MODERN SOUND KOREA 2019

5^th Korean Music Festival

The 5th Korean Music Festival, Modern Sound Korea returns this April with a vibrant line-up. The Festival spotlights Korean musicians of nowadays from underground to modern/experimental gugak (Korean traditional music).

To reserve your ticket for:

- 21/04 Modern Sound Korea Amsterdam >>>Click here!

- 26/04 Modern Sound Korea Brussels >>>Click here!

- 07/05 Modern Sound Korea KCC >>>Click here!

IDIOTAPE

Award-winning South Korean electronic trio Idiotape formed in 2008 in Seoul. Influenced by Korean classic rock from the 1960s and ‘70s, Idiotape’s dynamic, synth-driven rhythms and electrifying performances quickly helped them climb the ranks in Seoul’s electronic and indie music scenes. In September 2009, the group earned an invite to play at the Korean edition of the world-famous Global Gathering festival – a remarkable feat considering they had been making music together for just over a year. In July 2010, Idiotape issued their debut “0805” EP. While supporting the EP, the group embarked on a North American tour in March 2011 to play at Canadian Music Week (CMW) and South by South West (SXSW). Garnering rave reviews at both events, the Toronto Star newspaper highlighted them in their “Nine acts that stood out from the pack” CMW wrap-up. That summer, Idiotape performed at two of East Asia’s biggest music outings, Korea’s Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival and Japan’s Summer Sonic.

In November 2011, Idiotape issued their first full-length album, “11111101.” The album garnered praise from critics at home and abroad and won “Best Dance & Electronic Album” at the 2012 Korean Music Awards. Idiotape played a number of high-profile events that year including the Seoul Electronic Music Festival, the Jisan Valley Rock Festival, and Sonic Mania in Japan. In March 2013, the group appeared at the Future Music Festival Asia in Malaysia. In April, Idiotape’s remix of the popular K-pop group f(x)’s “Ice Cream” track appeared on the “10 Cc X SM Seoul Melody” compilation EP. And in October 2013, the act made their fourth appearance at Global Gathering Korea.

In January 2014, Idiotape was opening for Phoenix in Seoul, and in March they made their second appearance at SXSW. In 2015, IDIOTAPE embark on their first tour of Europe, performing at a.o. Glastonbury, Fusion, Exit, FMM, Techno Parade, Lille 300 and ending the year at Trans Musicales in Rennes.

In 2017 they released their new full album Dystopian and they co headlines Korean festivals with the Chemical Brothers and the Foo Fighters, also they performed at Reeperbahn festival in Hamburg and BAM/La Merce in Barcelona on a packed Ramblas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mk4Lbf20fVE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWpviFFrS-U

SAY SUE ME

ⓒ Jeongran Park

Say Sue Me are a Surf inspired Indie-Rock/Pop act from Busan, South Korea and cited as one of 2018's ‘break-out bands'.

Childhood friends Jaeyoung Ha (Bass) and Byungkyu Kim (guitar) met drummer Semin Kang and played in bands together since winter of 2012, when they met Sumi Choi at a tea shop in Nampo-dong. They liked her speaking voice and immediately offered her a spot as the vocalist in a new band that would become Say Sue Me. Sumi turned out to be a natural at songwriting. Semin sadly suffered trauma from a fall. New drummer Changwon Kim stands in while they await Semin’s recovery.

Following showcases at SXSW in 2018, the band released their sophomore album “Where We Were Together” and a RSD covers EP which won praise from Pitchfork, NPR, Billboard, i-D, The Independent, Stereogum, Paste, MTV, Uproxx. Fader, DIS, DIY, The 405 & more. Three tracks were playlisted on BBC 6Music three times where Lauren Laverne, Tom Ravenscroft, Gideon Coe and Don Letts have championed the band as well as Elton John on Beats1 and KEXP.

The band toured the UK/Europe twice in 2018  and count Yo La Tengo/Japanese Breakfast/Snail Mail/The Coathangers/The Ravonettes/Speedy Ortiz as fans.

In 2019 Say Sue Me were nominated for 5 Korean Music Awards and announced for SXSW/Liverpool Sound City Festivals.

https://youtu.be/mil9PPugSFU

https://youtu.be/XsjtGfOk7u4

RAW BY PEPPERS

Raw by Peppers is a three-man South Korean rock band whose musical style has recognizable connections to post-rock. Their composition is characterized by lengthy guitar-based experimental sounds which feature heavy use of distortion and effects and repetitive build-ups of guitar texture. To facilitate each tune's climactic intensity, the band typically records its original compositions in a single take. Thus the high reputation of their energetic live performances is no surprise.

The group attracted the attention of the European music industry, resulting in an invitation to the <Primavera Sound music festival 2017> in Spain. Motivated by a range of opportunities in the wider global music scene, they began to look for a turning point in their career. This acclaimed music event served as a stepping stone for the band's move to Europe, aspiring to step onto the bigger music stages worldwide.

Berlin was chosen as a new base from which Raw by Peppers would draw a source of inspiration from the European musical aesthetic. Setting out a clear ambition towards enlightening experiences, the band's passionate endeavour seems to have come to fruition.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNNYkG93UcE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSbigcy_LCs

KEDA

KEDA is a duo formed by Mathias Delplanque and E-Jeoung-ju in 2010 and they confront the ancestral sounds of the gômoungo to textures, rhythms and electronic treatments. Beyond the meeting of two instrumental practices separated by centuries of history, their creation stands out as an original form, draw up the side of the blues, African and Jamaican music, ambient, noise art etc ...
Hypnotic, warm, traveling, alternately dancing and meditative, their music is an imaginary folk, a unique and hybrid adventure.

- Mathias Delplanque (born in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso in 1973) is a composer, a performer, an improviser, a music critic, an author of sound installations, a teacher, a composer for theater and dance and the founding member of several musical ensembles.
He lives and works in Nantes (France).

- E'Joung-Ju is a master of the gômungo, the six strings traditional Korean wooden instrument, which has a history of over 1600 years and whose use is made in the court music and popular music. Animated by a passion, she seeks to prove through her concerts in Korea and abroad, that the wealth of her instrument allows her to adapt to any musical genre, making her the gômungo instrumentalists exploring the realm of world, jazz and electro-acoustic music.