[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: [microsound] Where in the world?




From: multipara <multipara@xxxxxxxxxxx> 

i hope i can keep this discussion on topic ;-) otherwise i'll be glad
to switch off-list with this.
the commercialised korean techno / hiphop is certainly beyond
discussion, from what i heard of it (although i find it hard to
believe there isn't some well-hidden stuff that's more creative) but
is pansori indeed still practised? i'm not familiar with much
kayagum, but samulnori... well i suppose you need to be to a concert
to really appreciate them. and there's nothing else? microsound
material you order online then? is pressure to conform that high?


There isn't any microsound culture here at all to my knowledge, and it isn't surprising since there are few avenues in which people can get the music outside of mail order for the relative few who have any interest or awareness of what is going on. European style techno only hit here a brief while ago and drum n' bass has yet to arrive for the most part. Even then, the techno scene quickly aligned itself with capital and now has reached it's apex with a performance by John Digweed at the Seoul Hilton this weekend for a hefty fee and sponsorship by Bacardi, LG, and Channel V. The organizers see no problem in this, thus confirming a friend's view about the politically conservative nature of techno. The traditional music is still practiced but it's not very popular with Korean youth who find it depressing, since most of the songs are full of "han" or bitterness, a cultural trait that goes back to years and years of invasions and maltreatment at the hands of foreigners. As for samulnori, well, that's still a popular form among college students, as I hear the drums every day at school. As to the question on the "pressure to conform," if you know anything about northeast Asia then you know that Korea is basically the most conservative and most Confucian of these countries. It's vastly different from Japan. Yet, this does not in any way exhaust what is interesting about the place. The pressure to conform is quite strong here and the people do not have the same history or cultural traits through which the development of subcultures can take place. Nevertheless, all this is quickly changing. And I imagine it's only a short time until I find Ritornell CDs in the local shops.
_________________________________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com.

Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at http://profiles.msn.com.