Ko Shin Moon is a collaborative project founded in 2018, at a crossroads between traditional strings and electronic music machines. From their studio in Paris, Ko Shin Moon create otherworldly, hybrid melodies where psychedelia meets space disco. In line with the works of Haruomi Hosono (the band name is a reference to one of his exotica albums), Ko Shin Moon draws from a vast lineage of experimentalists and music explorers. Through stylistic experimentation, the band outlines a universe of contrasts. Their credo: eclecticism, cosmopolitanism and hybridity. Released in 2017, their first, eponymous album was composed as an attempt to both confront and research traditional melodies, by mixing instrumental recordings and samples. In this musical journey, repertoires, genres and times blend and form a new language. The album marked the start of a fruitful collaboration with Paris-based record label Akuphone, with whom they share a common ambition: the renewal of listening practices through open borders. In 2019, the National Library of France (BnF) invited Ko Shin Moon to create new pieces based on their sound archive – a musical treasure comprising recorded material from every part of the world. The only restriction was that Ko Shin Moon would rely solely on 78-rpm records.. Their album ‘78 fragments’ is the final output of this collaboration. On their third LP ‘Leïla Nova’ released on Akuphone records in 2020, the band set aside sampling and aimed to reassert themselves as a live duo. The album’s ten tracks sketch out a pilgrimage from East to West, a cosmic synthesis of different worlds and repertoires.
In 2020, Ko Shin Moon launched a series entitled ‘Miniature’ on their record label Total Totem. ‘Miniature’ is paying tribute to pop and folk cultures from around the Mediterranean,. Between 2022 and 2025, the band promoted the album through an extensive tour of over 100 concerts across Europe, passing through the UK, Canada, North Africa and Asia (Lebanon, Turkey, India, South Korea, Indonesia). In 2024, Ko Shin Moon recorded ‘Sîn’, its fifth LP to be released in October 2025, in partnership with Gulbaba Records. On stage, Ko Shin Moon’s fiery music pieces unfold to create an immersive listening and dancing experience. Their live performances have thrilled audiences at multiple French and international avant-garde music festivals such as Trans Musicales, Nuits Sonores, Paléo Festival, Francofolies de la Rochelle, Barcelona Psych Fest, Montreal jazz festival, Beirut and Beyond, Magnetic Fields Festival, DMZ Peace Train Music Festival …