(In photo: Say Sue Me)
Beyond the colorful patina of k-popbeyond the super-competitive system that grinds boy- and girlbands at frenetic pace as if nothing had happened, the Korean independent musical context is a hotbed in full swing, a melting pot with a very wide margin which, from its beginnings in Hongdae (a district of Seoul near the prestigious art university) in the mid-nineties, has then quickly taken hold throughout the peninsula, favoring the emergence of localized scenes and even attempts to attack the charts.
Well aware that the vastness and true figure of an entire nation cannot be contained in just twenty-two pieces, I nevertheless try to offer a substantial taste of the best that Korea has been able to produce in the last decade, capable of never before being able to successfully range across the most varied genres. With bands and musicians who have often also been discussed on the pages of Ondarock, we move from the refined electropop of Aseul and Flash Flood Darlings to the full-bodied post drifts of Jambinai and Wings Of The Isang.
The songwriting? It couldn't fall into better hands than those of authors like Minhwee Lee and Mid-Air Thief, melody fantasists who with their talents have been able to win prizes at the highly coveted Korean Awards. Indie pop? Why not stop by Busan, where Say Sue Me lay down the law with their sparkling guitar melodies? In the meantime, true mammasantissima in the sector cannot be missing, from those who saw the birth of the entire scene such as Sister's Barbershop (captured right in the last act before disbanding), to the rock delicacies of Black Skirts, before the chamber music inspiration of Jannabi, capable of grabbing number one on the Gaon Chart, dissolves every frenzy in a romantic embrace. And if the more arty drifts are missing, no problem: the exceptional compositional grain of Cacophony is enough to obviate any possible desire.
Annyeong hi gaseyo! Have a good trip!
Antonio Santini for SANREMO.FM
