The 2015 K-Music Festival Showcases Korean Music In Various London Venues

by Czarelli Tuason / Sep 22, 2015 11:37 PM EDT

The Pansori Night at Cadogan Hall | By: SERIOUS

K-Music Festival 2015 aims to satisfy the Brits' cravings for Korean music as it has scheduled a set of shows from Sept. 1 to 30 in London. This is a follow up to the hugely successful London Korean Festival which took place on Aug. 9 at the Trafalgar Square.

According to Korean Class Massive on Aug. 20, the last K-Muic festival was held in 2013 with a big opening number by the National Orchestra of Korea and wraped up with the Korean musical drama Pansori, featuring the legendary Ahn Sook Sun. Many recognized bands and solo singers also performed, including Geomungo Factory, Uhuhboo Project, Kiha & the Faces and Yi Sung Yol.

For the 2015 K-Music Festival, a whole new program with exciting musical performances have been lined up for the audience.

To open the festival, the audience were treated to two iconic Korean traditional instruments, the gayageum and the saenghwang played by SU:M (pronounced "soom"), which means "breath" and describes the physical connection of Jungmin Seo to her gayageum and Jiha Park to her saenghwang.

The Barberettes, a trio of female singers, also showcased retro songs, a different genre from the K-pop, indie and Pansori musical numbers.

"The Barberettes are a spectacular vocal harmony trio, a timeslip girl group who turn classics of the 50s and 60s inside out as well as creating their own theatrical music," described SERIOUS, the leading producer of music events in London. "Singing doo-wop in Korean and English, they only made their first album last year (in a retro homage to their inspirations, they called it The Barberettes Vol 1) but this year they've already stormed SXSW and Midem. These are their first UK shows, and they have chosen the spectacular setting of The Forge in Camden, a great cabaret space with a clutch of architectural awards and a 20ft-high "living wall" of plants."

Evening Standard also noted on Wednesday another performer in the festival. Jambani, which appeared at Glastonbury and a few other festivals worldwide, performed at London for the first time. The band is a trio of musicians with each member playing a different instrument, including a traditional fiddle, an oboe and an electric guitar. The band treated the audience to a refreshing approach on thrash metal using traditional instruments.

With all the talented musicians lined up for the event, the K-Music Festival of 2015 aims to help Korean musical artists succeed in and penetrate the European market.