Korean Indie Music Scene: Better than K-Pop

Why is there so much continental rage about K-pop and its flashy arcade sounds? Even here in America… children, students, and adults lust after the K-pop sounds, fashions, and even ‘lifestyle’.  I can’t help but relate K-pop and its major recording artists to those here working under major recording labels in the United States… to me this all spells: mainstream music. Mainstream isn't all that bad, but finding really great music outside of the brainwashing music systems, is like finding gold in a world of cheap dollar stores. This is what listening to indie music is like. And to experience the indie music scene is even better; it’s like tasting the gold.

This all bring me back to my first semester at the University; I had given a presentation on Clear Channel radio and its sub part, iHeartRadio, in front of my first Media and Communications class. I presented on the particular company, their marketing strategies, the positioning of popular artists and bands, the amount of airplay given, and mentioned a few other major record companies. I made it a point to discuss the very many personal issues I had at that time: that it is much more difficult for independent artists to make it into the mainstream music world; that independent artists were much more artistic, brave, and hardworking than those that sang on our everyday radios; that major record labels, and even Clear Channel radio, were trying to regurgitate what independent artists were creating, and then would use and sell it as new major productions for auto-tuned-using artists. Plus, it was so obvious that major recording artists did not have as much creative freedom as the courageous indie artists! Indie music generates future genres and therefore plays a key role in our world’s musical history! I remember feeling so passionate for the independent artists and engineers who didn’t stand much of a chance for the radio or success; for the indie band scene and all the bands that my friends played in. I also remember feeling extremely annoyed and frustrated that the class didn't seem to understand just why and how Clear Channel and other major record label companies were ‘ruining’ the music world.

Well, after four years, I've come to terms that without one, there cannot be the other. Without mainstream music, there would not be room for the independent artists and a fun escape for experimental music lovers. And ultimately, there would not be Korean indie music without K-pop.

I've learned that although independent record labels and artists do not always see as much popularity and radio time as their counterpart, they can sometimes expect more financial success, [but this doesn't mean they are always financially lucrative]. This is because major recording artists spend a lot of money on their royalties. This includes: album artwork and album packaging, tour support, and video production. Because independent artists produce, record, and advertise their music themselves, they have fewer royalties and costs of production. And to me, it makes indie music, from any area around the world, so much more special.

For this article, I was to brush up on Korean indie music and its scene. After a quick but through introduction and a few listening-dates with Korean indie music, I became a hooked K-indie fan. I've spread the word like wildfire about the fun, sometimes sad, but always experimental music. However, even still with today’s technology and social media, not enough people know about Korean indie music or indie music in general for that matter. This has a lot to again with the promotion, positioning, marketing, financial status, and advertising of the artist or band. It is difficult for Americans and other people living in other countries to lend an ear to all of Korea’s booming indie artists as not all of their music is made available to other foreign public. Although there is  a lot of Korean indie music online today, a ton of independent Korean artists do not have their music on worldwide music outlets such as iTunes or YouTube. This makes the Korean indie scene so much more special and fresh… there is still some secret and innocence of it all.

The Korean indie music scene is built of a community of localized indie-music-loving bands and artists. The style of music varies from experimental hip-hop, r&b, soul, electronic, some folk and vintage. The sounds you’ll hear are typically guitars, monophonic synthesizers, minimal bass lines, loose drumming, obscured vocals, distortion or layering of multiple tracks, unconventional sounds, and sometimes brassy wavelengths.

What I found so cool and refreshing about Korean indie music was that I had absolutely no idea what they were saying, but yet completely understood the meaning of the song and could even relate to some. I also really loved that there were so many female artists! Some artists that I really enjoyed were Nell, Taru, Clazziquai Project, Lucite Tokki, and Savina + Drones. Even more, I absolutely loved a lot of the music videos for the songs being played.

Here are some examples:

Clazziquai Project – Can’t Go Own My Own

Nell – Slip Away

Savina + Drones – Stay

Taru - Daydream

Indie Music is Everywhere! Although Korean indie music may be my new favorite, don’t hold yourself back from hearing sounds from independent artists and bands from around the world!

The United States is a hot spot for old and new independent recording artists! From Seattle, Washington to the various cities of New York… Omaha, Nebraska to Austin, Texas… Provo, Utah and Baltimore, Maryland… just to name a small few popular cities that are well-known for their indie music artists and bands.

Japan also has a ton of indie music and recording artists. The area has a very active ‘punk’ indie scene.

Europe is also covered with amazing indie artists and bands. The United Kingdom was in fact the first place to really term what “indie” meant in 1986. And then there is Sweden, Belgium, various indie rock festivals in France and Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, and so, so, so much more.

Australia’s Melbourne takes the win of being the biggest hot spot for indie rock music as it provides the largest music scene than any other city in the world! But you should still check out Australia’s Sydney, Brisbane, and Perth!

 

A few other places to look for Korean indie music (and other various independent artists), is through:

www.koreanindie.com, www.8tracks.com, www.pandora.com, www.youtube.com