The Star Online: Entertainment: Music
The Star Online: Entertainment: Music |
| Growing interest from the West in South Korean contemporary music Posted: 02 Feb 2013 02:00 AM PST America and Europe are taking a new interest in contemporary music from South Korea. What does this mean for the rest of Asia? THANKS to Psy's Gangnam Style global smash hit, the South Korean music industry's long-held dream to make it big in Europe and the US with its K-pop boybands has taken a giant leap forward. But Psy's international success looks unlikely to have a big knock-on effect in other Asian countries, experts said at the Midem music industry gathering in Cannes that concluded on Monday. (Midem, which stands for Marché International du Disque et de l'Edition Musicale, is one of the world's largest trade fairs for the music industry.) To build on the momentum of the "Psy" phenomenon and showcase some of their other big stars, South Korea's music industry turned out in force to attend the annual four-day trade fair that opened its doors on Jan 25. "The Western markets have always been a kind of romantic dream and an end goal for the South Korean record labels," says Clayton Jin, CEO of South Korea's most respected music data service, Billboard Korea. "However, Korean labels are very realistic and Asia remains their bread and butter," Jin stresses, adding that Asia continues to be the region where the country's labels are most successful, with Japan alone accounting for about 50% of South Korea's music exports. It's only very recently that the South Korean music business has started to eye up the US and European markets, Jin says in an interview. The first K-pop concerts held outside of Asia were organised in the US and Europe in 2011 and did much to increase the musical genre's popularity. In terms of sales, however, the slick boy and girl-band routines proved successful only in a handful of niche markets, industry experts note. "The American market and the European market represented just 0.5% of South Korea's total music exports," says Min Kim, who heads up Kocca, a non-profit organisation that promotes South Korea's content industry abroad. But all that changed when rapper Psy unexpectedly shot to fame and his quirky Gangnam Style video notched up a record one billion views on YouTube. "Before Psy, Western people associated Korea with IT, now with Gangnam Style they associate the country with music," Kim notes. Psy's success has convinced many Western music industry insiders and fans take a closer look at K-pop, he adds. "Now music fans are actually giving this music a chance while before they thought it was just some ethnic music genre and didn't pay much attention to it," Kim says. Psy's success has also boosted the confidence of other South Korean artists and their management companies who didn't think it could be financially viable to tour in Europe and the United States, Jin adds. Today, the industry believes that with the right investments and the right artists, they can make a meaningful push into these markets, he says. Psy has also had an impact on how the music industry operates in his own country. "Before, the artists' management companies had a very tight control over their artists. But the reason why Psy succeeded where so many other Korean artists failed was that he had a very open contract, so that as soon as his Gangnam Style single started taking off on YouTube, Psy was able to move to America and sign with (new manager) Scooter Braun (who also manages Justin Bieber)," Jin says. Other Korean artists are now clamouring to follow in Psy's footsteps. South Korean girl band Girls Generation has signed with Interscope in the United States, the label behind Lady Gaga and the Black Eyed Peas, and is coming out with an English album next month. But industry experts at the trade fair caution that the "Psy phenomenon" is unlikely to be easily copied in other Asian music markets – or even in South Korea itself. Malaysia, for instance, faces a language barrier to promoting our songs abroad as there are four different main languages in the country and English is not widely used, the chairman of the Recording Industry Association of Malaysia, Norman Abdul Halim, says. South Korea's big music success in Japan may also be on the wane, Japanese industry experts say, as Japanese music fans are starting to get bored of the pre-packaged Korean tunes and are hungry for something new and fresh. And Psy's success hasn't necessarily made things easier for South Korean artists in other musical genres such as hip-hop and dance, Tasha, the female vocalist of the band Drunken Tiger, says. "In one way, it's made things even more difficult because a lot of people now expect all Korean music to be like Psy's music," she says with a wry smile. – AFP Relaxnews |
| Salammusik poise for greater success Posted: 02 Feb 2013 01:39 AM PST Roots reggae act Salammusik, which is critically considered and well-loved by the masses, is poised for big things. ESTABLISHED in 2006, Salammusik has come a long way in the Malaysian music industry. Having started with two vocalists – Salam and Tip, the group now has 10 members. Before Salam founded Salammusik, he was an ambitious student (sound and music design) at Limkokwing University. Having met many friends in the music industry, he opened up a studio in 2004 and started to record for many artistes and for himself too. In 2006, he met Lebanese musician, Tip. They shared common thoughts about music and set off to start the Salam dream. "Working with Tip is inspiring. He gave me lots of music knowledge," said Salam in a recent interview. For Salam (real name Ashraf Salam A.Azlan), any kind of music inspires him. Influenced by reggae but also mixing various genres like rock, R&B and jazz into the music, Salammusik is now the talk-of-town. Last November, the 24-year-old Salam and his crew won the best album award at the Anugerah Industri Musik Malaysia 2012 (AIM 19). At the AIM awards, Salammusik's self-titled album faced tough competition from the likes of Hujan, Nora, Mizz Nina and Stacy, but this bohemian outfit defied the odds. On the award-winning album, the group collaborated with rapper Altimet, Zion Dread, Sayla and others. National laureate Datuk A. Samad Said's lyrics were also set to a roots rock groove on Malam Doa, which reflected Salammusik's diverse range of influences. For Salam, who also produces the band's music, the collaborative process has been one of his creative strengths. Before the Salammusik album brought the group wider national attention, Salam also had a hand in the K.O. The Mixtape by DJ Fuzz and Malique, which picked up the best hip hop song award at the AIM awards in 2010. If anything, Salam's role in hit singles like Cerita Kedai Kopi (with DJ Fuzz and Malique) and Bangkit (with Altimet) gave him a respectable profile in the music industry. As an independent recording act like Republic of Brickfields and Pure Vibracion, Salammusik has carried the torch for the homegrown reggae scene. In fact, Salam has a big year ahead with the group's second album O, which was launched last month. This new album, featuring 13 songs, strives for a broader music range with artistes like Altimet, Bouchra, Sayla, Zion Dread and Pitahati on board. Curiously enough, the group also reissued its Salammusik album last month. It looks like it has two albums to introduce to the masses. "We were also nominated for the best new artiste at AIM and we expected to win that. But bagging the best album of the year was such a great honour," said Bulya, the group's drummer, who is more than happy to play gigs with material from Salammusik and O sharing the spotlight. Apart from the affable Salam, the group includes two vocalists (Tip and Eyza Bahra), four horn players (Payung, Jaz, Djambul and Ferdy), percussionist (Bulya) and two guitarists (Ammar Habir and Kamal Razali). People say less is more but Salammusik has redefined the term by having 10 members in the group. "All of us have the same passion, which is music. To keep a big group together is pretty simple. We do what we love and we take care of each other," said Salam. Salam also added that he doesn't mind making the group bigger and encouraged budding musicians to join Salammusik. As a band, Salammusik has toured many places (reggae gigs and acoustic nights) around Malaysia, including festival spots at Urbanscapes and Rock The World in the Klang Valley last year. "Live performances are the best to do! And we love to travel around the country to spread our music," he added. With a band manager based in the Netherlands, Salammusik also has an opportunity to take its music to Europe. The hard-driving Tunggu Dulu, which features rapper Zion Dread, entered the Denmark music charts. "Our songs are also being played in London as many Malaysian students have embraced our music." Famed for socially-aware lyrics and reggae-infused music, the band retained its sound and flavour on the newly released O. The emphasis now, according to Salam, is on poetry. The album title itself holds weight and meaning. "O is a symbol for the circle of life; its continuity and unity that encompasses the cycle of life," said Salam. Touching topics that are close to the heart, fans can expect a new musical journey on O, that examines the human condition, unity, love, dreams and life. The future certainly looks bright for Salammusik. The group represents the continuity and evolution of reggae music in Malaysia, a genre which has legions of local fans and followers. And it looks like the cycle won't be broken anytime soon. "This is what we love to do. It's a platform for us to express ourselves and the music we make is for the people," concluded Salam. An enhanced version of this story came out in the Jan 17 edition of The Star Editor's Choice, which is a free downloadable app available on tablet devices. More details on the band at salammusik.com. |
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