Mudd the student of Balming Tiger Releases His First Studio Album LAGEON

Mudd the student, a member of the alternative K-Pop collective Balming Tiger, has released his first full-length album LAGEON. Containing a total of 14 tracks, the album is a project that reflects Mudd’s complex identity and awareness of his generation—an honest record of his attempt to understand himself through music. Alongside the album, seven music videos will be released sequentially, expanding his artistic universe visually.

Mudd grew up in Gijang, a rural area on the outskirts of Busan. The small, quiet town—with few peers and sparse population—felt to him like another dimension filled with coldness and emptiness. There, Mudd nurtured his dreams through the screen of his smartphone. With no one around to share avant-garde music or similar sensibilities, he naturally became immersed in the online world rather than the real one. The internet felt closer than reality itself, and through it, he explored punk, hip-hop, IDM, pop, and many other genres without boundaries. Through this process of listening, learning, and experimenting alone, Mudd developed his sound—an accumulation of experiences and musical attempts that have now culminated in LAGEON.

Online, Mudd realized that with just a few clicks, he could access the sensations of the past—and in that moment, he recognized himself as part of a “rootless generation.” His debut full-length album is the result of confronting that realization and facing his inner self head-on. After graduating from high school, he moved to Seoul to fully pursue his music career and gradually gained public recognition. Through LAGEON, he expresses the frustration, pain, and anger he encountered while facing reality. The album encapsulates his experiences, emotions, and reflections, transforming them into music.

The internet serves as an important backdrop for this album. It was both a pathway for discovering great music and connecting with people, and a space filled with ridicule and hate comments. LAGEON does not hide this duality—instead, it embeds it into its lyrics and sound. The feelings that arise when the screen and reality collide, the indelible traces left behind, and the wounds and healing born from relationships all become key themes in the album. It also critiques the zeitgeist of a world where everything is easily consumed in shared spaces, while attempting to connect with listeners through personal stories of pain and trauma. Mudd also reveals his desire to let go of the hardships he has endured and to be understood.

Musically, LAGEON highlights Mudd’s ongoing experimentation with the deconstruction and fusion of genres. Taking the lead in writing, composing, and producing all tracks, Mudd—together with co-producer JNKYRD—presents a wide-ranging sonic spectrum. As in his previous solo works, various genres coexist and blur their boundaries. Noisy electronic textures and hip-hop elements intertwine atop the gritty foundation of 1990s alternative rock, creating a new hybrid sound.

The focus tracks—“Undertaker,” “Phoenix,” and “Best Thing”—each carry distinct emotions and narratives. The featuring lineup is equally notable: Korean singer-songwriter Parannoul, recognized in the global indie scene, New York-based rapper/producer Harto Falión of the collective Surf Gang, and Japanese underground musician that same street, known for vocaloid screamo music. These cross-genre and cross-border collaborations further elevate the album’s experimental depth and immersive quality.

The project’s visual and creative direction was led by fellow Balming Tiger member Hong Chanhee. To visually expand the album’s narrative, seven music videos were produced—each deepening the emotional resonance and the world of LAGEON. The album cover, created by pangchiucowboy, a U.S.-based digital native and internet artist who creates all of their works in MS Paint, visualizes Mudd’s attention-deficit tendencies and the fantasy that arises between the boundaries of the internet and reality. Reflecting the album’s broad range of genres and sounds, the music videos were created in diverse forms—including animation, home video, and short film—directed by Hong Chanhee, Balming Tiger’s video director Jan’ Qui, young Japanese filmmaker Malloon, and U.K.-based animator Luke. Just like the album’s themes, the visuals explore the tension between connection and disconnection, and the blurring lines between the real and the virtual.

LAGEON is not a work meant to prove anything to anyone—it is Mudd’s first studio album that documents his own footprint. From his beginnings on the internet to his time between Gijang and the vast city of Seoul, his experiences of loneliness, confusion, and recognition have all contributed to his musical growth. The result, LAGEON, will be available on all streaming platforms on November 25 at 6 PM (KST). The music video for one of the focus tracks, “Undertaker,” will also premiere at the same time on Balming Tiger’s official YouTube channel.