Korean-British band Wooze launches Korea tour
Theo Spark, left, and Jamie Shie of the Korean-British band Wooze, visit Seoul earlier this year for the filming of the music video for their song "Party Without Ya." / Courtesy of Hijinkx
By Jon Dunbar
Theo Spark and Jamie Shie are intimately familiar with Korean culture. Now it is Korea's turn to get to know a lot more about the pair, who make up the
.
The two played together previously in indie-pop band Screaming Peaches. They decided to form Wooze so they could have a house band at Muddy Yard, the art collective where they both live in London. In forming Wooze last November, Theo ― whose Korean name is Tay-ho ― has been drawing on his Korean heritage for inspiration for this band.
“Being Korean is something he didn't really mention before in previous bands as it didn't seem to be very relevant but it does now for Wooze as it is a part of our band's identity,” the band members told The Korea Times in an email interview.
Looking for a band name that worked in both languages just like his given name, he chose Wooze, an approximation of the English pronunciation of the Korean word for space.
“Theo was drawn to Wooze as a band name because of the fact he felt like a bit of an alien both in England and Korea, having grown up predominantly in the U.K. but having all his family over in Korea,” the band said.
Theo has been back and forth between the two countries throughout his life.
“I'm lucky to be able to speak both languages and have these two very different worlds at my fingertips,” he said. “I wanted to be a musician when I was seven watching Tooniverse and listening to the theme songs of my favorite animes when I was at school in Seoul. I've also gone to lots of traditional Korean music concerts with my parents over the years which I think has subconsciously shaped the way I write somewhat.”
The band has been noted for taking influence from pansori, a highly stylized traditional Korean narrative style of music. Their music has been released on independent labels
in the U.K. and
in Korea. They're also signed to
, an agency that also represents Radiohead, Portishead and Jamiroquai, and the future is promising.
They have visited Seoul a few times throughout 2018, recording a wild video for their song “Party Without Ya” filmed at various iconic locations, including Sejong Boulevard, Seun Sangga and the roof of the old Noryangjin Fish Market building.
Of course this means Jamie, whose stage surname Shie is an approximation of the respectful name suffix -ssi, has also gotten to know Korea.
“I've loved my visits,” Jamie said. “Making friends with Nuri Jeong has been a highlight, as well as meeting other film-makers, artists and musicians. Karaoke is something I'm unhealthily thirsty for, and England doesn't give me that hit like Korea does. The food is amazing as well, at the risk of making this sound even more like a GCSE answer.”
On their visits they've also gotten to know
and
, but on their upcoming visit they'll be working closely with local bands
Theo has noticed more attention on Korea thanks to the rising prominence of K-pop, but shrugs off any close affiliation.
“Our music is, on the whole, very different from K-pop, and we don't think people who see us live ever compare the two,” he said. “It's lovely that the West is paying more attention to Korea, but it's important to remember that K-pop is its own thing, and not wholly representative of the Korean culture we know.”
They are performing at
, then they're off to
before returning to Seoul for
genre-bending Korean-British musical duo Wooze
psychedelic rock band Organic Beer
Club FF in Seoul on New Year's Eve