Shoegaze festival Delay Relay returns for second year

Ghost Bookstore performs at Delay Relay Festival 2025. They will play again this year at Club Bbang on Jan. 23. Courtesy of Chris Mata

Korea's indie music scene has a long history of shoegaze, a subgenre of rock music that fuses dense layers of distorted and heavily reverbed guitars with melancholic, wispy vocals. However, that interest has exploded in recent years, with shoegaze becoming the defining sound of Korean indie.

Delay Relay, Korea’s first festival dedicated to shoegaze and shoegaze-adjacent sounds, now returns for its second installment. Taking place at a variety of Seoul music venues between Jan. 10 and Feb. 7, Delay Relay will feature some of Korea’s most loved shoegaze artists.

James, founder of Delay Relay Festival and former owner of Hippytokki / Courtesy of James

James, the founder of Delay Relay Festival, speaks with unmistakable passion about Seoul's underground music scene. Known to some as Hippytokki James, after the Hongdae venue he used to run, he's become a central figure in Korea's shoegaze community.

Despite his fine art education, life took him down a different path. "I studied painting, but somehow am doing music-related stuff," he told The Korea Times. "Life is quirky that way."

That surprising direction has manifested itself in Delay Relay.

The festival was born from necessity, James explains. "Delay Relay Festival started from a need to showcase the local underground shoegaze scene, which has been around for 30 years here in Korea," he said. "Shoegaze as a genre had been making a comeback, but somehow a lot of these local bands were left outside the buzz."

Wings of the Isang / Courtesy of Jo Ye-jin

The festival serves another purpose beyond simply showcasing talent. "The other side motivation of the festival is to support the venues which are the core infrastructure of the underground scene," James said. "So that is why Delay Relay is a winter festival hosted by music venues that are part of the underground scene here."

These venues include Baby Doll, Club Bbang, Channel1969, Senggi Studio, 1nfinity Club, Gongsangondo, Strange Fruit and Pet Sounds.

The inaugural festival last year left James with fond, if appropriately blurry memories. "Actually, last year is a bit of a haze, kind of like shoegaze," he admitted with a laugh. "A lot of fuzzy afterimages. Some of the music was really just 'Wow, that was amazing!' Shoegaze really is a genre that is must-see, must-listen in a live setting, preferably a small club. The immersive, reverb-drenched experience is hard to beat musically."

For its second year, Delay Relay has evolved. A committee of five people now shapes the festival's direction, and they've introduced the subtitle "The Colour of Mind," inspired by "obangsaek," a traditional Korean five-color system representing harmony and balance.

Delay Relay's mascot, Lay Cat / Courtesy of Delay Relay

"Each concert has a title, and our slogan translates to 'Each to their own rhythm, each to your own colour' to highlight both the incredible diversity and individuality of the scene," James explained.

They even created a mascot called Lay Cat. "You can't have shoegaze without cats!" James insisted.

Like last year's festival, this one isn’t exclusively shoegaze, with shoegaze-friendly styles welcome.

"Basically, anything falling under the noise umbrella we took a look at," James said. "And of course genres that have always fit well with shoegaze, like postrock and dream pop, were heavily considered."

The lineups now encompass three categories that James describes as "shoegaze, shoegaze adjacent and 'this is not shoegaze, is it?'"

Across five weekends, 65 artists will perform, with 22 returning from last year's edition.

"Some bands I wanted to reinvite stopped playing, unfortunately," James noted. "Even this year, already one band, GGCP, announced they will play their last show at Delay Relay. These underground bands, you really have to catch them in the moment."

GGCP / Courtesy of GGCP

Each of the 13 shows carries its own distinct flavor. "Every event was assigned to a different festival planner and each crafted their own themes related to the lineups and color schemes," James explained.

Some titles make the color connection obvious, like "Pale Blue Altitude" (Jan. 16) or "Seeing Red" (Jan. 30).

For James, the variety adds some personal excitement. "I would elaborate more, but for the themes I am not directly responsible for, I really don't know what to expect," he said. "I am going to be just as surprised as you!"

When pressed about which acts he's most anticipating, James singles out HIMINN for its artistic sensibilities and CHEONG NAN for its gothic edge. "I haven't heard GGCP live and this will be the last opportunity to see them, so I am looking forward to that as well," he added.

The festival's importance reflects broader changes in Korea's indie landscape.

"2025 has been a massive year for shoegaze in Korea," James acknowledged. "Delay Relay was created to plant a flag and state we have a local shoegaze scene here and it's been around for 30 years and it's great! K-pop is, of course, a thing here, but it would be fantastic if people would mention, 'Oh yeah, Korea has a great shoegaze scene. Let's go check it out.'"

Zzzaam / Courtesy of zzzaam

Korean shoegaze, James believes, has its own distinct character. "Korean shoegaze has more Korean psychedelia vibes," he said. "A band like zzzaam would be a good example of this, a sprinkle of magical realism."

Post Inner Circle / Courtesy of Post Inner Circle

Among newer acts, he highlights Post Inner Circle as exemplifying contemporary "K-gaze," describing them as existing "somewhere between zzzaam and Ghost Bookstore."

As for why shoegaze resonates so deeply in Korea, James offers an intriguing theory.

"I think the introspective aspect of folding back into the music fits well with Korean culture," he said. "Also the stacking of the sound through pedals requires a bit of 'the science of study' aesthetic which resonates well here."

For those unfamiliar with the genre, James draws an unexpected parallel. "If you like Impressionistic painting, which is pretty much the pinnacle of classical painting, you will musically probably like shoegaze as well," he said. "It's vague and it's pretty and it's noisy, just like life."

The festival's future remains uncertain, but James is philosophical about it. "Actually, I was going to quietly fade away and not even do Delay Relay 2026. But some people said they were really looking forward to it, so that's how this one came about. This festival runs on crowd energy." He paused before adding, "As for next year, who knows? All things must pass."

Follow @delay_relay on Instagram for more information.

Jamie Finn is chief editor of Debaser Magazine.