Mid-Air Thief
Mid-Air Thief | |
|---|---|
| Also known as |
|
| Origin | South Korea |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 2012–present |
| Labels |
|
| Mid-Air Thief | |
| Hangul | 공중도둑 |
|---|---|
| Revised Romanization | Gongjungdoduk |
| McCune–Reischauer | Kongjungdoduk |
Mid-Air Thief (Korean: 공중도둑; RR: Gongjungdoduk) is a pseudonymous South Korean folktronica musician. He has released four studio albums: Gongjoong Doduk (2015), Crumbling (2018), Flood Format (2022),[1] and Flash (2025), all released under different aliases. Crumbling won Best Dance & Electronic Album at the 2019 Korean Music Awards and garnered an online cult following for the artist.[2][3]
Mid-Air Thief has stated that he refuses to disclose his age, birth name or place of residence. Additionally he has never shown his face, only letting himself be photographed while masked.[4] As of 2025 he has never performed live under any of his known aliases.[a]
Career
Mid-Air Thief started his career in 2012 using the stage name Hyoo (휴), releasing two mini albums that same year. His sound at this time has been compared to the output of Flying Lotus' record label Brainfeeder.[3] It was under this alias that Mid-Air Thief signed to Foundation Records, a South Korean independent label in Seoul, for three years.[5] In 2015, the project changed its name to Gongjoong Doduk (공중도덕, Public Morality) and released its self-titled debut album,[1] which was nominated for Best Modern Rock Album at the 2016 Korean Music Awards.[6] His name would change again to Mid-Air Thief (공중도둑) after finding out that rappers Dok2 and The Quiett released a song called "공중도덕" as part of the 2016 South Korean reality competition show, Show Me the Money 5.[1][5]
In 2018, Mid-Air Thief released his second album, Crumbling, which features vocals and lyrics by South Korean singer Summer Soul.[7] The album gained attention in online music communities.[3][8] The cover art was made by Mid-Air Thief's nephew, a design major at Hongik University.[5] Crumbling was nominated for both Album of the Year and Best Dance & Electronic Album at the 2019 Korean Music Awards, and won Best Dance & Electronic Album,[2] something which displeased Mid-Air Thief as he didn't think the "Dance/Electronic" label fit the album.[9] It was collaborator Summer Soul who accepted the award in Mid-Air Thief's name.[4] The album was re-released for the U.S. in 2019 by Topshelf Records.[9]
Using yet another alias, he released two songs ("Restless Song" and "Halcyon’s Coffin") under the group project Shadow Community at the end of 2019.[5][9]
2021 saw the release of the sci-fi anime series Sonny Boy featuring exclusive music by Mid-Air Thief on its soundtrack.[10]
The following years saw minimal interaction with the public—as of late 2025, the artist hasn't given a single interview since 2019. 2022 saw the release of Flood Format (손을 모아), via his Bandcamp page and under the name Bird's Eye Batang (새눈바탕). He would change his name once more, this time to Bird's Eye Thief (새눈도둑) for the release of Flash in 2025.
Influences
Mid-Air Thief has spoken about being a big fan of British electronic musician Aphex Twin and Canadian singer-songwriter Andy Shauf.[5][4] It was American producer Richard Swift that moved Mid-Air Thief to mix his music using an analogue mixer and master it using cassette tapes.[5]
Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Gongjoong Doduk (공중도덕; Gongjungdodeog) |
|
| Crumbling (무너지기; Muneojigi) |
|
| Flood Format (손을 모아; Soneul Moa) |
|
| Flash |
|
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Korean Music Awards | Best Modern Rock Album | Gongjoong Doduk | Nominated | [6] |
| 2019 | Best Dance & Electronic Album | Crumbling | Won | [2] | |
| Album of the Year | Nominated | [14] |
References
Notes
Sources
- ^ a b c Lee, So-hui (2018-08-09). "[이소희의 B레이더] 공중도둑, 이상하고 쿨한 세계". The Korea Herald (in Korean). Retrieved 2018-12-16.
- ^ a b c Kim, Su-jeong (2019-02-27). "BTS, 한국대중음악상 '올해의 음악인' 수상… "상 의미 잘 안다"". No Cut News (in Korean). Retrieved 2019-03-11.
- ^ a b c St. Michel, Patrick (15 January 2019). "Hidden Gems: Mid-Air Thief, "Crumbling"". Bandcamp Daily. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
- ^ a b c d Enis, Eli (1 August 2019). "Mid-Air Thief Made A Beloved, Award-Winning Album And Still Hasn't Shown His Face". MTV News. Archived from the original on 27 December 2023. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g Mid-Air Thief (4 April 2019). "Just For Art - Mid Air Thief Interview". Hayarobi (Interview). Interviewed by Hayarobi Staff. Archived from the original on 30 November 2024.
- ^ a b 수상후보: 장르분야. Korean Music Awards 2016 (2016-01-11). Retrieved on 2018-12-16.
- ^ "[INTERVIEW] 공중도둑 (Mid-Air Thief)". Poclanos (in Korean). 20 August 2018. Retrieved 2019-03-11.
- ^ Ghosh, Sayan (21 October 2018). "Sayan Ghosh: Mid-Air Thief accrues online following". The Michigan Daily. University of Michigan. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
- ^ a b c Gersten, Amanda (31 December 2019). "Daily Dose: Shadow Community, "Restless Song"". Paste. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
- ^ Loo, Ergan (17 June 2021). "Madhouse's Sonny Boy Sci-Fi Anime Posts New Video, Visual". Anime News Network. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
- ^ "Topshelf Records - Mid-Air Thief - Gongjoong Doduk".
- ^ "Topshelf Records - Mid-Air Thief - Crumbling".
- ^ "새눈바탕 = Bird's Eye Batang - 손을 모아 = Flood Format". Discogs. 2022.
- ^ "Nominees: 종합분야". Korean Music Awards 2019 (in Korean). Retrieved 2019-03-11.