In less than a day the winners of the 14th Korean Music Awards will be announced. Although I usually love this time of the year–dedicating most of February to listening to and blogging about the nominees and the winners–this year I had to prioritize differently. Even so I’m very excited for the awards and have… Continue reading
Author Archives → Anna
KMA2017: Nominees for 14th Korean Music Awards
The nominees for the 14th annual Korean Music Awards were announced today at 11am, KST. The nominated albums and songs have been selected from albums and songs released between December 1st 2015 and November 30th 2016. The Korean Music Awards do not take sales into consideration and the winners are determined by a panel of… Continue reading
Mini-Interview with Maansun
A couple of weeks ago Maansun opened. It’s a well-curated online store for Korean independent digital contents and although the catalogue is currently small I found it very impressive. Eager to learn more about this new venture I reached out to the team behind Maansun with a few questions. Why was Maansun created? Listening to… Continue reading
Previously Unavailable Downloads Now Available via Maansun
On December 5th a new online store for Korean independent digital contents opened: Maansun.
At the moment the online store, which accepts PayPal and Korean credit cards, carries a well-curated selection of music from Bulssazo, Wedance, Byul.org, Underwears Band, Jowall, Kuang Program, and Choi Taehyun. None of the releases currently on offer are available from the more popular Korean online music retailers.
Zandari Festa 2016 Review
Last year I attended Korean showcase festival Zandari Festa for the first time. I’d been hesitating about going for weeks, but ended up having such a great time that this year I made sure to plan a trip to Korea in time for Zandari Festa 2016. As this was I had prepared a bit better,… Continue reading
Mini-Interview with Wings of the ISANG
I’ve enjoyed the music of Wings of the ISANG since I first heard “Lost (상실의 시대)”. I rooted for the band on Top Band 2 and must be responsible for at least a 100 views of their Onstage videos. Yet I’ve somehow been too shy to reach out for an interview to actually get to… Continue reading
Black Friday with Goonam X Dengue Fever
In September 2014 Goonam supported USA/Cambodian pop band Dengue Fever for a couple of shows in the US. Turns out that the two bands also spent some time together in a studio, the result of which will become available on orange 7″ vinyl limited to 500 copies for Black Friday 2016, November 25. The music… Continue reading
5 Acts to See at Zandari Festa 2016
The fifth edition of Korea’s premier showcase festival Zandari Festa kicks off today, September 30. I have yet to make up my mind about what to see, but luckily it’s not until tomorrow that the official showcases start leaving an extra day to figure it out. In case anybody else is in the same situation,… Continue reading
Mini-Interview with Zandari Festa Director Dalse
When I first heard the idea of creating an international showcase festival in Korea, I thought it sounded very interesting but couldn’t really see it happening. Zandari Festa did come along, but even after it had taken place the first time I remained cautious that it could turn into something worthwhile. It was only after… Continue reading
Wings of the ISang – Stream of Consciousness
Wings of the ISang released new album 의식의 흐름 (Stream of Consciousness) on September 6th, offering 84 minutes of post-rock inspired music spanning 2 CDs. Alongside new titles the album includes new recordings of old favorites “날개 (Wings)” and “상실의시대 (Lost)” as well as 2014 single track “망각”. The title track music video, created by Kim Bo Sol, was published this week.