Flying the Flag for South Korea

George, guitarist and vocalist for Ian Soph

Yes, it is.

Why do you think Zandari Festa is a good festival for Korea's indie scene?

It's the best way to meet music industry staff from other countries and potentially get the chance to spread our music overseas. We've been trying to share our music internationally, but haven't had much luck so far. We're looking forward to teaching the international delegates coming to Zandari Festa about our band.

How do you feel about Korea's indie scene starting to become more popular overseas?

It's very good! Some clubs in Korea are closing and some of the bands are suddenly disappearing because many Koreans don't know about our indie scene. So it would be awesome if people from other countries wanted to listen to our music and would make me so happy.

What can people expect from your performance at Zandari Festa 2017?

We're going to work hard to deliver an amazing showcase.

Do you have any plans to tour in the UK in the future?

We don't have any plans right now, but we always talk about touring overseas and imagine what it would be like. I really hope we can gig internationally one day and that people will like our music.

Kiyong Lee, guitarist for Huckleberry Finn

Yes, this is our first time participating in Zandari Festa.

Why do you think Zandari Festa is a good festival for Korea's indie scene?

It gives people the chance to experience many bands from overseas in lots of different clubs. This makes it stand out from other festivals in Korea.

How do you feel about Korea's indie scene starting to become more popular overseas?

That's fabulous news. Being able to do activities overseas has been a longtime dream for many bands here in Korea.

What can people expect from your performance at Zandari Festa 2017?

We hope people can get lots of energy from our show and we will do our best to create a great experience for everyone that comes to see us.

Do you have any plans to tour in the UK in the future?

Not yet. Not yet… but we're going to release our sixth full-length album next spring and are hoping for some good things to happen. Being able to tour in the UK in support of the album would be a fantastic opportunity for us.

Jeongseok Oh, trumpet and flugelhorn player for Kingston Rudieska

No, we've performed at the festival a few times in the past.

Why do you think Zandari Festa is a good festival for Korea's indie scene?

What we like most about Zandari is that it not only brings many Korean musicians together but also gives us a chance to be in harmony with each other. It's also a good opportunity for us to network with many music industry professionals from overseas. It's great for audiences, too, because they get to see various genres of music in many different live venues.

How do you feel about Korea's indie scene starting to become more popular overseas?

It's obviously a very good thing. Korea's indie music scene is small, so being able to share music with listeners from around the world is great for all artists.

What can people expect from your performance at Zandari Festa 2017?

We've been into mixing ska with Korean traditional melodies lately, so they will see some of that, and we want people to be in harmony with us and our music, and just enjoy our performance.

Do you have any plans to tour in the UK in the future?

Yes! We're performing as part of the K-Music Festival at Borderline in October, and it'll be our first time playing in England! We know that the Jamaican music scene in England is amazing, so we're very much looking forward to the show. We hope many people come to our show and are able to experience Korean ska.

Daeinn Kim, guitarist and vocalist for Pakk

No, we previously played at the festival in 2015 and 2016.

Why do you think Zandari Festa is a good festival for Korea's indie scene?

Music fans have the chance to see lots of great bands from Korea and all over the world for three days straight for a low price. For bands, they get the chance to play for new audiences, meet bands from all around the world, and share their music with music industry professionals from many different countries.

How do you feel about Korea's indie scene starting to become more popular overseas?

I think this is a wonderful thing and am grateful to everyone who is interested in learning more about Korean indie bands. I hope this will allow more bands to experience overseas touring. However, they need to remember the importance of touring at home, too, so that our music scene can continue to grow.

What can people expect from your performance at Zandari Festa 2017?

They can expect lots of energy. If you love heavy sounds, post-rock, psychedelic music, and maths rock, they definitely have to come and see our showcase.

Do you have any plans to tour in the UK in the future?

We don't have any plans right now but would love to tour in many countries one day, including the UK. I played several shows in the UK in 2013 with Apollo 18 and had a great time there. Touring internationally is expensive, so that makes it difficult for bands like us, but I think we'll get the chance to go there someday.

Flying the Flag for the UK

Chris Thomason, drummer for Rival Bones

Yes! This is the first international date we've ever played, so it's a huge honour.

What does it mean to you to be able to represent the UK in Korea at Zandari Festa?

It's amazing; it's a real privilege to be picked out amongst so many amazing musicians from the UK and the chance to go over to an amazing country to play music is genuinely unbelievable for us.

What can Korean audiences expect from your performance at Zandari Festa?

We're bringing the noise on behalf of the UK! We're loud, hard and groovy. We create a lot of sound for two people and we're glad that we're able to bring that over to Korea. If you're near the front, expect us to get in your face and make it nice and sweaty!

How will you be choosing your set to appeal to a new audience at Zandari Festa?

It's something we've started thinking about now. We have quite a lot of material, so obviously choosing a set for a brand new audience is important. There will be all our released music in there, along with some new ones. We're even learning some small Korean phrases for when we're performing.

Andy Bell, guitarist for VITO

Yes, it will be. We only made our first trip out of Newcastle at the end of last year, so to have the opportunity to go international really means a lot to us.

What does it mean to you to be able to represent the UK in Korea at Zandari Festa?

It's huge. We didn't expect to get chosen to play, but the fact we've been asked is a huge confidence boost for what we're doing and we know that Asian fans are crazy for UK music, so we're excited to get out for that, too.

What can Korean audiences expect from your performance at Zandari Festa?

We'll be playing our biggest and loudest tunes, a new single, and perhaps even a premiere of a brand new song, too.

How will you be choosing your set to appeal to a new audience at Zandari Festa?

We just have to play the songs that have got us to where we are now. It's a tried and tested set that UK audiences seem to really respond to, so we'll smash that out and showcase what we have.

Jack Clark, pianist and drummer for Eyre Llew

Yes, it's our first performing anywhere other than Europe, so we're really excited to experience Korea's music culture.

What does it mean to you to be able to represent the UK in Korea at Zandari Festa?

Zandari is a great place for music lovers to discover music, so we're honoured to have the opportunity to play.

What can Korean audiences expect from your performance at Zandari Festa?

We combine a mix of emotional drones/swells with sudden explosions and heavy guitars. One member plays drums and piano simultaneously, and another member plays violin bow on his guitar. We try to create a really unique experience for audiences.

How will you be choosing your set to appeal to a new audience at Zandari Festa?

We've been playing a set that's been well received in the UK and Europe. We can only hope people in Korea will fall in love with it, too. All the songs will be released on our upcoming debut album, out 19th October.