'Future Sounds' podcast connects Korea's musical past, future

Edward Povey is host of “Future Sounds from Korea” podcast / Courtesy of Cybershot

By Jon Dunbar

Episode 1 of “Future Sounds from Korea” came online last December, introducing Korea’s underground electronic music scene. Its creator Edward Povey, an instructor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, celebrated the milestone earlier this month releasing episode 6.

“All of the music in the podcast is from the Korean Peninsula, including locals, expats and Korean record labels,” Povey told The Korea Times. “The music comes from a wide range of the electronic scene, from established underground names to unknown bedroom producers _ who are often the most exciting. A lot of the music is unmastered and raw from someone's laptop.”

Each podcast is a solid two hours, ranging in genre and mood, from ambient and experimental, to dreampop and post-punk, to techno and virtually anything else.

As host he curtly lists off the artists with a detached manner not unlike a subway announcement, then retreats into the background, letting the music do its thing. Intros and tags between songs introduce the thrum of the traditional Korean gayageum.

“For me, sanjo music is perfect experimental music, especially the haunting sound of gayageum,” he explained. “It's so abstract and atmospheric. That's the mood that I like to include on the podcast.”

Povey, originally from the U.K., named the podcast after The Future Sound of London, an electronic act from his home country.

“I also wanted the name to express that Korea is moving towards more interesting and independent music,” said Povey, who is married and raising a son here.

“It needs to become more ingrained in the young, that they can go out and form a rock group or put on their own events and they don't have to follow corporate entertainment. I don’t want my son to grow up in a country which only has K-pop as a cultural force.”

When he first moved to Korea almost 15 years ago, Povey found the underground electronic scene disorganized and lacking diversity. “It was a generic blob of underground electronic music,” he said. “In the last 10 years it's totally turned around. Now there are crews which each have a certain sound or aesthetic. The infrastructure has also improved, from venues bringing in international underground DJs who in turn interact with local crews, to outlets like Seoul Community Radio and established independent record labels like Oslated. We're moving in the right direction and I don't think the juggernaut can be stopped now.”

Povey hopes through the podcast he can create a sense of community. His first six episodes have already accumulated over 20,000 listens, so he’s already built something.

“I've no idea how many people are into this stuff, but hopefully through the podcast we can find out,” he said.

Episode 7 is expected before the year end. Check out the podcasts at soundcloud.com/futuresoundsfromkorea or visit facebook.com/groups/futuresoundsfromkorea to join the conversation.