LINEUPS FOR K-POP NIGHT OUT AND SEOULSONIC SHOWCASES CONFIRMED

 

2016 SXSW Showcasing Artists Zion.T with the Session, WYM, Mamamoo, Love X Stereo, Guten Birds

[Austin TX] K-Pop Night Out and Seoulsonic are back with eclectic lineups showcasing the best in Korean music at the 2016 SXSW Music Festival.

The wildly popular K-Pop Night Out returns to SXSW for its fourth year, with KOCCA (Korea Creative Content Agency) bringing yet another diverse showcase of Korean music to The Belmont (305 W 6th St) on Wednesday, March 16. This year’s lineup includes R&B singer/producers Zion.T with The Session and DEAN, IDM/minimal house producer Haihm, K-Pop girl group Mamamoo, synth indie-rockers Love X Stereo, heavy metal worshippers Victim Mentality, and more to be announced.

Seoulsonic returns to The Majestic (419-B E 6th St) on Friday, March 18 for their seventh annual SXSW showcase with the breezy electro-pop of Neon Bunny, female post-rock trio Guten Birds, the Brit-pop embracing Bye Bye Badman, atmospheric electronic rock act HEO, reggae band Windy City, and electro-pop producer WYM.

It's not to late to register for a Music or Platinum badge! With your badge, you'll receive priority entry into this and other showcases, access to exclusive networking opportunities, assistance booking your hotel room, and more.

2016 KOCCA KPop Night Out Showcase (Planning/Production/Promotions) : DFSB Kollective x SK Planet
2016 KOCCA Seoulsonic Showcase : DFSB Kollective
International Digital Distribution : DFSB Kollective (Love X Stereo / HEO / WYM)

Korean Electro-Pop Duo < Glen Check > Scores Rave Reviews at 2015 Clockenflap Hong Kong Music & Arts Festival

CLOCKENFLAP 2015 : 10 SMALLER ACTS NOT TO MISS

It's not all about the headliners. Justin Sweeting, Clockenflap's music director, provides his nominations for 10 less heralded acts you absolutely have to make time for.

#1 GLEN CHECK

If you’re looking for me at around 19:45 on Saturday night, I’m going to be (badly) dancing front and centre to Korean synth-rock winners Glen Check.  Occupying a musical space somewhere between Two Door Cinema Club, Hot Chip and Justice, it’s a very happy place to be. Come join.

CLOCKENFLAP 2015 SATURDAY : THE ACTION, ARTISTS AND PARTY AS IT HAPPENED Updates from Hong Kong’s biggest music event 

Clockenflap is in its eighth year and this event brought Hong Kong another wild weekend. SCMP was blogging live until Sunday night and we present the full live experience for readers to recap. 

DAY 2 NOVEMBER 28
11.26PM

GLEN CHECK

Back on the YourMum stage, South Korea's Glen Check put together a jaw dropping celebration of light and sound. With influences from LCD Soundsystem to Daft Punk and Hot Chip, the duo pulled out all the stops to get the crowd moving and prove there's more to their homeland's music scene than factory-farmed k-pop. If you haven't heard of them, get them up on YouTube or Spotify now, because this pair are gonna be big.

https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/music
By Daniel Moss

International Festival Booking : DFSB Kollective (Glen Check)

K-Pop 'Fresh Prince of Seoul' Jay Park Headlines 2015 Shanghai Echo Park Festival

The wait is over.

On September 19^th and 20^th 2015, a new festival breaks ground at the sprawling grasslands of the Shanghai Football Rugby Club.

Echo Park will feature 57 artists across 4 stages, and what we think might just be the broadest and deepest international lineup at a Chinese festival ever. We’re proud and excited to present a massive spread of some of the most intoxicating artists from across the globe (and right here in China of course), to help us create a truly beautiful festival experience for those who love music and life.

Escape, play, and discover A Place Less Ordinary.

Spanning the musical rainbow, from Britpop, K-pop, funk and soul to shoegaze, electronic, folk-metal and punk, we’ve curated a lineup with something for everyone. We’ve been fiddling with stages and slots for 3 months now, so we’re pretty sure you could come to the festival without knowing a single song by a single band, and still spend a magical couple of days hanging out with new music and real fans. We’ve got you covered!

< INTERNATIONAL ACTS >

Over half of our lineup is international, with artists from the United States, Canada, U.K, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, and Korea.

Headlining Echo Park, we’re proud to announce the Grammy-nominated, chart-topping, futuristic R’n’B diva Kelis; electronic titans Chase & Status; and the K-pop “Fresh Prince of Seoul” Jay Park. They’ll be joining Gerard Way, who’ll be bringing his post-My-Chemical-Romance solo project to our Place Less Ordinary. And finally, we have two icons of hip-hop playing together, confirmed, but not yet ready to be announced…

But really, we are shooting for a post-headliner lineup in a headliner world. J  We are most proud of the depth and variety of our bill and to that end, we have punk legends Pennywise, rising indie stars Swim Deep and Beach Fossils (with E********* E********* to be announced), post-punk dabblers Nite Fields, and Canadian dance-punksters We Are Wolves. And there’s more – we’ve got a full(ish) list at the end of this press release.

They’ll be joining our first round artists Young Fathers, singer-songwriter Jeff Lang, the seminal Japanese hardcore band Envy and Korean old-school Ska Group Kingston Rudieska.

On the electronic front, Echo Park has invited Manchester’s Star Slinger  (bringing you stuff you know and stuff you don’t), Nick Monaco on a disco tip, grime overlord Bok Bok, Japan houser Kikorix, plus K****** and C.*. to be announced.

< HONG KONG, TAIWANESE, AND MAINLAND ACTS >

From Hong Kong, Taiwan and Mainland China, we have the veteran folk-rock band Sound Toy, up-and-coming talents The Fuzz from Xi’an and Stolen from Chengdu, the Inner Mongolian folk-rock of AJINAI, hip-hop from J-Fever & Soulspeak and Itsogoo, and the dark dystopian sounds of Beijing’s Nova Heart. We also have critically acclaimed shoegaze from Forests and goth-rockers Murky Crows, both from Taiwan. They’ll be joining Hong Kong indie darlings Chochukmo, electro-rock veterans Duck Fight Goose and one of the most talked about mainland bands at the moment, The Big Wave.

A full list of Hong Kong, Taiwanese and Mainland acts can also be found at the end of this press release.

Bringing the beats from the mainland, we have Beijing’s man of the moment  Howie Lee, the tech-house of Beijing’s Y*** ****, the chop-funk of Shanghai’s Damacha, the experimental stylings of Laura Ingalls (wait, we thought he was dead?) and the relentless Cavia.

They will join the already announced urban soul of Guangzhou’s Project Ace, the psychedelic stylings of Kunming’s South Acid MiMi Dance Team and Chengdu indie darlings Mosaic.

We’re super excited to be joining forces with Japan’s Rainbow Disco Club for our Yurt stage, so expect mad installations and eccentric vibes.

< Super Early Bird Tickets are sold out, but “Pre-sale” tickets can now be reserved online! >

The early bird got the worm–Echo Park’s Super Early Bird Tickets were so hot they sold out within 6 hours. Thanks to everyone who supported and trusted us, without even knowing the lineup! Now, Echo Park’s pre-sale tickets can be bought online. They’ll be 200 RMB/day (260 RMB door) or 300 RMB (400 RMB door)/weekend. Check out our official Echo Park Website: http://echopark.cn for more information. Due to PSB restrictions, there are a limited number of tickets, so get yours soon!

SOURCES : SPL-IT WORKS / DAMAI LIVE

International Festival Booking : DFSB Kollective (Jay Park)
International Distribution : DFSB Kollective (Jay Park / Kingston Rudieska) 

The Korea Herald : Bringing Korean Sounds to SXSW

Bernie Cho, DFSB Kollective president, poses at his office in Sinsa-dong, Seoul, on Monday. (Lee Sang-sub/The Korea Herald) Korean musicians of diverse genres attract fans abroad with ‘phenomenal’ live acts

K-pop is no longer limited to idol groups and their synchronized dance moves to upbeat music: The term has broadened to encompass all genres of music from Korea.

“You will be surprised to know that Korean rock is very popular in the U.S.,” said Bernie Cho, president of DFSB Kollective, a pioneer in introducing Korean indie music to the United States, during an interview with The Korea Herald on April 6.

Having just returned from the U.S. where he had introduced a team of Korean musicians to SXSW in Austin, Texas, Cho described how the U.S. audiences respond to Korean artists. “Rock, EDM (electronic dance music), urban music, which includes R&B, and hip-hop did well, grabbing headlines,” he said.

Marking the fifth year at the biggest music festival and conference in the U.S., the SeoulSonic stage organized by Cho featured From the Airport, Solutions, Big Phony, Heo, Victim Mentality and YB.

“The SXSW festival director discovered Victim Mentality in Hongdae last year. They put on a phenomenal live show,” said Cho.

“Hongdae is a phenomenal indie incubator, accelerator and hub,” Cho elaborated, referring to an area near Hongik University known for its indie music and art scene. “The bands spend years grinding their acts.”

Cho particularly appreciated YB for their performance at the SeoulSonic stage. “We were surprised but flattered he was headlining our bill. They are an arena act and they came to play in a club,” he said, adding that YB is a fantastic mentor of indie bands.

Cho started introducing Korean indie acts at SXSW in 2011 after noting that even as K-pop was gaining popularity overseas, Korean music wasn’t present in the biggest music festival and conference in the No. 1 market in the world. “Influencers are at SXSW looking for the next big thing.”

Believing that there was safety in numbers, Cho brought a number of acts to the festival. “We put on our branded stage for Korean bands,” said Cho. That was the beginning of SeoulSonic, a stage that introduces Korean musicians from different genres. Following the performance at SXSW, the bands tour several U.S. cities.

It was not lost on Cho that Texas has the third-largest Korean-American population. “We assumed that it would be safe, that there would be Korean-Americans we could fall back on, but we found that people attending our shows are not Koreans,” he said.

How does he pick the bands? “I look for passion. But it is a business decision. As cool as flashy K-pop may be, the cold hard facts and figures tell us the American music market is marching to different beats. We are targeting what the U.S. market is listening to,” said Cho. Indie acts are the No. 1 best-selling artists in the U.S., followed by rock and R&B/hip-hop which share the No. 2 spot. Electronic dance music is the fastest-growing music market in the U.S.

“We have to be fans of their music and the acts must be critically acclaimed and nominated for music awards,” said Cho, adding, “Korean music critics have fantastic tastes.”

Another requirement is that they need to do “amazing live shows.” “An amazing, intense live show transcends translation and requires no interpretation,” he noted.

Cho sees definite progress by Korean acts. “It is getting easier over the years because Korean artists are more confident singing in English. They have an easier time crossing over, making music more accessible. They no longer perform exclusively for the Korean market.”

“The K-music mystique is that it is unique, innovative and new. And the diversity in genres is definitely the ace card for promoting Korean music overseas,” Cho said.

How do audiences appreciate music whose lyrics they do not understand? On top of being great live acts, Korean performers use a lot of visuals, according to Cho. “Visuals help Korean music translate well ― dance, instrumentation and the visual team. The audience may not understand the lyrics but they can understand through watching the videos on the screen.”

“Visual presentations are not really done outside of Korea, but it is a common practice here. It takes Korean live shows to a whole new level,” said Cho. “It gives a cool and cutting edge vibe.”

“The Korean music market is No. 10 in the world. It is the fourth-largest net export market in the world, following the U.S., U.K. and Sweden. It really belongs to an elite group of countries,” said Cho.

DFSB Kollective actually does very little work in Korea, focusing instead on distributing Korean music worldwide through digital platforms ― it is the official distributor of Korean digital tunes to iTunes, Google and Spotify ― and providing Korean artists access to major international music festivals. “We are not like S.M. or YG in that we don’t own or produce music.”

An aspiring filmmaker at Dartmouth College in the U.S. who switched majors to government and East Asian studies at the behest of his parents who considered filmmaking “too light,” Cho fell into the music industry by accident.

“It was the summer before I was to have started graduate studies in Seoul. I crashed a party where I met a music channel owner,” he said. Soon, he was working at Mnet from where he moved onto Channel [V] and later, MTV.

“Around 2007, I realized people were looking at music on devices. I felt digital media production had more potential and left the music TV industry after 10 years,” he said.

“I could sense how popular Korean music was going to be but saw no bridge between business and buzz. This is how I got the idea to start an artist-friendly agency,” Cho explained.

“I would love to see Korean musicians heading international festivals and not only be nominated, but win awards. My biggest fear is that K-pop will be considered a fad. I hope market conditions will improve locally, meaning more resources and opportunities to go overseas.” However, with music downloads from Korean sites costing only $0.05 per tune, things are difficult here, according to Cho.

“This summer, we are expanding direct digital distribution to top 10 platforms in over 100 countries. It is exciting that we’re going to make Korean artists’ music more available worldwide,” he said.

http://www.koreaherald.com
By Kim Hooran (khooran@heraldcorp.com)

Billboard Magazine : K-Pop Night Out Marks Biggest Success Yet at SXSW 2015

Epik High performs at K-Pop Night Out 2015 showcase on March 19, 2015 at Elysium in Austin, Tx as part of SXSW 2015 (Photo by Loren Wohl)l
On March 19, the epically anticipated showcase "K-Pop Night Out" returned to Austin, TX, as part of SXSW 2015. The showcase, launched in 2013 by KOCCA (Korean Creative Content Agency) to support K-pop's international expansion, brought Korea's musical outfits including Epik High, Crayon Pop, Hitchhiker, EE, The Barberettes, Asian Chairshot and Eastern Sidekick to this year's blowout -- making it one of the most genre-diverse lineups yet.
 
Taking place at Club Elysium, K-Pop Night Out had an unprecedented amount of attention with increased U.S. media interest from outlets like Vice, Fuse and MTV, and the showcase's biggest turnout yet as hundreds of enthusiastic fans lined up early as 9:00am., eagerly waiting entrance to the 550-capacity venue.

K-Pop Night Out Exclusive Photos Featuring Epik High, Crayon Pop & More

The show started at 7:40pm with a slew of exciting talent: Five-member rock band Eastern Sidekick's thundering, 40-minute set, which consisted tracks like "The Exciting Song," and "Monochrome Cartoon City"; Emotional and apocalyptic indie band Asian Chairshot continued to cook up the crowd with its hard-hitting set of explosive guitars and drums; Magnetic, retro-modern girl group The Barberettes sparkled in their '60s inspired hair and sequined dress and gave a pitch-perfect performance while singing "Little Gals" and covering The Ronnette's "Be My Baby" and The Beach Boys' "Barbara Ann"; Plus, hyperkinetic husband-wife duo EE tantalized with their psychedelic set of electro beats and eerie vocals; Beat-making maestro Hitchhiker (who made waves throughout the week in his super-shiny astronaut suit while roaming the streets of Austin) re-energized the exhausted audience with his eclectic DJ set.

For the first time, K-Pop Night Out was also used as the testing ground for new material. One of the most anticipated acts, and the only full-on "K-pop" group of the night, Crayon Pop, showcased their well-rehearsed routine of goofy choreography and quirky charms in black patent leather Power Ranger costumes before premiering their exciting new single "FM." The exclusive premiere made it a must-see for fans -- who uploaded clips of the addictive track once they found service -- and reporters able to share about new music nearly a week before the track was revealed.

Crayon Pop Channel Power Rangers, Sailor Moon in 'FM' Video

The highlight of the night came when veteran hip-hop group Epik High hit the stage a little after 1:00am. Stripped of any outrageous outfits, over-the-top stage designs or dramatic video production, Tablo, Mithra and DJ Tukutz owned the night with one of the most commanding rap performances ever seen at K-Pop Night Out following past performers like Jay Park and HyunA.

The headlining set sparked huge interest for the act on social media. According to Twitter, the phrase "#EpikHigh" was one of the top hashtags and trends at SXSW while its charismatic rapper, Tablo, was one of the Top 5 most mentioned artists at the fest. It probably didn't hurt that Epik High was seen out and about interacting with fans and industry execs at other showcases throughout SXSW 2015.

Halsey, Miley Cyrus & Epik High Top Twitter's Most-Shared During SXSW

Still, it's no surprise after the trio's (literally) intoxicating performance of "Born Hater" immediately put the crowd in a state of frenzy  as the guys continued their set taking swigs of soju in between tracks. Tablo welcomed fans, calling them "beautiful people of earth," and introduced himself to the people that "may not know him" over O.T. Genasis' trap hit "Coco," wittingly changing the famous line to include a play off his name with "I'm in love with the Blo Blo." The energy continued to grow as they performed a set of decade-spanning hits, including "Happen Ending," "Burg Khalifa,"  "Map the Soul," "High Technology" and "One."

Epik High's meticulously selected setlist of career highlights, freestyle raps, as well as taking the time to speak to the audience was powerfully intimate. That ability to move a crowd -- along with exclusive song premieres, a super-diverse lineup and a larger media presence -- proved that K-pop was alive and well at SXSW and could indicate a bright future for the Korean music scene at later fests.

https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news
By Jessica Oak with additional reporting by Jeff Benjamin

2015 KOCCA KPop Night Out Showcase (Planning/Production/Promotions) : DFSB Kollective x SL Communications
International Digital Distribution : DFSB Kollective (EE / Eastern Sidekick)