6/12/2018

Laibach Shares "Arirang"; The Band's Interpretation Of The Korean Folksong

LAIBACH

SHARES NEW SONG “ARIRANG”

THE BAND’S INTERPRETATION OF THE TRADITIONAL KOREAN FOLKSONG

RELEASED TO MARK THE SUMMIT BETWEEN
DONALD TRUMP AND KIM JONG-UN
Photo: Joerund F Pedersen
LAIBACH have marked the summit in Singapore between Donald Trump and the leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un, by sharing a track dedicated to the Korean re-unification process. Listen to “Arirang” here.

“Arirang” is a Laibachian interpretation of a traditional Korean folk song, often considered the unofficial national anthem of both North and South Korea. The song was originally performed in Pyongyang during Laibach’s infamous North Korean tour (in 2015, on the anniversary of the DPRK’s liberation from Japan). In support of re-unification, Laibach later performed in Jeonju, making them the first band to play both North and South Korea.

Laibach’s “Arirang” is combined here with “We Will Go To Mount Paektu,” a well-known North Korean song. The track features Boris Benko on vocals with backing from the North Korean Kum Song Music School Choir from Pyongyang, who appear in the Liberation Day documentary.

The North Korean tour was documented by director, artist and cultural diplomat, Morten Traavik. Liberation Day (described by MOJO as “a humorous, disturbing, illuminating and sometimes moving immersion into an anomalous communist mirror-world …”) is out now via iTunes. Future screenings of the film include the Japanese premiere in Tokyo on July 14, followed by screenings in Hokkaido, Sendai, Yokohama, Nagoya, Osaka and Kobe - further details available here.

An exhibition of images from Laibach’s journey to the DPRK – featuring street photography by Mute’s founder Daniel Miller – will open in Vienna on June 28. Further details here.

Photo: Tomislav Gangl
 
Over 35 years on from their genesis in the then-Yugoslavian industrial town Trbovlje, Laibach are still the most internationally acclaimed band to have come out of the former Communist countries of Eastern and Central Europe. Founded in the death year of the country’s founding father Tito, and rising to fame as Yugoslavia steered towards self-destruction, Laibach can make you think, dance and march to the same music.

A documentary film about the first five years of Laibach and the band’s first album release in former Yugoslavia, featuring interviews with members of the band, their colleagues and contemporaries, willpremiere in Ljubljana on June 12.

Laibach will play several festival dates in Europe, including a performance of The Sound of Music at the opening of Steireischer Herbst festival in Austria. This precedes a performance in Ljubljana with a Philharmonic Orchestra and two dates in Russia in October. Further dates to be added – full details here.

Laibach’s 2017 album, Also Sprach Zarathustra, is available here.

LAIBACH LIVE
June 22 – Murska Sobota, Slovenia – Festival Soboški dnevi
June 24 – Škofja Loka, Slovenia – Škofjeloški grad
June 29 – Celje, Slovenia – Festival Celjski grad
August 3 – Fara, Slovenia – Castle Kolpa Music Festival
August 9 – Jaromer, Czech Republic – Brutal Assault Festival (Fortress Josefov)
September 7 – Ljubljana, Slovenia – Križanke (with Philharmonic Orchestra)
September 20 – Graz, Austria – Steireischer Herbst Festival (performing The Sound of Music)
October 11 – Moscow, Russia – Glav Club (performing Also Sprach Zarathustra & The Sound of Music)
October 13 – St. Petersburg, Russia – Erarata (performing Also Sprach Zarathustra & The Sound of Music)
 

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