Over the weekend of 18th-19th April, millions of BTS fans around the world enjoyed a 24-hour concert streaming marathon entitled ‘Bang Bang Con’. The title was derived from the first syllable of the group’s full name (방탄소년단 / Bangtan Sonyeondan) and the Korean word for ‘room’ (방 / bang) and the event was thus advertised […]
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Concert notes: Park Jiha at LSO St Lukes
What a difference a venue makes. Uncomfortable seats, noisy air conditioning and poor sight lines meant that Park Jiha’s gig at the Rich Mix in the 2019 K-music festival was less enjoyable than it could have been. At LSO St Luke’s at the end of January everything seemed right. Yes, there was the faint hiss […]
Two days total immersion in BTS at Kingston: a report from the Global Interdisciplinary Conference Project
When I told someone at the (virtually empty) office on the first Friday of the new decade that I would be spending the weekend at a two-day conference on BTS, he at first looked blank. I had to explain to him that they’re a K-pop boy band, at which he grinned and urged me to […]
A review of the Korean cultural year 2019
A review of some of the highlights and trends in the Korean cultural year, primarily in London but also with half an eye to anything we might have seen elsewhere in the UK. The review is a personal one, inevitably skewed towards the events we managed to get to. Introduction This time last year I […]
Joo Yeon Sir: Chaconnes, Divertimento & Rhapsodies
Hearing Joo Yeon Sir’s barnstorming performance of Pancho Vladigerov’s Bulgarian Rhapsody “Vardar” at St James’s Piccadilly with Irina Andrievsky in August made me want to return to her recently-released second CD, Chaconnes, Divertimento & Rhapsodies, for which Vardar is the penultimate track. The album, from Rubicon Classics, follows on from her successful first album Suites and […]
Gig review: Kyungso Park, SB Circle + Hey String
Isn’t it refreshing when a band exceeds expectations? When you were expecting something pretty good, and you get something astoundingly good. When the newbie support band has the class to headline their own gig. OK, to call the gayageum trio Hey String a newbie band neglects to mention their success as prizewinners in Seoul Namsan […]
Gig review: Kim Doo Soo at Cafe OTO
Kim Doo Soo’s stage set-up is simple but carefully planned. The stage hand has marked out the precise place where the music stand is to be positioned, and the chair – which offers the minimum of comforts. A table to the musician’s right has some water and a surface to keep the various harmonicas; also […]
Brief review: Park Jiha at Rich Mix
Park Jiha closed K-music 2017 supported by a trio of musicians (playing bass, sax and vibes). She returned to London this year as a solo performer, presenting material from her new album, Philos, as well as older material. We also got one premiere. Park plays yanggeum (dulcimer), piri (oboe) and saenghwang (mouth organ), and when […]
Event report: Kim Kulim and Jessica Hyunjin Kim at Cafe OTO
Veteran avant-garde artist Kim Kulim has been going through a resurgence of interest in his work, with re-enactments of his early work having taken place in Korea over the past couple of years. This month saw a recreation of one of his controversial performances from 1970, in which he realised Nam June Paik’s Sex on […]
Music as a Gateway to Other Cultures: Learning about a Different Culture through music
By Hyun Ji Oh I have always been interested in learning about different parts of the world. Many people believe that learning a wide range of languages is one of the best ways to open one’s mind and explore new cultures. However, music also represents a great way to explore many vibrant and fascinating cultures. […]
Black String’s new album “Karma” bodes well for the K-music festival
I’m not quite sure why I didn’t rave about Black String’s debut album Mask Dance when it came out in 2017. Listening to Karma, their follow-up studio album on ACT records due to be released on 27 September 2019, I’m finding it compelling listening. And returning to Mask Dance now I’m seeing it in a […]
Review round-up: LKL at the 2019 Edinburgh Fringe
After a break from the Fringe last year, LKL returned this year to see what was new. A lot of the companies are fringe regulars: Brush, Modl, Cho-in and Hooam have all come over before, and in fact Modl this year was celebrating its 30th birthday. But there were also new acts, including Korean Gipsy […]
Live music review: SaaWee at the Albany, Deptford
When anticipating Korea related events involving live performance, I generally try not to raise my expectations too high. That way, I don’t get disappointed. But sometimes I break that rule, usually based on past experience of one or more of the performers. Hence, when pulling together the events post for July I highlighted three events […]
Jambinai, Park Jiha and SB Circle – a roundup of reviews of three K-music performers
The line-up of K-music 2019 has been announced, and it’s nice to see some familiar faces returning to London so that we can get to know their music better. Jambinai, who open the festival, have become fairly regular visitors to the UK. They had the UK launch of their new album, Onda, at the Garage, […]
Moon Haewon releases second album
Jazz singer Vocalist Moon released her second album Tenderly last week. Recorded in Japan with an all-Japanese jazz ensemble, it’s very much a sister piece to her superb first album, Kiss Me. This release, available on CD only in Japan and Hong Kong, is another collection of inspired jazz and pop covers. Moon’s seemingly effortless […]
Concert notes: Byron Wallen, Jihye Kim and Pouya Ehsaei at Redon
It was hard to believe that Byron Wallen, Jihye Kim and Pouya Ehsaei had not performed together as a trio before – there seemed be such respect and understanding between the musicians, as if they were totally familiar with each other’s ways of playing. The three had shared ideas with each other in advance – […]
Review – ATEEZ: The Expedition Tour in London
Cast your minds to the 3rd April 2019 and the O2 Forum in Kentish Town. The weather was less than pleasant. It was cold, raining and at some point during the queueing there was hail. Fans known as ‘Atinys’ were eventually let into the venue at 6pm and, despite being at the back of the […]