Basque punk band Des-Kontrol stops by Korea

Members of Basque punk band Des-Kontrol visit Japan for the first time, March 29. Courtesy of Japonicus

Earlier in the same week that the Korea-Japan Oi! Festival is reviving, the punk band Des-Kontrol will play two weekday shows in Korea as part of its East Asian tour which started last Saturday in Japan.

Formed in 1996, the band's style is mostly influenced by streetpunk and oi!

Des-Kontrol comes from Arrasate/Mondragon, a town and municipality of the Basque Country, an autonomous region of Spain. The town is noted for being entirely resident-owned, and has been said to bear no signs of either poverty or extreme wealth.

Des-Kontrol sing in the Basque language of Euskera, as well as Spanish and English.

Their lyrics are often political, with messages against fascism and police oppression. The anthem "Freedom for my Land" is about Basque independence.

In the mid-2000s, Des-Kontrol became targeted by a boycott movement against them. Criticisms coming mainly from the Red and Anarchist Skinhead (RASH) community questioned their allegiances and politics, based largely on some of the T-shirts the members had worn promoting other bands that had been deemed to be too right-wing, or too comfortable with far-right extremists.

To address the rumors, the band released the 2008 album "Hipokrisia eta faxismoaren aurka" (Against Hypocrisy and Fascism). The album contains a long list of guest performers, which included supportive musicians, pro football players and even a clown. Included among the songs was "Hay Algo Aquí Que Va Mal," a version of ska band the Specials' anti-racist anthem "Doesn't Make it Alright."

Hours before they were to play a festival in January 2010, they were attacked by assailants presumed to be the people behind the boycott movement. The attackers also assaulted fans nearby wearing the band's shirts. Afterwards, several movements expressed solidarity with Des-Kontrol.

Des-Kontrol will appear on Wednesday at Strange Fruit in western Seoul, along with Seoul Electric Band. Tickets are priced at 30,000 won.

On Thursday, the band will play at Channel1969 in nearby Yeonnam-dong. The cover for that show is 20,000 won.

Follow @deskontrol_ofiziala on Instagram or visit fb.com/japonicus.tokyo for more details on the tour.