Laibach to perform in Pyongyang, North Korea for Liberation Day

[babyonions.livejournal.com]

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 then-Yugoslavia’s leader Tito, and rising to fame as Yugoslavia steered towards self-destruction, Laibach have consistently opposed labels of any kind, be they “rock”, “pop”, “techno” or “industrial”. Self-styled engineers of human souls, Laibach can make you think, dance and march to the same music.

In August 2015, Laibach will become the first ever band of its kind to perform in the secretive country of North Korea, a reclusive garrison state as well-known for its military marches, mass gymnastics and hymns to the Great Leader, as for its defiant resistance to Western popular culture.

Laibach’s Liberation Day Tour will coincide with the 70th anniversary of the Korean peninsula’s liberation from Japanese colonization and subsequent division into two enemy states which confront each other in an uneasy truce to this day. The concerts will also be subject of a documentary film scheduled for premiere in 2016.

Laibach have just returned from a tour of sold out shows across North America, and will celebrate their 35th Anniversary with a very special show in Trbovlje on 4 July followed by a party meeting at nearby Mt. Kum and a rooftop concert at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Zagreb on 11 July.

The Museum of Modern Art in Ljubljana are currently exhibiting a Laibach / NSK retrospective, open until August 17.

Mute Mute @ YT

Mods, idek if this should be posted here, but it's pretty wtf and interesting to me (also, this is old news but I didn't even know about this until 5 minutes ago)
Idk if Omona is familiar with Laibach, but I've seen them live a few times and they are something else..

Comments

[allegsiseu.livejournal.com]

please source the YouTube video.

[babyonions.livejournal.com]

I fixed it, I'm sorry :3

[greenmoon666.livejournal.com]

they live of controversy....

[babyonions.livejournal.com]

I mean, being controversial was their point in the 80s, during the communist regime (and they were pretty good at it), but yeah, they are pretty stale these days. Tho I accidentally went to see their Bach fugues thing and it was cool. Not something I would see again, but it was cool

[greenmoon666.livejournal.com]

Oh they are good musicians, no one disputes that. It's just that even back then there were artists who rebelled publicly without so much pomp. Nowadays, sadly, most of the attention they get is through provocation and controversy. This is going to be a mess, a group of critiques here already said they believe they are only doing this for attention. And it's working.

[babyonions.livejournal.com]

I can appreciate a good public spectacle that raises some eyebrows, but honestly their whole act is getting old, a lot of old fans are meh about them now. I don't follow them that closely tho, so I could be wrong, I'm going by what people around me are saying (like my uncle who still claims that their concert in 88 or 89 was the best concert of his life lol)
But they (and the NSK collective) had a great impact on the ex-yu culture and considering Laibach is probably the only band from around here that made it big internationally, I have a soft spot for them tbh

Sorry for asking (and you don't have to answer me if you are uncomfortable), but are you Slovenian?

[greenmoon666.livejournal.com]

Exactly: meh.
Most of their old fans I know have moved on to Rammstein. I was never much of a fan. Went to a few concerts with my ex boyfriend but mostly because they are good musicians and their lives have lots of energy. But while their brand of activism was once vibrant and revolutionary, they have failed to adapt with the time.
Now they seem just endlessly contradictory and somewhat misogynistic, they just cause too much controversy with no outcome. Just to create a buzz....
Hehehehehe~~~ Why would I be uncomfortable? :) I'm Serbian.

[babyonions.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've been to a few of their concerts bc my friends love them, they always put on a good show and they are here like twice a year. But I agree, their message is really.. non existent rn. People mostly love them bc of sentimental reasons, I don't think they have a lot of new, young fans bc Rammstein and a lot of new groups do Laibach's thing better.

Znala sam da mora bit neko iz "naših" krajeva, ja sam iz Hrvatske lol

[greenmoon666.livejournal.com]

<3 Imala sam slicnu predpostavku, ali nisam bila sigurna odakle si! LOL

Ovde oni jos uvek idu samo zato sto nasi krajevi vecito bole od nostalgije. ;)
But honestly, aside from my ex, I don't really know any younger people who call themselves their fans.

[bomsnose.livejournal.com]

it's a mixture of many feelings knowing i saw the band live that is going to be the first western (?) pop (?) band to perform in north korea. next one should be the international noise conspiracy when they are together again. they toured china extensively if i remember correctly. dennis used to give the most ridiculous(ly powerful) anti-capitalist speeches in between songs. i don't remember laibach doing that, though their music and art direction is infinitely more totalitarian at the first glance.
btw if someone is up for cycling from russia or china to south korea, give me a shout. i'm probably going to save up for a few more years, just putting this up in time. saw the new-zeelanders drive through from russia to sk, so i need to go, too.

[4minutesluts.livejournal.com]

idk if it covers what appeals to you about that, but have you seen The Long Way Round? Ewan McGregor and one of his friends ride touring bikes from england to new york via europe and russia, i really liked it

[bomsnose.livejournal.com]

thanks for the tip! going to check that out. i'm generally more into this type of stuff to be honest: http://en.universewithme.com, but ewan mcgregor touring sounds great, too.
what western tourist meant visiting behind the iron curtain to a lot of locals -- a glimpse of the outer world -- that's one idealistic point. then i love biking a lot, especially in mountains. and then 2387454 other reasons. but yeah, it's a big project, will probably do many other trips before this one.

[dot-rose.livejournal.com]

Well...I hope they get out of North Korea safely and with everyone they came in with.

[modernelegance.livejournal.com]

Jon Oliver talked about this on his TV show last week! They disabled embedding but you can see it here (https://youtu.be/E-5-BsWk-yU).

[blue_ant]

I came here to post that. I love his show.

[modernelegance.livejournal.com]

I love his show too! Kinda bummed he's the only satirical news person left that is actually funny.

[blue_ant]

Me too. Though at this point it's the only news show I even watch (thank you to my parents for letting me use their HBO subscription!).

[atelierlune.livejournal.com]

I still don't completely get it, if this is like a massive troll or what.

I'm familiar with Laibach. I rolled with goths and rivetheads once upon a time.