SXSW Features Korean Musicians!

In recent years, more and more Korean musicians are starting to attend South by Southwest (or SXSW), the world's largest music festival of its kind, which is held in Austin, Texas every year. The festival has more than 2,200 performers every year. Interviews of Korean musicians who performed at 'SXSW' revealed that it's a musical paradise. One thing that was very surprising was the sheer number of non-Koreans' attention focused on Korean music.

A total of 14 Korean musician teams participated in performing at the 'K-Pop Night Out' event and the showcase. The event was held from 7PM to 2AM on the 11th at the Elysium. Jambinai, NELL, Hallow Jan, Crying Nut, Idiotape, Jay Park, and HyunA went up onstage and performed fusion traditional Korean music, rock, electronica, and dance songs, a dizzying variety of genres. There was some concern that foreigners wouldn't be able to relate to Korea's current music trend, but that wasn't the case.

There were about 1,200 people in attendance of 'K-Pop Night Out', and it seemed as if local and overseas Koreans and non-Koreans were split half and half. Amazingly enough, they all enjoyed Jay Park, Crying Nut, HyunA, and Jambinai's music. Female fans that came to say Jay Park went crazy for Crying Nut's rock. K-Pop loving Americans even enjoyed Jambinai's music. Fred Schmid said, "Korea now has a cool image. I'm curious about Korea's variety of music." To Americans, Korea's music is something new, and seems to have a 'hot' image.

That's why Lady Gaga attended 'K-Pop Night Out.' She was looking for a fun venue, and SXSW recommended that she attend the K-Pop stage. She made an appearance at the venue and watched Jay Park and HyunA's performance, dancing along as well. One Korea Creative Content Agency rep stated, "The fact that K-Pop musicians attended 'SXSW' is a hot topic in itself, so much so that LA Times reported on the matter. I think 'SXSW' wanted to present something new in hip hop, and that's why K-Pop was invited." Could that be why they invited HyunA, who appears in Psy's "Gangnam Style" music video?

Of course, this isn't to say that foreigners will enjoy all Korean music. But they have a pretty good idea of the essence of Korean music. One American said about Crying Nut, "I'm a huge fan. Crying nut is fun like a drunk band on an island, and is exciting." What an appropriate description of the band.

There was also anticipation as to what kind of response Americans would have to HyunA's performance. In conclusion, it did not differ much from Korea's response. HyunA's performance is popular with male audience members, regardless of nationality. They watched with eager eyes, and erupted in loud cheer when the song ended. It was as if someone hit a home run at a baseball game.

Traditional music fusion trio Jambinai garnered a lot of interest as well. Americans were attracted by the unusual sound, and were captivated by the rock and heavy metal sound that came from Korean instruments. Todd Puckhaber of 'SXSW' said, "I first saw Jambinai at WOMEX and was blown away by their amazing sound. Jambinai has a phraseology that many Westerners can relate to. I hope that Jambinai can be made known to more people through 'SXSW'."

K-Pop is often known as "Korea's idol group dance music". That's why the term K-Rock is used to differentiate genres. However, Westerners don't consider K-Pop a genre of its own, but as a whole. They were ready to enjoy K-Pop comprehensively. First made known through idol's contents, K-Pop is gradually widening its grounds.

Korean music blogger Kristin Koffer attended 'SXSW' and said something interesting. She has been carefully watching Korean bands at 'SXSW' for the past few years. She's friends with Korean band Seoul Sonic, who attended the event in 2011. She said, "Korean music is quite fun. I think Korea's K-Pop and indie music have completely different charms. K-Pop album production quality is high. And Korean bands really know how to show a crazy live performance."

Tags
sxsw
K-Pop NIGHT OUT
Jambinai
nell
Hallow Jan
crying nut
Idiotape
Jay Park
HyunA
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