Officials of DRDRamc, the talent agency for Jang Kiha and the Faces, confirmed on Tuesday that the band will be joining other local alternative bands Nell and IDOTAPE as part of the Korean artist line-up for the 2014 South By Southwest’s “K-Pop Night Out” showcase. All three bands participated in the recent MU:CON music conference that was held earlier this month and performed during the live showcases in front of fans and perspective scouts from around the globe. James Minor, the director of SX

Oct. 29, 2013

The Seoul Photo Festival unveils a rare compilation of portraits of Seoul citizens that date back to 1883 as 2013 marks the 130th year since photography was first introduced in Korea. The photo exhibition that opens this Friday will feature more than 600 portraits showing behind the scenes of major historical and social events in Seoul from the Japanese colonial era (1910-1945), the Korean War (1950-1953), rapid economic development (1960-1980) and diverse social aspects of today such as the shi

Oct. 28, 2013

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ― Happily hunched over his iPad, Britain’s most celebrated living artist David Hockney is pioneering in the art world again, turning his index finger into a paintbrush that he uses to swipe across a touch screen to create vibrant landscapes, colorful forests and richly layered scenes.“It’s a very new medium,”said Hockney. So new, in fact, he wasn’t sure what he was creating until he began printing his digital images a few years ago. “I was pretty amazed by them actually,” he s

Oct. 28, 2013

Crayon Pop, the group that turned jumping up and down into a nationwide craze, will be holding its first solo concert titled “1st POPCON IN SEOUL” at Nuridream Square in Sangam-dong, Seoul, on Wednesday. The event is free and open to the public. Since their debut last year, the ladies had made little to no impact with the release of their first EP album in July featuring singles “Saturday Night” and “Bing Bing.” Months later, Crayon Pop attempted to capture audiences once again by releasing the

Oct. 28, 2013

ST. PETERSBURG (AFP) ― Art lovers lined up Sunday at the world’s biggest museum of Russian art in Saint Petersburg, where U.S. film star Sylvester Stallone unveiled a retrospective of his abstract paintings.Work by the Hollywood action man won praise from the curators at the State Russian Museum although some critics denounced Stallone for his anti-Russia character “Rambo” and said such art had no place in the venerable institution.Stallone was all smiles as he unveiled the exhibition, entitled

Oct. 28, 2013

K-pop duo Trouble Maker on Monday revealed their new mini album online, along with the music video for its title song “There Is No Tomorrow.”Trouble Maker, consisting of Hyuna from 4minute and Hyunseung from Beast, began online sales of songs from their new album “Chemistry,” which is slated to hit stores Thursday. As of Monday morning, “There Is No Tomorrow” topped major online music charts including Bugs, Naver, Mnet, Soribada and Melon.The music video for the title track, however, was what tr

Oct. 28, 2013

It is widely understood that Korea’s aspiring classical musicians have impeccable technicality but lack a “unique” style of their own. In fact, those in the scene have been striving to find that extra factor that could nurture internationally acclaimed Korean musicians. Perhaps a good example might come from the Royal Academy of Music, a London-based institution of world renown, which trains nearly 700 students from more than 50 countries in over 20 musical disciplines. Since its establishment i

Oct. 27, 2013

Portraits of Hollywood stars, top fashion models and British royals taken from the unique viewpoint of Peruvian photographer Mario Testino are on view in Seoul as part of the photographer’s Asia tour, following openings in Beijing and Shanghai last year. The exhibition reveals some private moments the photographer got a peek of or shared with some of the world’s most celebrated people. The 86 photos on exhibit are arranged in three sections featuring photographs of celebrities, fashion models an

Oct. 27, 2013

This is the 12th in a series on producers, MCs, DJs and artists working in the Korean underground hip-hop scene. Translator Ary Kim contributed to this article. ― Ed.Life is certainly hectic for producer and hip-hop artist Deepflow. Since starting his crew, Vismajor, just a few years ago, he has taken on many roles, from manager and CEO, to producer and director.But he says that while difficult, the fact that there is no money involved ― his members must find ways to support themselves ― makes

Oct. 27, 2013

Netizens have raised allegations of plagiarism on K-pop star IU’s lead track “The Red Shoes” from the artist’s recently released third studio album “Modern Times.” On the new album, IU has attempted to shift gears from her previously cutesy pop style to more mature genres including swing, jazz, bossa nova and Latin pop. Netizens, however, say “The Red Shoes” sounds strikingly similar to German duo Nekta’s “Here’s Us,” an electro-jazz pop track released in 2009. Officials from IU’s agency LOEN re

Oct. 27, 2013

Boys Republic lose ‘Identity’ Boys Republic “Identity”(Universal Music)Boys Republic made a much-anticipated debut in June with its promising first digital single “Party Rock.” The boy band showed talent and differentiated themselves from the droves of pop stars that seem to debut by the dozen. However, the freshness they showed on their single was nowhere to be found on their new album, “Identity,” which is lacking both in content and style. There is a hint of a spark with opening track “I’m Re

Oct. 25, 2013

Singer-songwriter Lee Juck is set to hold a December concert commemorating the release of his fifth studio album, which will hit stores some time in November. Lee’s agency announced the concert details on interpark.com, stating the concert would be held on Dec. 6 and 7 at Kyung Hee University’s Grand Auditorium in Hoegi-dong, Seoul. “This concert will be a mixture of a visual spectacle and dynamic music fit for the large-scale venue. We want to provide an extreme musical experience for listeners

Oct. 24, 2013

LOS ANGELES (AFP) ― Ex-Beatle Ringo Starr joked Wednesday that he would welcome playing with former bandmate Paul McCartney again, but only if the group was called “Ringo’s.”The veteran drummer made the quip after singing a few hits including “With a Little Help from my Friends,” as he promoted an upcoming South America tour with his All Starr band of ageing rock stars.Starr was joined on stage by Todd Rundgren and Santana keyboard player Gregg Rolie among others to play selection of songs also

Oct. 24, 2013

Media artist and filmmaker Park Chan-kyong grew up in southern Seoul, living in modern apartment complexes. He was raised Catholic by his parents, even serving as an altar boy as a youngster.It wasn’t until his university years that he became interested in Korea’s local shamanism. He majored in fine art at Seoul National University, and worked as a media artist and art critic ever since. “Up until college, I think I wasn’t too comfortable with the whole concept of it,” Park said during an interv

Oct. 23, 2013

After “Swan Lake” and “Onegin,” leading ballet company Universal Ballet is presenting something a little different this month: they call the piece “This is Modern.”The piece is a collection of four different modern ballets: “Black Cake,” by Dutch choreographer Hans Van Manen, Spanish dancer and choreographer Nacho Duato’s “Duende” and Czech choreographer Jiri Kylian’s “Petite Mort” and “Sechs Tanze.”Compared to classical ballet, the show is said to highlight the different dance styles and flair

Oct. 23, 2013