from England to Korea and life as a foreign resident, with songs about leaving home, building a new home, and expat experience. Nichols said he recorded it largely by himself and aimed for a stripped-back sound that feels more like the band.

The album title, East of Yeadon, refers to Yeadon Airport in West Yorkshire, where Nichols began his journey to Korea in 2009.

Nichols said he worked on the recordings almost every day since June and handled the production himself to avoid paying for studio time.

The album includes songs such as If This Is A Dream, Old Town and Waygookin Blues, with Waygookin Blues described as a love letter to Korea and its expat community.

Nichols said the album has more country grit than previous releases and features collaborators including Sean-og McKiernan, Jeremy Heaven, Zee Dolfina and Brad Wheeler.

He will hold a launch party at Uplift on Saturday at 8 p.m.

Published Sep 30, 2026 11:37 am KST

The cover of Honey Jam Sam's latest album, "East of Yeadon" / Courtesy of Honey Jam Sam

Seoul is one of the world's largest cities, but when you're in a creative community or other subculture, it can feel almost more like a small town.

Right in the center of this metropolis, in a hillside neighborhood that once was a refugee settlement, Rob Nichols, the British frontman of local alt-country band Honey Jam Sam, lives in a rooftop apartment overlooking a two-lane road, where he can encounter people from all walks of life. In his apartment, he has set up his own home recording studio, which he named Sky Cottage Studios.

"Somehow we have our own little community, and I have my own little space within that," he told The Korea Times. "Sometimes it doesn’t feel real, disconnected from the larger picture. I guess I’m just carving out my own little niche with my band while I can."

He's preparing for the release of Honey Jam Sam's latest album, due out on Saturday, titled "East of Yeadon."

The name is a reference to Yeadon Airport, now Leeds Bradford Airport in Yeadon, West Yorkshire, where he began his journey to Korea in 2009.

"I was looking for a title that incorporated both elements of home and the East, and this seemed to cover both nicely," he said. "The album is made up of songs about leaving home, making a new home (in the East) and everything in between."

Rob Nichols appears with his white cowboy hat in Itaewon, July 24. Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar

The album starts off with "If This Is A Dream," a dreamy song filled with vivid biographical details. Nichols describes the song as a "fictionalized story of how (he) came to Korea, based on true events."

"I came here after a breakup and I felt trapped in England," he said. "I needed to get out."

Throughout the album, certain elements keep arising, picking up narrative throughlines from earlier songs that touch on love, regret and living with mistakes.

The song "Old Town" references an old Itaewon bar, and the song references incidents that may or may not have happened to Nichols there.

"When something — I don’t remember exactly what — untoward happened, my friend just said to me, 'You’re in Old Town now,'" he said. "I haven’t decided which place I’m actually referring to yet- maybe everywhere is like that. Wherever you go, there you are."

One of the highlights of the album, and Nichols' live performances, is "Waygookin Blues." Between the catchy singalong chorus, the song is crammed full of observations about life as a foreign resident of Korea, from small apartments, teaching English to young kids, language acquisition difficulties, the forced ritual of work dinners, drinking outside a convenience store and MBTI.

"The title line I’ve had for about 10 years, but it always seemed like a song for a different kind of band," Nichols said. "It didn’t feel like something I’d sing. Then about a year ago, I thought I’d make up some dumb lyrics and sing it and everyone seemed to love it. It’s a joke song really, but a love letter to Korea and its expat community in particular. I didn’t want it to be explicitly for the teachers but that’s how the lyrics came out. It’s weird to be known for something I wrote as a joke but it’s an amazing feeling to have everyone singing my lyrics back at me."

That song and "On My Way" are two of the crowd favorites whenever Nichols performs.

"They’re such a big part of our live shows with audience interaction, that I had to find a way to get them recorded and do them justice somehow," he said. "I hope I got them right."

His effort paid off, after working on the recordings almost every day since June. By handling things himself and not paying for studio time, he was able to slow down and work more on arrangements and recording.

"The downside, is that, producing it solely by myself, I’m sensitive to every bum note and instruments being too high, or low, in the mix," he said.

"I wanted to make an album that sounded more like the band this time, and strip it back so that only the essential elements were there, which for the most part, I’ve done. I wanted to have something where you could picture all the instruments in front of you, where in the past I’ve basically asked everyone I know to join in."

Honey Jam Sam performs at Dialogue in central Seoul's multicultural Haebangchon neighborhood, Sept. 12, for this year's Block Party Music & Art Festival. Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar

The album has a bit more of a country grit to it than previous albums, and while his recording techniques certainly contributed, it also comes through with the musicians he collaborated with. This includes guitarist Sean-og McKiernan, bassist Jeremy Heaven, violinist Zee Dolfina, Brad Wheeler on drums and various background vocalists.

Nichols expressed his love for country music, adding that he was named after Bob Dylan, whose music led him to discover other figures like Hank Williams, Gram Parsons and the Byrds.

"One of the biggest influences on me over the past few years is that I got a record player and have bought too many records, devouring every kind of roots music I could find," he said. "I’ve always loved country music and have wanted to make something in that vein. Personally, I think this only goes halfway in doing that."

Nichols will celebrate the latest album with a launch party at Uplift this Saturday at 8 p.m. Visit honeyjamsam.bandcamp.com to hear the album, or follow @honeyjamsam on Instagram for more information.

英国乐队Honey Jam Sam的主唱Rob Nichols将于本周六在首尔发布乐队最新专辑《East of Yeadon》。这张专辑记录了他从英国到韩国的旅程以及作为一名异乡人的生活，歌曲主题涵盖离家、建立新家和旅居海外的经历。Nichols表示，这张专辑大部分由他独自录制，力求打造一种更贴近乐队风格的简约音效。

专辑名称《East of Yeadon》指的是西约克郡的耶顿机场，尼科尔斯于 2009 年从那里开始了前往韩国的旅程。

尼科尔斯说，自六月以来，他几乎每天都在进行录音工作，并且亲自负责制作，以避免支付录音棚费用。

这张专辑收录了《如果这是一场梦》、《老城》和《Waygookin Blues》等歌曲，其中《Waygookin Blues》被描述为写给韩国及其外籍人士社区的一封情书。

尼科尔斯表示，这张专辑比之前的作品更具乡村音乐的粗犷风格，合作者包括肖恩·麦克基尔南、杰里米·海文、泽·多尔菲纳和布拉德·惠勒。

他将于周六晚上8点在Uplift举办发布会。

发布于2026年9月30日上午11:37（韩国标准时间）

Honey Jam Sam 最新专辑《East of Yeadon》的封面 / 图片由 Honey Jam Sam 提供

首尔是世界上最大的城市之一，但当你身处创意社区或其他亚文化群体中时，它会给你一种小镇般的感觉。

在这座大都市的中心地带，一片曾经是难民营的山坡街区里，英国另类乡村乐队 Honey Jam Sam 的主唱罗伯·尼科尔斯 (Rob Nichols) 住在一间俯瞰双车道公路的屋顶公寓里，在那里他可以遇到来自各行各业的人。他在公寓里搭建了自己的家庭录音室，并将其命名为“天空小屋录音室”(Sky Cottage Studios)。

“我们仿佛拥有了自己的小圈子，而我在其中也拥有属于自己的一小块空间，”他告诉《韩国时报》。“有时候感觉不太真实，与大局脱节。我想，我只是趁着还能和乐队一起的时候，努力开辟属于自己的一小块天地。”

他正在为 Honey Jam Sam 的最新专辑《East of Yeadon》的发行做准备，该专辑将于周六发行。

这个名字指的是位于西约克郡耶顿的耶顿机场（现为利兹布拉德福德机场），他于 2009 年从那里开始了前往韩国的旅程。

“我一直在寻找一个既包含家乡元素又包含东方元素的专辑名，而这个名字似乎恰好能完美地涵盖这两点，”他说。“这张专辑的歌曲讲述了离开家乡、在东方建立新家以及介于两者之间的一切。”

7月24日，罗布·尼科尔斯头戴白色牛仔帽出现在梨泰院。韩国时报摄影师乔恩·邓巴摄

专辑以《如果这是一场梦》开篇，这是一首充满梦幻色彩的歌曲，其中穿插着生动的个人经历。尼科尔斯将这首歌描述为“根据真实事件改编，讲述他如何来到韩国的虚构故事”。

“我分手后来到这里，感觉被困在英国了，”他说。“我需要离开。”

整张专辑中，某些元素不断出现，延续了早期歌曲的叙事主线，探讨了爱情、遗憾和面对错误等主题。

歌曲《Old Town》提到了梨泰院的一家老酒吧，歌词中提到了可能发生在尼科尔斯身上，也可能没有发生的事件。

“当时发生了一些不愉快的事情——我记不清具体是什么了——我的朋友对我说，‘你现在身处老城区了，’”他说。“我还没想好我到底指的是哪个地方——也许到处都一样。无论你走到哪里，你都还是你。”

专辑的亮点之一，也是尼科尔斯现场表演的亮点之一，是《Waygookin Blues》。这首歌在朗朗上口的合唱部分之外，充满了对在韩国作为外国人生活的观察，从狭小的公寓、教小孩子英语、语言学习的困难、被迫参加的工作晚餐、在便利店外喝酒到MBTI人格类型。

“这首歌的歌名我已经想了大概十年了，但总觉得它更适合其他类型的乐队，”尼科尔斯说。“我以前觉得这首歌不适合我唱。大约一年前，我突发奇想，编了些傻乎乎的歌词唱了起来，结果大家都喜欢。这首歌其实是首玩笑之作，但也是一封写给韩国，尤其是韩国外籍人士群体的情书。我原本并不想把它写成专门写给老师们的歌，但歌词最终却变成了这样。因为一首我当初开玩笑写的歌而出名，感觉很奇妙，但大家都跟着我一起唱，这种感觉真的太棒了。”

每当尼科尔斯演出时，那首歌和《On My Way》都是观众最喜欢的歌曲之一。

“它们是我们现场演出中与观众互动的重要组成部分，所以我必须找到一种方法来录制它们，并尽可能地还原它们，”他说。“我希望我做得不错。”

他的努力终于有了回报，自六月以来，他几乎每天都在录音。由于他自己包办一切，无需支付录音棚费用，他得以放慢节奏，将更多精力投入到编曲和录音中。

“缺点是，因为所有制作都是我自己完成的，所以我对每一个走调的音符以及混音中乐器音量过高或过低都非常敏感，”他说。

“这次我想做一张更贴近乐队风格的专辑，回归本源，只保留最基本的元素，而我基本上也做到了。我想要那种能让人想象所有乐器都摆在你面前的感觉，而过去我基本上是邀请我认识的所有人来参与制作。”

9月12日，Honey Jam Sam在首尔市中心多元文化街区海芳村的Dialogue酒吧演出，这是今年的街区派对音乐艺术节的一部分。韩国时报摄影师Jon Dunbar摄

这张专辑比他之前的专辑更具乡村音乐的粗犷感，虽然他的录音技巧固然功不可没，但与他合作的音乐家们也功不可没。这些音乐家包括吉他手肖恩-奥格·麦克基尔南、贝斯手杰里米·海文、小提琴手泽·多尔菲纳、鼓手布拉德·惠勒以及多位和声歌手。

尼科尔斯表达了他对乡村音乐的热爱，并补充说他的名字来源于鲍勃·迪伦，迪伦的音乐让他发现了汉克·威廉姆斯、格拉姆·帕森斯和伯兹乐队等其他音乐人。

“过去几年对我影响最大的事情之一就是我买了一台唱片机，然后买了好多唱片，如饥似渴地听遍了各种乡村音乐，”他说。“我一直都很喜欢乡村音乐，也一直想创作一些类似的作品。就我个人而言，我觉得这张专辑只完成了一半。”

Nichols将于本周六晚上8点在Uplift举办新专辑发布派对。访问honeyjamsam.bandcamp.com收听专辑，或在Instagram上关注@honeyjamsam了解更多信息。