HOPE has worked with a few concert promoters to help bring together Korean and foreign bands for a July 24th event that will take place in 3 of the best clubs in Hongdae - DGBD, Ta, and Freebird. Price to get in will be 10,000 won. This will get you in to  **ALL THREE CLUBS** With admission, patrons will receive one free drink. The best part about this is that all of the money made from the door fee will be donated to HOPE. There will be a table for additional donations and email sign up at DGBD if anyone is interested in donating more or learning about HOPE.

Whether it’s DJing, heading up the respected Get Physical label, producing tracks or compiling mix albums, there’s no doubt that Patrick Bodmer and Philipp Jung (aka M.A.N.D.Y) –have a sensitive ear for production and an innate appreciation of what works on the club floor.

Despite being well established DJs in their native Germany, it was in 2005 when the release of their track “Tonite” erupted in the UK that the pair really started gaining noteworthy recognition. Selected by the legendary Pete Tong as the “essential tune of the week” (for three weeks in a row I must add), it wasn’t long before M.A.N.D.Y’s talents were in high demand.

Nonetheless, this was just a taste of what was to come. It was their 2006 collaboration with Booka Shade “Body Language” that brought their names to the attention of the world-wide electronic music community. Crowned DJ Magazines’ track of the year and Ibiza’s track of the season, the track was a twenty-four carat hit, the undisputed dance track of the year and considered by many to be a club-anthem–one treasured and stashed in DJs’ record boxes around the globe.

Today, M.A.N.D.Y’s releases and club appearances are met with eager anticipation, founded on a reputation for delivering quality sets of what is called “minimal/experimental tech-house,” a genre characterized by a stripped-down aesthetic, commonly adhering to the motto “less is more.” It is their sophisticated mixing skills, first-class productions and an admiringly diverse collection of remixes including The Knife, Sugarbabes, Lindstrom, Royskopp, Ficherspoon and the Klaxons that has permitted them to continue what they love to do.

Now, I won’t fib: minimal isn’t my forte so to speak, and I have yet to actually see them live, yet nearly everyone I speak to has attested to top-notch performances. I’ve certainly heard enough good things about M.A.N.D.Y that whether I’m a fan of the genre or not is no longer part of the equation. At the end of the day, be it rock, classical, death metal or house, good music is good music and for that reason, I’ll be there with bells ringing!

Who: M.A.N.D.Y – (Get Physical)
What: Minimal House/Tech House
When: Saturday July 31st
Where: Club Eden in Gangnam
How: W30,000
More info: http://eden-club.co.kr/
Table reservations – 010-9081-9290

Late July

Korea’s two most exciting rock festivals were held on the same weekend last year. Fortunately, that’s not the case this time around. The first festival to take place will be the Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival (July 23rd – 25th). This festival celebrates Incheon as a five-port city, but let’s not get bogged down in etymology. The lineup includes Hoobastank, Stereophonics, LCD Soundsystem, and Dir En Grey in addition to Korean bands like Hot Potato. The venue is Dream Park near Geomam Station (Incheon Airport line). W88,000 – W165,000. pentaportrock.com, 1544-1555.

UPDATE: Having trouble getting your Pentaport tickets on Interpark? Try reserving them through WhiteNoize instead. Please email your ticket reservations (name, phone number, and number and type of day tickets) to whitenoizeparty@gmail.com

If that doesn’t quench your thirst for mosh pits and ringing ears, you can hit up the Jisan Valley Rock Festival the next weekend (July 30th – August 1st). Enjoy rock and the outdoors at the Jisan Forest Resort in Icheon. Get set for international artists like Massive Attack, Pet Shop Boys, Muse, Corinne Bailey Rae and Third Eye Blind. Those staying overnight can camp at the designated site. W99,000 – W191,000. Camping costs W15,000.
valleyrockfestival.com, 1544-1555

Enjoy eight hours of live music featuring the biggest bands in Busan along with BBQ including steaks, burgers, and baby back ribs.

Lineup

4 pm – Dynamic Wave (a cappella group)
4:30 pm – Rob Chrisman
5 pm – Mo Junk Station
6 pm – Jin Choi
7 pm – Poko Lambro
8 pm – Lady Goodman
9 pm – Conor Murphy and Band
10 pm – Gino
11 pm – Dope Senators

DATE/TIME: Saturday, June 26 ^th, 4 pm – midnight
LOCATION: Mi-po (at the end of Haeundae Beach)
PRICE: W12,000 per ticket

Only 75 tickets will be sold, so buy yours now. Tickets on sale at Sunset Lounge and Sharky’s.

Facebook event page
Sunset Lounge Facebook page

Words by Sebastien Rousset

Drum ‘n’ bass being the relatively niche genre that it is, before I delve any further into the who, what, and when and how of this concert, I feel it is imperative to give our unfamiliar readers a 101 on the genre. I’ll keep it short…I promise.

Beginning as an off shoot from the very early 90’s rave scene, drum ‘n’ bass is a comparatively new form of electronic music. Nonetheless, it’s one of the easier-to-recognise genres, mainly as a result of its distinctively fast tempo, broken beat drums and prominent bassline. Drum ‘n’ bass is still a recognizable part of British youth culture today with its musical structure and style giving its listeners a sense of freedom, euphoria and chaos – forever sought after by the youth, yet rarely felt in the confines of four-to-the-floor electronic music.

Undoubtedly synonymous with the growth and rise of this genre, London Elektricity have become what can only be described as an essential part of the drum ‘n’ bass furniture. Their prevailing and reigning reputation wasn’t created from thin air however. Beginning as a duo between Tony Colman and Chris Goss, the pair first started production together in 1996, releasing their debut album Pull the Plug in 1999. Made public during an era where a heavy emphasis was placed on deep, dark- almost sinister sounding drum ‘n’ bass, London Elektricity successfully liberated the genre, taking it to a different level, differentiating themselves through absorbing influences from jazz, soul and funk and in turn creating uplifting, fun and funky drum ‘n’ bass –what they like to call “fast soul music.”

Today, London Elektricity is a solo act under Coleman, with Goss focusing his energies on managing their thriving record label Hospital Records. Nonetheless, London Elektricity have since released five further albums, a long list of remixes, played a set on the infamous “Radio 1 Essential Mix” and present drum ‘n’ bass around the globe through their Hospital Records podcast which recently won Best Podcast at the BT Digital Music Awards and has over 30,000 downloads a show.

London Elektricty are currently on their world tour and will be dropping a set in Seoul and Busan next week. Whether you’re a diehard drum ‘n’ bass head, or a newbie simply intrigued by this genre, it’s certainly worth your time coming to check out one of the undisputed pioneers of drum ‘n’ bass. See you there!

WHO: London Elektricity

WHAT: Drum & Bass/”fast soul music” (Myspace link)

WHEN: Seoul - June 26^th (21:00-5:00) / Busan – June 25^th (22:00-5:00)

WHERE: Seoul – Miller Project Space (Fiore Bldg. B1F 648-6 Shinsa-dong / 50m ahead between Cine City and Seven Monkeys Coffee)

Entrance:

Seoul – Free invitation only

* free invitation request/general inquiry: bepartofitnow@gmail.com

Busan – Club Maktum (20,000 Won)

Words by Daniel Lenaghan and shots by RL Baldwin

In a country often characterized by conformity, a breath of the truly strange can be welcome. But you may have to dig deep to find the flip-side of Korean culture. A good to place to see some off-beat performances is RUF Projects. Located in Gyeongnidan, just down the hill from the Hyatt Hotel and near Noksapyeong Stn. (line 6, ex. 2), this venue has a regular rotation of acoustic artists, dramatic performances and traditional Korean dance.

From 8 pm until late every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night, owner Nam Hyung opens this DIY café-cum-venue for light food, cocktails, and an ever-evolving lineup of performers. A fashion photographer who recently returned from Paris, Nam hopes to expand to two other locations in Seoul later this year but for now is actively recruiting artists who wish to participate in all sorts of concept-driven art. “I want art that allows the audience to explore being something different,” he says of his performers, one of whom recently staged an original one-act play in mixed Korean and English, featuring two asylum inmates conversing with a tire.

Whether the idea is simple acoustic performances or looped dog barks performed on the keyboard (you’ll just have to trust us on this), RUF Projects offers a great opportunity to witness and participate in something which diverges from the norms of live music and art performance. Nam now opens his cafe during the week as well to give musicians and artists a space to spend time, collaborate, and be exposed to new ideas.

More specific information and the upcoming weekend’s lineup can be found at MagazineProjects.com (Korean).

This Saturday, get mental with The Mentles, Korea’s #1 Beatles tribute band! The Mentles have been sharing their love of The Beatles with crowds for over 8 years now, playing the ol’ school tunes you love to hear. Name your favourite Beatles track, and if they haven’t already played it they’ll probably do it for you. The show will take you on an exhilarating ride down memory lane.

TIME & DATE: Saturday, May 29th, 10 pm
LOCATION: Vinyl Underground, Kyungsangdae, Busan
COVER: W7,000 including a drink
Facebook event page

Words by Daniel Lenaghan and shots by RL Baldwin

Rollercoaster

Over the past few months, we’ve introduced you to clubs memorable for their quirks and character. Both Lydian and Bowie are such clubs, along with Club TA and Club Freebird. Part of the charm of such a club is its uniqueness, but there’s an undeniable shortfall of clubs like these. If someone wants to create a club that could really make money, be versatile enough to showcase electronic one night and folk the next, quirks and character can get in the way. What you need is the kind of club that I’m going to call a Big Black Box. It’s a plain name, calling such a place what it is: spacious, painted black from wall to wall and ceiling to floor, featuring only large lighting rigs and enormous sound setups and a plainness of space that any good performer will occupy and make their own.
We have already reviewed one such venue in Hongdae, V-Hall, which is beneath the Seogyo Hotel. But two others, closer to Hapjeong Station (line 2 and 6), offer almost identical opportunities to see performers in a completely undefined performance space. Such halls are Rolling Hall and Rollercoaster. There’s little to say; we’ll let the photos speak for the venues.

Rolling Hall

Rollercoaster
club.cyworld.com/ClubV1/Home.cy/53627398 (Korean), 070-8281-4612

Rolling Hall
rollinghall.co.kr or cafe.daum.net/ROLLING (Korean), 02-325-6071

Buy tickets online (Korean)
* To redeem your ticket at the door, you will need to provide your 1300K order number, ID, name, and phone-number.

[Band Line Up]
Lowdown30
Blues-driven classic rock trio
Video: “I’m Going Down” by Lowdown30

COCORE
The “living legend” of the Korean indie scene
Video: “Moon Patrol” by Cocore

Seoul Electric Band
70s psychedelic-based trio
Video: “Cats Hometown Song” by Seoul Electric Band

3^rd Line Butterfly
These indie rockers have been shaking the stage for 10 years
Video: “In The Mist Of Dark Night” by 3rd Line Butterfly

Concert held at SoundHoliCity
Kalliope B.D 344-6 Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, Korea

Located just in front of Hongik University’s main gate behind the Nescafe coffee shop (near Hongik University Stn., line 2). 02-3142-4233

Best known for “Feels So Good,” the smooth jazz tune that was selected in 1980 as the most recognized melody since the Beatles’ “Michelle,” flugelhorn player and composer Chuck Mangione has been filling concert halls and releasing best-selling jazz albums (more than 30!) since the 1960s. He first got into the jazz scene as a member of the band Jazz Brothers with his brother Gap playing the piano. Since then, compositions like “Give It All You Got” have been used in multiple Olympics and film soundtracks, earning him two Grammys and thirteen nominations. This will be his 5th performance in Korea. Hear his unforgettable melodies and distinctive jazz style at the Sejong Center near Gwanghwamun St. (line 5, ex. 8).

May 2nd 4 & 8 pm.
W60,000 – W120,000.
sejongpac.or.kr
02-548-8690