They’re officially everywhere. Not that it came as a surprise, but it was kind of a familiar and homey to discover a hipster scene in Seoul. Not that there were fixes piled outside or anyone wearing a keffiah, but there was, as the photo above indicates, beer in cans, a sure sign of hipsterism, if ever there was one. Side note, Seoul has a “much less sexier” American Apparel store. Consider the hipster scene here to be slightly reduced in hormonal intensity, or perhaps just possessing less nihilism.
The scene, Gallery FACTORY, which coincidentally, or not coincidentally, is around the corner from the similarly named Brain Factory. The Western house style roof above the gallery proper is an installation by two German artists. FACTORY apparently is part of a Korean-German art dialogue and shows many German artists.
The evening’s performer, an argyle-clad youth wielding fog machines, video projectors, mixers and a pair of Nord keyboards (drool…), surrounded by no less than three professional cameramen. Documentation was in the house. The lady in pink reflected in the Plexiglas box was the most “I like to rave” of all the Korean croud. Also note the reflection of self doing the “taking a picture from above stance”. Here’s a shot of just the setup.
Before the performance, we all donned wireless headphones, as there would be no live sound, I was wondering if this was a conceptual gesture, or a no-noise to disrupt the neighbors gesture. The performer, identified only as “Bonobo Noise Project” explained to the crowd that the performance was about “unconsciousness”.
The set itself lasted about 15-20 minutes, and consisted of loops of trippy video blown through fog-filled boxes. Above is a bit of a sample from the beginning of the performance. The music sounded a bit like “soft techno” to me, but I prefer my techno/house music on the Hardstyle side of things, so I’m a bit demanding in that area. You can hear a little overflow of techno from the room full of headphones. I do like any event where a room full of people all intake the same sensation, but in an individual way, and I’ve heard about warehouse parties using FM headphone receivers that take place in total silence, and now that idea seems even cooler. The message in the video always had something to do with “welcome the new world, here comes the new world”, very “feel good” and “uplifty”.
Techno music, headphones, bright lights, beanie and totally coincidental See’s Candy lollipop all join together and transform artist Sojung Kwon into a raver. The power of music will transform you. Luckly, Sojung did not remain permanently a raver after the performance.
