T-Entertainment, March 2006 Rollercoaster’s fifth album was released in 2006, after a gap of 2 years since the almost flawless fourth. Gone is the sense of rhythmic drive, of energy, of joie de vivre. Instead we have something a bit more laid back, less characterful. I had been warned that the fifth album was a … [Read More]
Category: Pop, rock and indie (page 42)
Alex: My Vintage Romance
Fluxus Music, June 2008 As a fan of Clazziquai, I wish I could be more enthusiastic about the first solo outing of one of its members, the male vocalist Alex. On the plus side, he has a mellow, well-controlled voice, very pleasant to listen to. And he has a reasonably distinguished line-up of guest stars. … [Read More]
A meeting with Sunflower – 해바라기
Anna Lindgren meets with one of the fathers of modern Korean folk music, with special assistance from Jeon Sung-min. A few years ago I came across a stunningly beautiful folk piece. It was called 내마음의 보석상자 and it had been recorded by 해바라기, Sunflower, in 1986. After getting my hands on a couple of Sunflower … [Read More]
Music at the 2008 Dano Festival in Trafalgar Square
Saharial wraps up on our coverage of the 2008 Dano Korea Summer Festival, and launches the LKL YouTube Channel with exclusive live video footage from her camera. Its now a week on from the Festival, but the memories still linger very happily. Of course, there was more going on than Noridan, with three musical sets … [Read More]
Yoon and Tall Lee crowd-surf in Kingston
Saharial reports from the Yoon Band’s gig at The Peel, Kingston, 6 June 2008 Arriving at 5.30pm, Y.B. (Yoon Band) was almost instantly swamped by the dozen or so Korean youngsters that had been lurking for a while, and amiably chatted to them whilst posing for photos and signing autographs. I chatted briefly to Lee … [Read More]
The versatile Yoon Band plays London
Saharial introduces the talents of the Yoon Band, which will be performing in Trafalgar Square on 8 June When I heard that the Yoon Band was coming to the UK for two gigs in June, I was almost jumping round my room with excitement. That my room is rather small and I suffered a few … [Read More]
A meeting with The Invisible Fish
Anna Lindgren continues her series of interviews with interesting musicians When only a few days remained of 2006, Korea’s most distinguished indie folk duo said “goodbye” with the release of their second full album. We were many that didn’t quite want to believe it – of course there were other prominent folk acts, but nothing … [Read More]
Musical intermission
We apologise for the disruption in service. Normal service will resume as soon as possible. In the meanwhile, here’s Jeon Sung-min (Guitar) and Jung Ji-eun (Kayageum): http://londonkoreanlinks.net/wp-content/uploads/audio/Track05.mp3 Sung-min and Ji-eun will also be playing at the Anglo-Korean Society event on 10 April. Book your tickets now. [Read More]
A meeting with Zitten
By Anna Lindgren In January, Korea’s premier indie label, Pastel Music, released a 5CD compilation to commemorate its 5th birthday. On those five CDs there are 71 songs in total. Needless to say there is plenty of good music on those CDs – I had expected as much when I pre-ordered it. What I did … [Read More]
New indie music sites
Those who keep an eye on my blogroll (I know that’s not very many of you) will have noticed that I recently added one or two new sites to my list of Music blog links. Firstly, Indieful RoK, a new blog of news about the Korean indie rock scene. Its creators are Helikoppter, aka Anna … [Read More]
Ruby Salon and the digital singles phenomenom
Anna Lindgren meets the people behind Ruby Salon I know I’m not alone in feeling frustration over the digital singles concept; artists releasing music only available through paid downloads – a not too uncommon way for Korean artists to get a few songs out before the next CD. Sure, in this day and age most … [Read More]
2008 Travel diary day 2: Sweetpea and the Secret Garden
Insadong, Saturday morning 16 February: I had somehow managed to get back to the hotel from Itaewon but the morning is a write-off. I am not best company for lunch with Justina of the Korean Cultural Promotion Agency. She’s in Seoul trying to drum up support (read: money) for the Dano Festival in Trafalgar Square … [Read More]
A visit to Manhattan’s Korean CD shop: How did I do?
At a recent trip to visit my co-workers in Manhattan I of course made sure I looked in at AM Records in 32nd Street to see what Jay Kim could fix me up with this time. I went in without any fixed idea of what I wanted: an ideal scenario for an astute salesman such … [Read More]
Kim Soo-hee comes to London
In a top-secret event known only to selected members of the New Malden Korean community, Trot star Kim Soo-hee (below) is coming to London. She will be performing at St John’s Smith Square on 26 January at 7:30pm. The event is sponsored by one of the local Korean newspapers. The event is so secret that … [Read More]
LKL 2007 Quiz of the Year – the answers
Question 1: Corporate crooks and corruption Match the alleged quote with the appropriate chaebol The conglomorate had run a vast network that bribed government officials, prosecutors, tax collectors, journalists and scholars I don’t want to take a gamble on causing a crisis in the country’s economy The sentence of one year and six months is … [Read More]
Album review: Bada #3 — Made in Sea
After her lively second album, Bada’s third is a big let-down. Gone are the catchy pop tunes which show off her vocal range and bring a smile to the face. Instead we are faced with a run-of-the-mill R&B and dance collection, which could have been put together by anyone. The voice is still unmistakably Bada’s … [Read More]