Taking the music on the road

September saw the arrival of a new concert booking agency that promises to not only open up new audiences, venues and adventures to musicians, but to simultaneously give people in more marginalized areas of the country the chance to witness and appreciate established and up-and-coming bands. 

Bus King, from the organizers of SuperColorSuper, is set to revolutionize live music in Korea. A bit of wordplay on busking, Bus King is Korea’s first domestic, intercity booking agency and is dotting the countryside with the footprint and wadded Cass cans of roaming bands. 

Seoul has a neighborhood-only music problem. Specifically, almost all shows happen in Hongdae. Beyond that, live shows are few and far between. On top of this problem, the popular venues, as well as the general array of decent live music, have been limited to the confines of Seoul, Busan and occasional shows in satellite cities. Bus King hopes to change that. 

The agency will aid bands in formulating a touring schedule that can book up to seven Korean cities for a tour, built on the back of SuperColorSuper’s network. Bus King launched in September with two separate tours throughout Korea. 

(((10)))

Improvisational, experimental noise specialists (((10))) return to the stage after a brief hiatus, just in time to celebrate their seventh anniversary. Consisting of husband-and-wife duo Marqido and Itta, (((10))) have built up an impressive and varied discography and touring repertoire. 

Their influences, creative Asian luminaries such as film director Shuji Terayama and musician Keiji Haino, say a lot about how much importance they put on infusing the visual, aural and kinetic. 

Put succinctly, (((10))) music transcends creative borders. This is evident in their raw, unbounded live presence that sees their sound shift seamlessly from sonic drone to rhythmic, tribal beats. 

Itta is not limited to using instruments in the conventional sense; she can often be seen swapping between balloons, toys and a keytar. Paradoxically, Maquido has a very different stage presence in comparison to his partner; he can be found dictating the direction and feel of the show from a static position behind his laptop. It is from here that he layers the room in walls of noise, allowing Itta free reign to interact with, warp and compliment the sounds being created to great effect. 

It’s this synergy of two very different styles that makes (((10))) so compelling.  (((10))) can be seen fronting their 7th Anniversary Tour from Oct. 10 to Oct. 13, in conjunction with Bus King. The tour will stop in four cities across Korea. 

(((10))) online: For one of their more representative tracks, see tinyurl.com/9yswels. For more information on the band, go to their website http://10rgb.bandcamp.com.

Bus King online: Go to their website at http://buskingkorea.com for more information. Bands can apply for booking at buskingkorea@gmail.com.