Fun, funky, crazy and makes you wanna DNCE

Fun, funky, crazy and makes you wanna DNCE

Monday, February 19, 2018

If you ever plan to crash a DNCE band rehearsal, here’s a short list of what you need to bring: adult beverages, local snacks, and a game-for-anything attitude.

The funk-rock band reveals it’s always like a 10-year-old’s birthday party whenever they get together. And yes, that includes all the fun, noise, and maybe even some uncontrollable chaos, as any kid’s party goes.

“We’re just sitting around and there’s always snacks, soda, in front of us. We make fun of each other and then get around with playing a little bit of music,” bass guitarist Cole Whittle shares.

“But all our attention spans are short so we end up goofing around and leaving to go somewhere cool,” he adds.

Read more

The DΞΔN’s list

The DΞΔN’s list

Wednesday, June 14, 2017

At Greenplugged Seoul, DEAN is a headliner—and hours before he even occupied the music festival’s Sky stage, the crowd on the standing zone begins to thicken, waiting for him to take the reins from his fellow hip-hop and rap artists. As DEAN begins his sound check, fans start cheering, while some are even close to crying.

The sun usually sets late in Korea, and as it melts on the horizon with hued streaks of orange and pink, the stage’s screen replicates the psychedelic colors, cueing the alternative R&B artist to start serenading the hyped crowd as the hour finally enters the night. The clock turns to 7 o’clock, and DEAN’s music begins to play.

Read more

Greenplugged Seoul is the next big international music festival

Greenplugged Seoul is the next big international music festival

It is the beginning of summer in Seoul. On a weekend, people from the city flock to Nanji Hangang Park, a perfect space to seek shade under the trees as the spring breeze still lingers, with scenery that breaks the concrete horizon.

Tents were set up all over the park’s grounds, and its green carpets of grass were replaced with colorful mats and rugs. People brought their bikes, scooters and skateboards, while others carried picnic baskets.

On the weekend of May 21, the park was host to the city’s version of Coachella, and we discovered every Korean musicophile’s top secret: the Greenplugged Seoul Music Festival.

It was a celebration of (and testament to) Korea’s massive local and independent music scene. It was an epic experience with four major stages and three minor sets located all over Nanji Hangang Park. On its eight straight year, the two-day Greenplugged festival featured a total of 65 artists in an all-local lineup.

Read more

The story behind Tom’s Story

The story behind Tom’s Story

Thursday, February 23, 2017

Tom's Story. Photo by John Paul Autor

NO words are needed to weave a narrative. Guitar riffs and punctuating basslines can sail its listeners through a whirlwind of energy and emotion. This is exactly what the music of Tom’s Story proves: Instruments of equal weight, producing a smooth dynamic and youthful vibe can get people hooked.

–– ADVERTISEMENT ––

It didn’t even take long to get the crowds to listen to their music. Night after night their spectators’ numbers swelled, with mimicked notes rolling off their tongues.

The band began to regularly open shows, measly 15-minute affairs with the spotlight. Eventually their sets became longer, until they were popular enough to become one of the main acts.

The trio of Gabba Santiago, Tom Naval and Christer “Degs” de Guia, playing around with the post-rock and math-rock genre, had unsurprisingly grown to be one of the most sought after acts in the local gig circuit today.

We saw their name get even bigger and bolder on the posters of various indie shows. This March, Tom’s Story will be playing in the largest homegrown music festival Wanderland.

Their music grows on you—if it doesn’t grow with you. The magic and beauty of their compositions lie in its ability to diversify its message.

It holds nothing sacred—there are unexpected shifts of pace, with refreshing thrills of imaginative melody. What they have created is both an explosion and fusion of uniquely pensive drives.

Read more