Thanks to Colin Bartlett for alerting me to the fact that the premiere of Unsuk Chin’s second violin concerto will be broadcast in a performance by its dedicatee Leonidas Kavakos on 18 January. LKL had eagerly bought tickets for its scheduled live premiere, which was going to be 7 January last year at the Barbican. … [Read More]
Music
Welcome to LKL’s Music section, where we cover Korean music from K-pop to P’ansori and beyond. Here you will find news of concerts as well as featured content such as our live music reviews, recorded music reviews, and music-related interviews and features. You can also find Dr Colette Balmain’s K-pop essays featuring BTS and more.
CL plays the Village Underground
Rapper CL pays her first visit to London at the Village Underground on 30 November. The venue has been upgraded from the nearby XOYO venue to accommodate the demand for tickets. 54 Holywell Lane | Shoreditch | London EC2A 3PQ | www.villageunderground.co.uk She’s sure to perform numbers from her debut album, ALPHA, which includes Spicy: [Read More]
The Sound of Nature: Dal:um live at Southbank Centre
“Korean traditional instruments contain the sound of nature.” This is the opening line of Ha Suyean’s answer to my question regarding what Dal:um would like their international audience to know about ancient Korean instruments gayageum and geomungo. “For someone coming to these two ancient instruments for the first time, what will they discover?”, I had … [Read More]
Festival Film Review: The Singer
As is often the case, I was out of town for the London East Asia Film Festival, so I missed the international premiere of the Director’s Cut of Cho Jungrae’s The Singer. I’m not sure if the previously available version has had a formal international premiere – probably not, given the devastation that Covid has … [Read More]
ATEEZ plays the SSE Arena Wembley
After a two year delay imposed by the pandemic, we can finally welcome ATEEZ back to London. This is the concert originally scheduled for March 2020. ATEEZ: The Fellowship – Beginning of the End Tuesday 15 February 2022, 7:30pm | Doors 6pm The SSE Arena | Arena Square | Engineers Way | Wembley Park | … [Read More]
Interview: Cho Jungrae (The Singer, 2020)
I watched Cho Jungrae’s 2020 movie The Singer earlier this year online, after being told by a friend of the director that it was available on Amazon Prime. It struck me as a fresh take on the pansori movie genre: instead of telling a pansori tale more or less straight like Im Kwon-taek’s Chunhyang, it … [Read More]
KCC November House Concert Live! Borodin String Qtet #2
A nice piece to round off this year’s series of House Concerts: Rachel Hayoung Woo (Violin) | Serin Baek (Violin) | Jisu Song (Viola) | Angus McCall(Cello) Programme Borodin String Quartet No.2: Allegro moderato | Scherzo | Notturno | Finale Artists Rachel Hayoung Woo (Violin) Born in Korea in 1999, Rachel took up the violin … [Read More]
BLOO plays at the Garage Highbury Corner
Korean rapper BLOO comes to the Garage courtesy of Cult of Ya, supported by Howmini. BLOO: Moon and Back tour Friday 3 December 2021, 20:00-22:00 The Garage | 20-22 Highbury Corner | London N5 1RD | Tickets (Sold out) Links: Cult of Ya on Facebook [Read More]
seoul private 프라이빗 hip-hop / trap night
It’s good to have this type of event starting up again – things almost seem to be getting back to normal. seoul private 프라이빗 hip-hop / trap night with dj/producer roots Friday 12th November 2021 10pm – 3am (last entry 1am) | Buy tickets Piccadilly Institute | The London Pavilion | 1 Piccadilly Circus | … [Read More]
KCCUK Live Concert at St James’s Piccadilly
The KCC’s November House Concert emerges from the online to the real world, and for the first time moves to St James’s Piccadilly for a celebratory live event: KCC House Concert Friday 5 November 2021, 7pm St James’s Church, Piccadilly Register via Eventbrite Trio Mazzolini Harry Rylance (Piano), Yurie Lee (Cello), Jack Greed (Violin) Sungbin … [Read More]
KCC October House Concert (online): Harry Rylance (Piano), Yurie Lee (Cello), Jack Greed (Violin)
October’s House Concert online on the KCCUK’s YouTube channel features one of the most accessible piano trios in the repertoire: Trio Mazzolini: Harry Rylance (Piano), Yurie Lee (Cello), Jack Greed (Violin) Thursday 21 October, 7 pm KCC YouTube Channel Programme Mendelssohn Piano Trio No.2 in C minor Performers: Trio Mazzolini is a London-based piano trio … [Read More]
Gallery: Chuseok celebrations at the British Museum
The early Autumn brought two simultaneous Chuseok celebrations in the London area on 18 September: the harvest fest in New Malden, organised by KBCE, and a special event at the British Museum. Over the past months we’ve been starved of live music, and it was great to be able to hear the Shilla Ensemble perform … [Read More]
K-Music 2021: Soojin Suh Coloris Trio & Camilla George
I know I should no longer be surprised at how well these collaborations work, but last year’s online meeting between Soojin Suh and Kit Downes was really rather good, so I’ll certainly be attending this gig, the last of the 2021 K-music festival. Soojin Suh Coloris Trio & Camilla George Wednesday 17 November 2021, 7:45pm … [Read More]
K-Music 2021: Dal:um
Dal:um are a Seoul-based musical duo who challenge the sonic possibilities of Korea’s most well-known traditional string instruments: Dal:um Saturday 6 November 2021 7:45pm, Southbank Centre / Purcell Room | Belvedere Road | London SE1 8XX | Buy tickets Monday 8 November 2021 8pm Norwich Arts Centre | 51 St Benedict’s Street | Norwich NR2 … [Read More]
K-Music 2021: Black String & Nguyên Lê
To mark the band’s 10th anniversary, Black String return to the K-Music Festival with their old friend, musical companion, and one of the most versatile jazz guitarists Nguyên Lê. This is an extremely rare opportunity to watch them perform together presenting the masterpieces from Karma, their collaborative work. Black String & Nguyên Lê Grand Junction … [Read More]
K-Music 2021: Sinnoi + Dongyang Gozupa
Before heading to WOMEX in Porto, Dongyang Gozupa joins the K-music festival to perform at the Coronet Theatre for a double bill with Sinnoi, a quartet led by vocalist Bora Kim, ‘her flawless voice gliding between the purest of high tones and animalistic growls’ (Songlines). An exciting night with a true mixture of fresh sounds … [Read More]