Electronica Groups to Gather in Seoul
By Cathy Rose A. Garcia
Staff Reporter
Summer is almost over, but there's still one more festival that will thrill and delight fans of electronic and dance music. The Global Gathering 2009 will bring together big electronica acts like The Prodigy, Underworld, Crystal Method and Royskopp, along with K-pop stars G-Dragon and 2NE1, in Seoul this month.
The two-day dance festival is being held from Sept. 18-19 at Han River Nanji Park. Other acts include Fantastic Plastic Machine featuring Verbal from M-flo, Pendulum, MSTRKRFT, The Potbelleez, Houserulez, Gogostar, Idiotape, Revolver 69, Risque Rhythm Machine and Astro Voize.
Global Gathering is an annual dance music festival started by Angel Music Group in the United Kingdom in 2001. It has since expanded and has organized festivals featuring top electronica artists in Russia, Australia, Turkey, Ukraine, Poland and Belarus.
For the festival in Seoul, British band The Prodigy is proving to be one of the main draws. Fans are excited about their upcoming performance, which comes on the heels of their latest album ``Invaders Must Die.'' The album, which was the first since 1997 to reunite all three original members of the band, debuted at the top of the British charts.
The Prodigy are expected to rock the festival with their trademark frenetic, electronic dance tracks ``Firestarter,'' ``Breathe,'' ``Omen,'' and the latest single ``Take Me to the Hospital.''
Underworld is another British electronic group composed of Karl Hyde and Rick Smith. Their mix of techno, house and pop music has earned them fans around the world. One of their best known hits is ``Born Slippy .NUXX,'' used in the soundtrack of the Danny Boyle film ``Trainspotting.'' They later worked with Boyle again on the soundtrack for his film ``Sunshine,'' released in 2008.
Norwegian electronic duo Royskopp will be performing in Korea for the first time. The duo is composed of Svein Berge and Torbjorn Brundtland. Royskopp's hit songs include ``Eple'' (used by Apple Inc. as the music for the video for Mac OSX 10.3), ``Poor Leno,'' ``Remind Me,'' ``What Else is There?'' ``Go With the Flow'' and ``Happy Up Here.''
The inclusion of K-pop stars G-Dragon and girl group 2NE1 may initially seem like an odd fit for the electronic music festival. But G-Dragon, a member of Big Bang, recently topped the charts with ``Heartbreaker,'' a solo album filled with electronic, hip-hop and dance tracks. 2NE1 also chalked up hit dance songs such as ``Fire'' and ``I Don't Care.''
American group Crystal Method will also be doing a DJ set at the festival. They are considered one of the top-selling electronica groups in the United States and are best known for their album ``Vegas.''
Australian electronic rock production group Pendulum will also play a DJ set at the festival. The group is known for their exciting shows with a live band and visual effects. Their albums include ``Hold Your Color'' and ``Silico,'' which included their single ``Propane Nightmares.''
The Potbelleez is a house and electronic music group with members from Ireland and Australia. Some of their hit songs include ``Junkyard," ``Duuurty Dreemz" and ``Don't Hold Back."
Fantastic Plastic Machine is a popular Japanese artist and DJ, whose real name is Tomoyuki Tanaka. His music has been used in various soundtracks, such as ``Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me,'' as well as a Louis Vuitton commercial created by Takashi Murakami. He will be performing with Verbal, who is more popularly known as one-half of the Japanese hip-hop group M-flo.
A one day ticket is 88,000 won, while the two-day pass is 143,000 won. Visit www.globalgathering.co.uk/kr. Tickets are available on Interpark (ticket.interpark.com or 1544-1555). For ticket reservations in English, send an e-mail to globalgatheringkorea@gmail.com.