Graffiti artwork of drowned Aylan highlights refugees’ plight

A huge graffiti image of toddler Aylan Kurdi -- pictures of whose dead body stirred global sympathy for migrants fleeing war and poverty -- confronts motorists, pedestrians and river traveler in Frankfurt.Thousands of weekday commuters using the Main river footpath and road bridge will see the 120-square-metre image of the three-year-old Syrian boy who drowned in September along with his mother and brother as they tried to reach Europe. The artwork on a peninsula about a 15-minute walk from the

March 13, 2016

Travis, Disclosure to perform at Jisan

Jisan Valley Rock Music & Arts Festival has announced eight additional artist teams who will be performing at the event set for July.　The second lineup, posted on the festival’s official website Friday morning, includes English electronic music duo Disclosure, Scottish pop rock band Travis and U.K.-based electronic recording artist Squarepusher.　Five local teams -- rock bands Guckkasten, Hyukoh, the Monotones and the Solutions and indie folk duo Kim Sawol X Kim Haewon -- will also be performing.

March 11, 2016

[Album review] Nada Surf’s ‘You Know Who You Are’ refines power pop

Nada Surf　“You Know Who You Are” 　(Barsuk Records)　Expanded to a full-time quartet, New York’s Nada Surf continues to refine its glorious power pop on “You Know Who You Are.” 　There’s a tinge of melancholy across much of the album, albeit with an optimistic if guarded outlook. The glass may be half full, but it’s a thimble, not a tankard -- “One day, I’ll love somebody else, one day, I’ll be good to myself,” Matthew Caws sings on “Believe You’re Mine.”　The bandleader co-wrote two songs with form

March 11, 2016

[Album review] Violent Femmes sound like old selves on new album

Violent Femmes　“We Can Do Anything”　(Pias America)The Violent Femmes often sound like their old selves on “We Can Do Anything,” their ninth studio album and first since 2000.　 Singer-guitarist Gordon Gano and acoustic bass guitarist Brian Ritchie got back together in 2013 for a Coachella performance of their first album on the 30th anniversary of its release and later toured with Barenaked Ladies. 　All that came after a long feud fueled by Gano‘s decision to allow the use of “Blister In the Sun”

March 11, 2016

[Album review] Assassin shows versatility on 1st album in years

Assassin　“Theory of Reggaetivity” 　(Sound Age Entertainment)　 One of Jamaica‘s most underrated yet diverse and creative lyricists, Assassin A.K.A. Agent Sasco releases his first studio album in almost a decade.　In a transition from dancehall, the artist turns his multi-talented hand to releasing a completely reggae album called “Theory of Reggaetivity.” With guest appearances from Chronixx and Australian singer Elesia Iimura, Assassin -- born Jeffrey Campbell -- takes on topics such as achieveme

March 11, 2016

[Eye] Melodious comeback of musical star

Even as a youngster, Jeon Soo-kyung, one of the most successful musical actresses today, craved fame.  　“Ever since I was a kid, I knew I wanted to be famous,” said Jeon, 49, during an interview with The Korea Herald at the Millennium Hilton Seoul hotel. 　“Growing up I would see all these beautiful and admired celebrities on TV and I just knew that I wanted to be in the public eye,” she added.  Musical actress Jeon Soo-kyeong poses during an interview with The Korea Herald at the Millennium Seou

March 11, 2016

‘Henry IV’ returns to Seoul stage after 14 years

In honor of the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death, the Seoul Metropolitan Theatre is opening its 2016 season with a production of “Henry IV: Part I and II.”　“We are bringing back ‘Henry IV’ to the Seoul stage for the first time in 14 years,” said the play’s director Kim Gwang-bo, during a press conference at Sejong Arts Center in Seoul on Wednesday. 　“The plot is about having an unrelenting appetite for power. I think it is a story that still fits and can be related to in today’s

March 10, 2016

Kennedy Center taps Q-Tip as first hip-hop director

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The Kennedy Center, the prolific Washington concert hall led by the US government, has tapped Q-Tip to a new position of artistic director for hip-hop culture.   Q-Tip -- whose former group, A Tribe Called Quest, was at the vanguard of art-house hip-hop in the 1980s and 1990s -- will take the role for the Kennedy Center's 2016-2017 season.   The 45-year-old New York rapper and DJ, whose real name is Jonathan Davis, will curate a series of hip-hop events in the upcoming season.

March 10, 2016

AOA to release fourth Japanese single

K-pop girl group AOA will release its fourth Japanese single “Give Me the Love” on April 20, the group’s agency FNC Entertainment announced Wednesday.　The track depicts the story of a woman who cannot help but keep falling in love. K-pop girl group AOA (FNC Entertainment)　The group’s new single is garnering attention as a Korea-Japan crossover featuring a famous Japanese solo musician Takanori Nishikawa, who performs under the name T.M Revolution. Nishikawa, who debuted in 1996, presents a uniqu

March 10, 2016

SNSD’s Yoona to release first solo track

Yoona, a member of popular K-pop girl group Girls’ Generation, will release her first solo track since debuting with the group nine years ago, the group’s agency SM Entertainment said Wednesday.　“Deoksugung Stonewall Walkway,” the fifth song to be introduced on digital music channel Station, was set to be released at midnight. K-pop girl group Girls’ Generation member Yoona (SM Entertainment)　The song, urban pop music featuring the gentle sound of piano and acoustic guitar, concerns the lore tha

March 10, 2016

‘Missing’ Rembrandt to go on show at global art fair: reports

THE HAGUE (AFP) - A recently discovered painting by 17th-century Dutch master Rembrandt will be the star attraction at one of the world’s leading art fairs opening this week, Dutch media reported Wednesday. 　“The Fainted Patient,” also known as “Smell,” a small paperback-sized panel believed to have been painted by Rembrandt in his late teens, was uncovered last September when it was put up for sale by a small auction house in New Jersey.　“It was peeling at the edges and covered with a layer of

March 10, 2016

[Herald Interview] Lim Ji-young talks life after Queen Elisabeth violin crown

Violinist Lim Ji-young has made her way back home after becoming the first Korean violinist to win the highest honor at the prestigious Queen Elisabeth Music Competition in Belgium last May, performing Brahms’ Concerto in D, op. 77.　One of the classical world’s big three music competitions, last year’s Queen Elisabeth contest for violin featured 69 players of 20 nationalities, including 17 violinists from Korea. 　“It has been almost a year since winning at the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition a

March 9, 2016

Lost and Found Orchestra offers junk shop harmony

BRIGHTON, U.K. (AFP) - Beating metal filing cabinets, clanging fire extinguishers, rattling shelves and blowing into traffic cones, it's no surprise the musicians of the Lost and Found Orchestra struggle to stay in tune.　“The instruments are rubbish, they don’t stop breaking,” said Luke Cresswell, who cofounded the group that uses everyday objects to create music.　“It is chaos, but we're getting there,” he told AFP as the orchestra rehearsed for a new short tour of France and Russia that begins

March 9, 2016

K-pop set for foreign festival foray

An eclectic group of Korean musicians will be showcasing their music at festivals around the world this year.　The state-run Korea Creative Content Agency is funding the performances of 12 groups for the K-pop Night Out stages at the music festival South by Southwest (SXSW) in the U.S., U.K. music festival The Great Escape and music trade show MIDEM in France. 　K-pop quartet Mamamoo, which has a large global following and will be performing at the SXSW K-Pop Night Out stage on March 16, hopes to

March 9, 2016

Bjork working on new album, this one happier

NEW YORK (AFP) - Bjork has revealed that she is working on a new album but, after last year's tortured heartache album “Vulnicura,” this one will be happier.　The Icelandic experimental pop icon said she is working again with Alejandro Ghersi, the Venezuelan DJ better known as Arca, who helped create the beats layered behind the lush strings on “Vulnicura.”　The 2015 album, which came after a four-year gap by Bjork, delved into her emotional journey as she split with her longtime partner, New York

March 9, 2016