I saw Big Phony as the opening act for the Seoulsonic gig at Welcomm Theater, in Seoul. His music reminded me of Elliot Smith, Red House Painters and Jonah Matranga's 'One Line Drawing'. He's a subtle artist and definetely someone who I will be keeping tabs on. His songs are beautiful.
I tell you, as a musician it kills when I have to admit that I don’t have that magical spark that other bands have. But in this case I just have to go with flow. Apollo 18 have hit our shores and we should be afraid, very afraid.
They are a three piece rock act from Seoul in South Korea. Live they are impeccable. From the very first moment they walk on stage they make you think ‘HOLY GOD OF HELL CHRIST’. I don’t really know what else to say except from check them out live. They will completely blow you away.
Ever since I parted company with my old band, Electric Fan Death, I feel that I have moved in a better direction musically. I was keen to follow the underground indie scene in Korea. One band that I am fascinated by and who I have been following since my Fan Death days is Trampaulinewww.myspace.com/trampauline.
Trampauline are an excellent electro-synth-guitar act fronted by the most beautiful, subtle vocals. This is the kind of music that fascinates me about Korea, and the Korean indie scene. Rarely do you find such beauty in underground scenes. Yet, it seems that the Korean indie scene is awash with similar ‘subtle’ musical acts.
I can’t remember when it was that I stumbled upon recandplay.net but I’m glad I did. It’s a kind of video/diary blog of Korean based indie bands performing in urban spaces around Seoul, and Korea. One of the first videos I saw on there was a video of Korean performers 'Baik Hyun Jhin' and 'Jung Jae Il' at Cafe, 'Anthracite'. I was blown away by the combination of heart hitting vocals and intelligent piano playing. It was scary stuff. Have a look below.
Since then I’ve kept up with the website and I am in awe every time I watch one of the videos there. The Korean indie scene is up there with the best.
RECANDPLAY.NET captures the sound of a movement that will be new and beautiful to you.
