Won Il discusses his career over the past decade, including leading the Gyeonggi Sinawi Orchestra and developing Dionysus Robot, getting its UK premiere at K-Music 2025. He outlines his Sinawi-style composing, collaboration across disciplines, use of video and improvisation, Olympic ceremony experience, and the work’s evolving international versions, aiming to energise audiences through ritual, sound, and movement. [Read More]
Category: K-music Festival
K-Music Festival 2025: an introduction
As October approaches, it’s time to start looking forward to what has become one of the mainstays of the Autumn cultural calendar: the K-Music Festival. LKL take a look at the acts that we’ll be seeing this October and November. [Read More]
K-music – the archive
Here are all the concerts that have been part of the K-Music story over the years, together with links to reviews where we have been able to cover the events, or where we have identified reviews on third party websites. Although not branded under the K-music moniker, the series of five Korean concerts presented on … [Read More]
K-music Festival 2025: the official press release
Here’s the official press release for the 2025 K-music Festival — with the listings at the end of the release edited to include the late addition of Park Jiha to the programme. K-Music Festival 2025: a bold celebration of Korean sound Now in its twelfth year, the K-Music Festival returns in autumn 2025 with an … [Read More]
K-music 2025: Seong-Jin Cho – Artist Portrait. Part of LSO Futures
World premiere of a new piano concerto by Dong-hoon Shin, written for Seong-Jin Cho Following his sold-out Barbican recital in 2023, piano superstar Seong-Jin Cho returns to the Barbican for the world premiere of a piano concerto commissioned by the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) from Dong-hoon Shin—one of Korea’s most prominent contemporary composers—written especially for … [Read More]
Gray by Silver performs at Viva Blackpool and K-music 2025
Jazz, tradition, and improvisation in poetic conversation The 2024 Best Jazz Album winner at the Seoul Music Awards, Gray by Silver, join the K-Music Festival with their upcoming third album, Time of Tree, blending the emotional depth of traditional Korean music with the expressive language of contemporary jazz and classical. Formed in 2016, Gray by … [Read More]
K-music 2025: Won Il’s Dionysus Robot
A contemporary ritual where tradition meets technology Renowned composer and multi-instrumentalist Won Il, who inaugurated the very first K-Music Festival in 2013 with the National Orchestra of Korea, returns this year with a daring new work: Dionysus Robot. Inspired by Nietzsche’s philosophy of Dionysus and paying homage to media art pioneer Nam June Paik, Dionysus … [Read More]
Park Jiha joins K-music festival programme
The acclaimed composer and multi-instrumentalist returns with her latest album All Living Things: Park Jiha‘s fourth album is a radiant sonic meditation on the textures, rhythms, and quiet power of the living world. At the K-Music Festival, Park showcases her mastery of traditional Korean instruments: the piri (a double-reed bamboo oboe), saenghwang (a free-reed mouth … [Read More]
K-music 2025: Hilgeum with Alice Zawadzki
A tapestry of ancient tones and an untamed voice Hilgeum, a rising Korean trio redefining traditional string instruments, will make their London debut at the K-Music Festival, joining forces with the British award-winning singer, multi-instrumentalist and composer Alice Zawadzki. Known for her expressive voice and genre-defying artistry, Zawadzki will blend seamlessly with Hilgeum’s rich, textured … [Read More]
K-music 2025: JAMBINAI with London Contemporary Orchestra
Orchestral grandeur collides with post-rock fury. Post-Rock band JAMBINAI make their Barbican debut in a rare and electrifying performance with the London Contemporary Orchestra (LCO) led by Robert Ames—a conductor renowned for his work in contemporary classical music and for collaborations with artists such as Radiohead, Frank Ocean, and Steve Reich. JAMBINAI sound less like … [Read More]
K-music 2025: Okkyung Lee with Mark Fell
A sonic dialogue between cello and electronics. This year’s K-Music Festival opens with a groundbreaking performance featuring Korean cellist and composer Okkyung Lee, known for her genre-defying style, creating vast sonic landscapes that move freely through noise, jazz, Western classical, and her homeland’s traditional and popular music. For the acclaimed festival’s opening night, Okkyung Lee … [Read More]
K-Music Festival 2024: an introduction
The programme for the 2024 K-Music Festival is quite possibly the best yet. For LKL, the real gems are the opening and closing events. We hear that the National Changgeuk Company‘s Lear, which opens the festival, is every bit as good as their Trojan Women, which we raved about; and for the closing event pretty … [Read More]
K-music 2024: Lee Heemoon’s Obangsingwa tour in London
Heemoon Lee, the visionary vocalist of SsingSsing, takes us on a transcendental musical journey with his band OBANGSINGWA and their new album, SPANGLE. A powerhouse of Korean music, Lee injects fresh energy and new life into time-honoured Korean folk songs (minyo). Seamlessly blending minyo with a kaleidoscope of genres – including jitterbug, pop, dance, rock … [Read More]
K-music 2024: Seoul Metropolitan Traditional Orchestra x No-Noise
Find yourself in the bustling centre of a town square with No-Noise’s energetic and distinctive blend of Korean and Western sounds and instruments. Performing with the outstanding musicians of the Seoul Metropolitan Traditional Orchestra (SMTO), No-Noise is a dynamic ensemble led by Lee Il-woo, the visionary behind the post-rock sensation Jambinai, and Sung Si Young, … [Read More]
K-music 2024: Black String
Extraordinary Contemporary Sounds from Ancient Instruments. The 2018 Songlines Music Awards winners Black String will premiere new music from their upcoming album set to be released this autumn, following their acclaimed albums Mask Dance (2016) and Karma (2019) on the German label ACT. ‘a spellbinding experience’ (The Guardian on Black String’s K-Music Show) ‘no boundaries … [Read More]
K-music 2024: Hera Hyesang Park with David Junghoon Kim
A Unique Blend of Korean Heritage and Vocal Mastery Soprano Hera Hyesang Park, renowned for her exceptional vocal mastery, makes her K-Music Festival debut with a fresh reinterpretation of traditional Korean songs following her appearance at the Edinburgh International Festival this summer. ‘It’s a celebration of vocal brilliance and cultural depth, promising a night of unforgettable music … [Read More]