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ElectRow www.electrow.com Submissions: content@electrow.com Editor: editor@electrow.com Yisia Korea Inc. 33rd Floor Trade Tower 159-1 Samsung-dong Gangnam-gu, Seoul 135-729 South Korea
Tel: +82 02 6007 2227 Email: electrow@yisia.com 2014 © ElectRow. All rights reserved. Yisia Korea Incorporation, a company incorporated and registered in South Korea under number 119-86-30762. Elect Row is a trademark of YISIA Korea Incorporation, registered in South Korea, and is being used under license.
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CONTENTS
ElectRow is excited to bring you the fifth volume of our magazine, jam-packed with tons of exclusive content that you are unlikely to find anywhere else in South Korea! Also, be sure to visit us online at www.electrow.com ELECTROW MAGAZINE - TABLE OF CONTENTS
INKBOMB 2014
This year’s tattoo convention ran into a bit of trouble with the law, but we had a great time checking out day 1 of the event! Find the event coverage on: Page 8
R16 KOREA
ElectRow was there for all three days of events at the R16 Korea Bboy World Championships. Get the event coverage on: Page 10
DJ WORDY
BRAD ROULIER
PRODUCTION TIPS & TRICKS
FRESH MIXES
The 3x DMC China Champion played a set at the R16 Korea After Party and then answered a few questions for an ElectRow exclusive. Page 24
We asked some of the top South Korea-based producers to share some powerful tips they’ve found to be most useful! Page 27
ElectRow ran across Brad at Club Octagon and asked him a few questions about Beatport.com and the transition from analog to digital music. Page 26
Give your speakers and headphones a break from the mainstream with these mixes from around the country. Page 28
VOLUME FIVE - JULY 2014
RBMA PRESENTS DANNY KRIVIT & FRANÇOIS K
Red Bull Music Academy gave Seoul’s house fans a night to remember earlier this month with some incredible NYC DJs. Page 14
DANNY KRIVIT
Following his set for the RBMA club night at Club Answer, we caught up with the legend for a brief, yet insightful interview. Page 16
COVER FEATURE: PUSHING GENRES WITH DIRTY EFNIC
Dirty Efnic gives ElectRow his thoughts on the South Korean bass scene and what needs to happen for the genre to grow and thrive. Page 20
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2 SUDDEN URGE LAUNCH PARTY @ CLUB FREEBIRD2 | July 25, 2014
INKBOMB TATTOO CONVENTION SEOUL 2014
At the end of last month, Ink Bomb 2014, a Seoul tattoo convention, was held at WAV on the Han River. Ink Bomb was an event that mixed a few unique subcultures in Korea. By far the greatest thing about the event was to see individualism -something very rare in a Korean culture of intense collectivism. Although the event was scheduled to kick off at 12 on Saturday the 28th, a line of very excited Koreans and expats waited out in the hot sun for almost two hours before the event was allowed to begin. But once things got rolling, nothing could stop the experience. With tattoo artists from all over the world in attendance, it truly was a multicultural art event. By far, the most represented of the foreign countries was Japan, which has a very old and established tattoo culture dating back hundreds of years. However, Spain and various artists from the United States also had booths at the event. Along with the tattoo culture, music was also a central theme of Ink Bomb. The stage set up in the main hall was continuously playing underground music, from punk to hip hop, and even featured a rockabilly band. DJ’s kept the tempo up by spinning classics and keeping the vibe
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alive in between bands. Various live performances were also scheduled to take place. However the biggest news that took place at the event was the lack of tattooing. The artists that traveled to Korea, at their own expense, were not allowed to do any tattooing due to it being an illegal act. Many people are unaware of the fact that administering a tattoo in Korea is actually illegal. The act of puncturing someone’s skin with a steel object is reserved only for medical certified individuals, such as surgeons and doctors. Walking around any of the stylish areas of large cities throughout South Korea various tattoo and piercing shops are in plain sight. However, similar to other Korean laws, such as prostitution and gambling, a blind eye is turned to tattoo establishments. The Ink bomb convention however did not fare as lucky. Due to the heavy publicity leading up to Ink Bomb, the authorities had all of the information to stop any illegal activity from taking place. On Saturday the event was delayed by almost two hours as police made sure with the event planners that no illegal activity would take place. It was announced Sunday morning that all of the events that day were completely canceled.
Throughout the convention were large banners stating “fight for your right” which is a political statement calling for a change to the current Korean laws. Things have been changing slowly in Korea regarding tattoos. Nowadays, more young people in Korea can be seen showing off their ink as tattoos have separated themselves from the criminal connection that existed a generation ago. However, because of Korea’s deep rootedness in Confucianism, the laws on the book will probably stay until the current generation of tattoo enthusiasts assume a position of power.
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Billy DeCola, an artist that came from Vancouver Canada, told us, “Rules are rules, if tattooing in illegal in S. Korea then the police were just doing their job preventing crimes from taking place.” Slightly upset with the weekend’s outcome, Billy still had this to say about Korea’s tattoo scene: “Tattooing is more accepted in the States so much that it’s gotten to the point where it’s not rebellious- it’s the norm. Just like buying a pair of jeans. So in a way, the tattoo scene in Korea is cool because it’s super underground. I had a great time in Korea and I’m thankful to have been a guest of the show, regardless of the outcome.”
R16 KOREA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2014 by Dr. Dave FRIDAY (Press Conference/Open Eliminations) : The R16 Press Conference was pretty professional and high-class for this set of ElectRow roaming reporters. With juice and Red Bull set up on red-clothed tables and chairs labeled for everyone and his brother, we sat in our ‘Press’ section and took it all in. The bigwigs of the Korean National Tourism Department, specifically the head of the International Division and the Team lead for International Performance, were in suits and ties up front next to Jay Park, who was dressed in street formal-wear. Each judge, individual performer and crew were introduced, and a few looked like they were overwhelmed by the cameras and the spectacle of it all, but I spotted at least on dude totally asleep in the B-Boy Judge section. See? Who says you can’t chill-ax when you need to? Anyway, we
met some official people who were either in charge of the event or in front of the audience introducing the show, such as MC Snipa, aka Jay Min Park. We got our free Press bag full of R16 geedunk stuff, and headed out the door to go over to watch the first performance of the tournament at Club Syndrome. Oh yeah – we stopped in the lobby of Olympic Hall and chatted up some B-boy individual dancers and took their photo. Lots of smiles and encouragement. These folks are the top of the game, and it was cool to get in their small spaces and be casual with them. We met B-girl Roxy from the UK, and made a point to remember her for the solo B-boy battles. She had received a special invitation the World Championships, based on her successful performances in other competitions – sweet.
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Open Eliminations for the remaining 6 spots in the final competition were held at Club Syndrome on Friday late afternoon. There was plenty of space to sit at tables or hang over railings around the dance floor, or sit jacked up against the actual R16labeled dance space. With only two performers getting selected for each of the three categories, competition was fierce, but RESPECT was ruling the house as everyone was grinding hard but giving out hugs, tugs and tags to their peers. The judges sat in chairs right in front of the dance floor, and two DJ setups were directly behind with two large screens playing the R16 visuals. I did not catch the DJ names, but I will find out somehow. The sound system actually made the floor throb, including where we were sitting, elevated almost directly above the might R16 logo beneath us, and perched in front of a small steel railing, and we steamed along with the performers while the music gave us ass massages for three hours. Most folks were practicing their moves and getting loosened up in some open spaces near the bars, or in the walkways or the VIP sections. There wasn’t much liquor going down; these folks were straight up here to keep the energy intensely high and their focus concentrated. And speaking of intense, the judges, all five for B-boy, and three each for Popping and Locking, were pretty damn stoic. I guess they were told to be serious about their judgments. So in this setting where we were in the face of the action, we definitely felt the pulse and power of the jumps, the flares, the one-handed spins, the waves, and wiggles, and the isolations. There was a bevy of B-girls, and at least two or more girl-to-girl battles. I saw one girl dressed in orange pants and blackand-white retro Wingtip shoes beat a guy dressed in black with his own Wingtips and earn her spot in the Locking Finals. Note: this was one to watch, as we will find out later. She was my personal choice, and
although I’ve got no judging skills, I just thought she was on top of her game. Likewise for a Japanese girl who took out a dude dressed in pink sneakers and an African skull cap to earn her spot in the B-Boy finals. Mad respect for the ladies at this elimination. I sat next to B-boy Warrior, aka Celestin Kapelo from Switzerland, who was accompanying his friends on the Switzerland crew KMZ. “That dude looks kind of old,” I said to him, talking about a popper down below. “It’s not just for the young ones. I am thirty, and I started when I was fifteen.” Cool. I felt a little bit older however, since I could tell you the name of the song ‘Get Ready’ released by a band called Rare Earth in 1969 by Motown Records, and which was a solid remix used for the locking battles. I think I used to imitate the long drum solo in the break, but whatever…I was the only one in the house who knew this except for maybe the DJ.Note: More on the older folks later on… I don’t know where they get the freaking’ energy, but these battles were powerful. I mean they were splitting veins and bending spines like breaking branches off a dead tree. There was so much snap, smack and pop that I thought surely someone was hurting themselves. The word flexibility might be a good word, but a better word for what I saw would be fireworks in a human frame, exploding for one minute at a time. The battles were two runs for each dancer, with the DJ mixing in a new song and a new rhythm for each run. Some of the dancers did not catch the rhythms exactly, and I think that might have been why some of them went down. It was a real challenge for a person to keep their style when the beat slowed down or sped up, and you could see the talent of some of these guys was top notch ‘cuz they were picking it up and not losing a beat. Really excellent talent all around. A closer and more intense experience for sure. Even though this was an Open Elimination, there
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were some standouts that probably will go far in the Finals. Yeah, there’s a ton of truth in that as you will see… Either you stayed at home and read about it or got out here and felt it for yourself. SATURDAY (SOLO COMPETITIONS): Olympic Hall was set up with massive SRO space directly in front of the stage; by 6:15 p.m. it was just about full standing room only. ElectRow set up directly behind the row of light and sound techies, and copped some excellent seating – just high enough to be above the heads of the floor standers. Concert safety announcement was right out of an inflight stewardess playbook, female voice irritatingly gentle. Show kicked off at 6:16 with the incredible Kenny Muhammad,The Human Orchestra, “floats like a butterfly and stings with the beats.” Voice beat dropping, triple and quad bass throat thumping, sick deep synth. If you closed your eyes it was a total electronic orchestra. F’yeah…changing up the rhythms, screaming, pumping the crowd, R16 B-boy REVOLUTION. DJ WRECKXKorea, DJ KISTAR-Japan, DJ LIGHT- Japan, and DJ BLESONE-USA, on perch above stage left, and WARSAW Band trio-Poland, (1 flute, one sax, and a drum machine/set of congas& bongos) above stage right, laying the tracks at the MC cue. MC GO in a wheelchair and MC Snipa standing by. The R16 Director decided to imitate the Netherlands and add the live band feature – it worked, like fire. Next were the B-boy judge intros – Lil G, Benji, Differ, Storm, and Asia One – each judge did a small intro dance, and DJ Benji took off his shirt and hat for a nice crowd throw. Five categories, each judge assigned to one category: Foundation, Creativity, Difficulty, Execution, and Performance. Two out of three rounds makes a winner.
Right into the solo B-boy battles; BAM! 2-time Champ Issei vs. Tata and Tata won 2-0! So Issei went down in the first round! NOT! And this was just jacked up all the way around, because the scoring clusterfudge was in full effect for the first three battles, and MC Snipa and MC Go were caught trying to un-fudge the resultz to the house, and they did it mostly in Korean, which didn’t help folks like me who were pretty stunned to see Issei return and Tata go down. Anyway…fix this crap before next year. Epic battle with Lil Zoo of Morocco and Roxy of the UK, one of the best of the night, and house favorite, no doubt. Killer spins from Lil Zoo and some wicked upside down stretch-out’s by Roxy resulted in a tiebreaker. Girlfriend ran out of gas, but gave it everything she had, and Zoo needed his best to beat her. She later confided to me that she was somewhat disappointed with her effort, so she could not feel satisfied that she had done her best. Now, this is a performer who might be just a little hard on herself, considering that she was given a special invitation to these World Championships. On to Quarterfinals. Next – Locking judge intros – Yuu, Ha, and Suga Pop – nice moves. Locking judges kicked it into high gear, with Ha of Korea bringing down the house with red, flamingass red – brim, suspenders, zoot pants, and I swear he was sporting ruby lipstick – even after losing half of his belt before he finished. Locking Quarterfinals ended with three from Japan and one from China. Remember the girl in the orange pants and Wingtips I had a crush on in the Open Eliminations @ Syndrome? She was killer, name Cio, from Japan, and she left bodies in her wake as she met her husband, Masato, in the finals. Too amazing. They have been dancing together for 12 years, and she took him down, but the money and hardware stayed all in the family. Kickin’ ass at 32 years old! Epic, in my book.
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The Popping Judges, during their intros, just didn’t seem to be feelin’ it. The Electric Boogaloos did a decent popping showcase, but the crowd flattened out like pancakes too fast off the grill as soon as they were finished. Popping Quarterfinals, and anotherOpen Elimination Qualifier, Kid Boogie of USA, worked his way into the finals. If you didn’t read the Press Conference and Open Elimination article, STOP HERE and go read it. Right – now you are caught up. Kid Boogie took down Sally Sly in the finals, even though his runs were way short of his allotted time, and Sally Sly was taking it to the last second. A tiebreaker decided the battle – dream come true for the last chance Kid from the U.S. of A. Back to B-boy Semi’s where two Koreans lost; Wing losing to Isse of Japan, and Octopus losing to Lil Zoo of Morocco. The final match was delayed for the PREPIX showcase, which was pretty impressive for an 8-person crew using extreme lighting to dynamite effect. The final battle needed a fourth round tiebreaker. This writer really was impressed by Lil Zoo, who had the flow goin’ in every single battle he hit. He just could not win over the judges in the final round, but he put Issei back up against the wall and the Champ pulled it out for win number 3, in a row, 2012, 2013, 2014!. Sick as hell. SUNDAY (CREW COMPETITIONS): Awh-rite! Final Day and Finals for the Crews, finally! Larger crowd than Solo’s, same MC’s, and same DJ’s in the lofts. Judge Benji – the undisputed crowd favorite, this time with three shirt throws to his standing worshippers up front on the floor. Set the Swagg. FEARLESS, LIMITLESS, ONLY THE BEST SHALL RISE...LET THE PLANET ROCK!!! Nice Crew intros this time, with USA’s Super Crew displaying full-speed video to match their swagg. My favorite was Predatorz from Russia, but what did I know? It was just a feeling, and you know how I am about the feel. Super Crew – too bad, they were taken down right out of the door with Jokester on Foundation, Creativity, and Execution, Chinese style, 3-0. Maybe only four months together in prep for this competition left them short on unity, but coming out of Las Vegas, Nevada, they were no newbies to R16 – this was their third appearance.
The host nation Korean Gamblerz took out Australia’s SKB 3-0 on Fundamentals, Dynamics and Execution. Repeat Crew and last year’s 2nd place Body Carnival of Japan took down Taiwan’s Double Kill on Fundamentals, Dynamics and Execution, again scoring 3-0. Finally, my hunters from Russia, Predatorz, took out Switzerland’s KFM 3-0 on Fundamentals, Dynamics and Creativity. The first four battles were shutouts, and the night looked like it was shaping up to be nothing but blowouts. The Semi-finals had Korea vs. China, with Gamblerz putting down the Jokers 3-1 on Creativity, Dynamics and Execution versus Fundamentals. In the other Semi-, my favorite Predatorz beat Body Carnival on Fundamentals, Creativity, and Execution 3-0. I was really diggin’ the Pred’z ‘cuz that was two straight shutouts, and they just kept killin’ it. I was getting blown away with their team roll-ins and jump-ins, and they were just synch’d up too tight to lose. A break in the battles saw the Electric Boogaloos perform a 4-way popping extravaganza, leaving the crowd joint-less and juiced for the final battle. Korea versus Russia, 8-man Gamblerz versus 7-man Predatorz, with a full 15 minutes of breakin’. I gotta mention that Predatorz won the Best Show Award for their intro set at Friday’s Press Conference, which put a cool 10 Benjie’s in their pockets for the ride back home. But the final battle went to Gamblerz, and the house came apart over the local crew taking the gold rings and $15K. Ups to the live Warsaw band for pushing the drum beats and never slacking on the pace. As a hardcore Latin addict, the congas and bongos were like rhythm elixir, and I got drunk with it. Congrats to all the Crews – they all work their collective asses off, and making it here was monumental for all. Special Congratulations to Gamblerz for their second win, 2008 and 2014! Also to the Korean National Tourism Organization for managing a professional-grade event, but still being able to let the vibe stay street-strong, super creative, and not too commercial. Finally, major, major kudos to the R16 organization for successfully pulling off their 8th World Championships in Korea – incredible! An ELECTROW-fying event, brought to you by the World of music and dance. -Dr. Dave
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RED BULL MUSIC ACADEMY PRESENTS: DANNY KRIVIT & FRANÇOIS K JULY 3, 2014
T
wo legendary DJ’s from New York City + Red
Bull Music Academy (RBMA) + Club Answer = a great weekday night out in Seoul. While most Korean clubs are not known for booking international DJ’s, the Red Bull Music Academy is opening Korean clubgoers to the real “club music” experience the right way – booking quality artists and choosing appropriate venues. Die-hard fans lined the streets of Gangnam on the night of the event. The ElectRow crew was among those fans ready to get inside for the unique Club Answer experience.
crowd abandoned their relaxed nature and transitioned to dance mode. The VIP table patrons made their way to the upper-floor railing to watch as the infections mania of François K’s musical groove made its way through the club. As a forefather of NYC house music, François K’s " sound was something truly unique for Club Answer and Korea as a whole. Even those unfamiliar with Francois K’s legendary status could tell that this " guy was good. And when we say good, we mean really good.
‘And when we
" With heavy influences of disco and funk, the freshly installed disco ball was a perfect fit for the vibe. As beams of light danced across the smiling " faces of everyone on the dancefloor, it was apparent that disco was definitely not dead.
As with any club night in Seoul, say good, we the party was relaxed early in the night as people got their" mean really" Similar to the invigorating sensation you get when you try wristbands and headed in. " Red Bull for the first time after years However, the opening DJ, of sucking down those “other” energy Jinwook, helped keep the crowd loose and " drinks, the music ignited a feeling of energy moving about on the dance floor. By midnight, and excitement in the crowd. People were the mega club was filling up nicely as François hearing a whole new side of dance music that isn’t K took over the decks. As he transitioned into his played often in Seoul. With playing NYC house and unique style, it was quite clear that he had been disco in Korea, comes great responsibility. perfecting it over the past 30+ years. The Maintaining crowd interest is very important for
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released a compilation album on the Ministry of any DJ, but in Korea especially, you have to pull Sound label. If you were at Club Answer, or even the audience in. Once François K dropped some if you weren’t, and enjoyed the music that you James Brown into his set and the crowd heard, be sure to check the compilation roared, we knew they were hooked. album out here. Around 2 AM, Danny Krivit joined François K on stage as he was Once Danny finished his set, he winding down his set while headed up to a VIP room, while continuing to wind up the crowd. Korea’s own DJ Conan continued ‘As beams of light It was awesome to see these to keep the crowd occupied. danced across the two guys together behind We were fortunate enough the decks – their natural to meet up with Danny smiling faces of habitat. The sonic and sit down to ask him everyone on the sound waves had a few questions. You’ll already changed a little find our interview with dancefloor, it was bit of everyone at that him in the pages apparent that point, but the night was far following this article, so from over. keep on reading. disco was
definitely not Danny Krivit took control of the Finally making it out of the club decks next, and gave Seoul a taste around 4 am, just before the sun dead.’ of what he has been doing since the was about to rise and welcome in age of 14. As we walked around the Friday morning, the ElectRow team club taking pictures and talking to club" will never forget what the Red Bull Music goers, we were constantly dodging people " Academy brought to Club Answer that night. dancing to the music We are extremely happy that RBMA is continuing pumping through the to deliver these artists to Korea and we definitely ‘With the speakers. When the want to say a big “Thank you!” to them for letting music is that good, its alcohol kicking us be there to witness. hard to resist the in, people put -Elect Row impulse to move your body. With the " aside their alcohol kicking in, inhibitions and people put aside their inhibitions and let the let the music music take control. take control.’ On many occasions, we’ve seen people dance in Seoul clubs, but not like this Thursday night. The mood was different and the people were happy to be exactly where they were. Danny Krivit delivered the same quality of DJing that we had seen just before from Francois K all the way up until about 3:30 AM. It’s no surprise that the two of them make up two-thirds of the Body & SOUL collective, which puts on events all over the world every year. 2011 marked the 15 year anniversary of Body & SOUL and they
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RED BULL MUSIC ACADEMY TOKYO 2014
NYC HOUSE LEGEND: DANNY KRIVIT After an incredible set on the mainstage of Club Answer for the Red Bull Music Academy club night with François K, we caught up with legend Danny Krivit. As we mentioned in the ‘Coverage’ article earlier in this issue, Danny started DJing at the age of 14. However, he was raised in an extremely musical family in New York City, USA, so we asked him to talk about that to start off.
because I was too young to get into clubs. And I would see Santana's first performance. I saw Jimi Hendrix there. Sly and the Family Stone. Just every week there was something. Seeing Led Zepplin in the Garden when they first came out, and James Brown at the Garden.” ELECTROW: So when you first started producing, which of those, or which genre, had the biggest effect on you?
DANNY KRIVIT: “Like all kids and parents, it's almost like, you want to do " DK: “I think that over something they’re not doing " everything, James Brown had or you don’t want to do what " the most serious effect on “It just seemed that when I they’re doing. But I couldn't" me. It was really in my was growing up, the whole help be influenced just by " blood. That was the core of music in general. It was a " neighborhood was that and" my direction or how I felt music household. It just " about music.” I was around really key seemed that when I was people in the neighborhood ER: You’ve held down a lot growing up, the whole of residencies, have you that you couldn't help but neighborhood was that and I kept count? was around really key people " be inspired by.” in the neighborhood that you " DK: “I haven’t made a count. couldn't help but be inspired It was a lot. It was a lot of by. In my neighborhood, I grew up with Nile years, a lot of residencies.” Rodgers , and one of my classmates was Creed Taylor Jr. - [his] father owned CTI records. And ER: Which residencies stick out as your when I’d go after school over to his house, his favorite overall? father would be trying to introduce us to Stanley Turrentine and Freddy Hubbard and all these DK: “I think the two that I am doing now - the 718 people and I was a kid and I was like, "Yeah, yeah Sessions and the Body and Soul really stick out. sure." You know? But, I couldn't help but be really Next to that, doing the long residencies at Roxy impressed by meeting people like Janis Joplin, Jimi and Laces for roller-skating were great. A whole Hendrix, you know, John Lennon, all these people. different thing.” [And] going to the Fillmore East every week,
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ER: The 718 Sessions is supposed to be the best party in NYC. Do you agree with that? DK: “If not the, it’s one of the [best]. It’s a unique party and we put a lot into it. And I can see a big difference between that party and other parties. It’s [a] very special crowd.”
DK: I can’t say I’m familiar enough. I want to learn more. I’ve only been here twice, a total of less than 48 hours, so I don’t to say Oh it’s this or that. I don’t know, but I’d like to.
ER: Do you have any particular neighborhoods in NYC that you frequent? Do you still go back to where you grew up?
ER: A lot of DJs don’t get the opportunity to play and then take a little vacation.
DK: “Yeah, it’s funny because up until two years ago, I lived in a 10 block area. Now I’m in Williamsburg, so maybe it’s a 30 block area. I’m still in the East and West Village almost several times a week. All the time. I’m still record shopping there and different things. Williamsburg is a great second home. That’s a good music place.” ER: You are here with Red Bull Music Academy. You’ve been involved with them in the past. What do you talk about with your lectures [or Q&As]? DK: “I’ll tell you, Red Bull is very intuitive. They have some very great questions...very down to earth...very musical. They have a really educated audience that’s music lovers, so the questions reflect that. It’s always a pleasure doing those.”
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ER: Since this is a ‘Korea’ magazine, what is your impression of Korea? What do you like most?
DK: Yeah, I haven’t learned much about the culture and things. From what I see, I like, but there is hardly anything I can speak of. After thanking him for his time, Danny was out the door and on the way to get on a plane a few hours later. We want to say another big Thank you! to Danny and to the guys at Red Bull Music Academy for giving us the opportunity. Danny mentioned that he will probably be involved with the actual Red Bull Music Academy in Tokyo this October. For more information on the Red Bull Music Academy, you can visit their site here. Also, be sure to give Danny Krivit’s page a visit here.
Photo Courtesy Of: Ultra Music Festival Korea
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W
Cargo was the perfect place for drum n’ bass music and that’s precisely why Cargo was host to some big acts including Goldie, DJ Storm, Lynx, Marky, and MC Stamina.
e first
encountered Dirty Efnic at a Sub Syndic8 party in Songdo, a rather new city on the coast of Korea, near Incheon. A few of us from the magazine went to Interestingly check it out and enough, it was take a few Helix Squared photos. The (see our cover music was feature from already going Volume Three) when he arrived, that gave Dirty but as soon as he Efnic the dropped his stuff opportunity to and picked up the MC at Cargo. “I microphone, we came to Korea knew this MC was and I said, ‘This talented. Since was it. I’m done then, we’ve with the music. I followed him just want to get around to a few away from more gigs in everything.’” But Seoul. From Helix brought him small underground bass to Cargo and told him that parties to the main stage at they wanted an MC and the DJ Mag #9 ranked club WITH were willing to give Dirty in the world, Club Octagon, Efnic a shot. The rest is Dirty Efnic has done nothing history. but blow us away with his lyrical prowess and uplifting Since Cargo closed, Dirty energy. His command of the microphone easily Efnic has continued to perfect his art and perform puts him among the best emcees on the peninsula. all over Seoul and its surrounding areas. It’s
PUSHING GENRES
DIRTY EFNIC
rather interesting considering the fact that he We sat down with Dirty Efnic to talk about his never expected to be doing music here. “Back in experiences and life in Korea, starting with how he England, I was playing on pirate stations. That got into the Korean scene. “For MCing in Korea, it was the buildup of grime - UK grime. Garage was all started with Cargo,” he told us. The ‘Cargo’ he sort of like dying. Then after that, I went away for was referring to was Club Cargo, a club that was a little vacation in London, and then I just decided located near the park opposite of to come here and get away. And, Hongkik University. In fact, if you “For MCing in Korea, it all yeah, I ended up in the music.” were standing in the park back When we asked if he was glad to then, odds were, you’d be able to started with Cargo.” have gotten back into it, he said, “I hear the bass surging from the don’t know. It was just like, I club. didn’t expect nothing from it. I come and play and Inside the venue, the bass was so heavy, it’d knock drinks right off the table. “You couldn’t even go for a piss,” he mentioned. “Literally, your f**cking piss would just be splashing all over the cubicle.” Nobody would come in to complain about the noise, and when you emerged as the sun rose, your ears would be ringing. Although the damage to your ears was done, it was proof that you’d had a wild night.
then doors just started opening.” Dirty Efnic has been in Korea long enough to have seen genres evolve and change. The present nature of the scene excites him. “I’m really happy now because there’s more bass-driven genres coming in.” However, Dirty Efnic also agrees with something that Helix Squared mentioned in his interview - since there are many smaller bass parties in Korea, the scene is actually getting torn
apart. “Yeah, it would be good if we all “The genre’s together with venues and the came as one, because it is such a small underground. With jingles, this could be there, but scene,” he says. One thing that Dirty great for the underground scene. Also, nowhere to" he hopes that more radio stations in Efnic stresses is that no one should hate each other in such a small scene. The facilitate the Korea will give more DJs chances to play vanity and deceit that happens between " on-air. music.” DJs or event organizers needs to disappear. “Kill it out from the music. It’s " Back in England, Dirty Efnic used to play not healthy.” People need to work together to help" on pirate radio stations like Time FM and Touch FM. the scene grow as a whole. This is Dirty Efnic’s " “Pirate radio stations have helped to blow up many aim with Sub Syndic8 - if one succeeds, they all " different acts, even in the mainstream.” For newer succeed." genres, pirate radio stations are almost the only option for people to get their music heard. “I Another important factor for the bass-driven scene remember, in my teens, I used to see people is the venue. “I’ll tell you, we’d need somewhere climbing on tall tower blocks. And, it’s not like in out in a field.” Dirty Efnic is definitely right about Korea where you have a key for the door. So, the field. It would be perfect mainly because you what we’d have to do, is climb out the window and, wouldn’t have to worry about noise complaints. on a scaffold, put up the aerial. Some people end This happens quite up losing their often when basshomes for allowing driven music is us to run the studio being played. “The in their homes. genre’s there, but Some faced nowhere to facilitate evictions from the music.” project-style buildings.” So, as “I see there is a you can tell, there market, but the club are a lot of risks owners, they have involved with the to do their research benefits of the on locations - places stations. where bass-heavydriven music can be Dirty Efnic says that played with no Korea would really disturbances.” If the benefit from a pirate venue is sorted out, station in many there are still other ways. First of all, it things that are would give important about throwing parties. Sub Syndic8 party in Songdo, where we underground/unsigned Dirty Efnic has been amazing producers, DJ’s, or MC’s the first met Dirty Efnic. some of the local DJ’s by how he opportunity to get their stuff handles underground flyering. He isn’t afraid to heard. Also, the venues would be able to play walk up to girls, climb on top of bus stations, or jingles for their upcoming events. “Everyone’s whatever else is needed to market his events. This driving. If they’re stuck in traffic, they’re tuning is something that sets Dirty Efnic apart from others their radio. It’s not everyday, alright, you may in the scene. listen to a CD you like, but you’re not gonna listen to the same song maybe 10 times...15 times, so “Pirate radio stations Dirty Efnic you’d wanna have a look at what’s around. By especially have helped to blow up then on an off chance going up and down the dial, loved what they’d pick us up. That goes around. ‘Oh look, many different acts, Cargo would there’s waegooks and there’s Koreans working even in the do for their together.’ And that’s what I really want.” events back mainstream.” in the day. Dirty Efnic went on to say that the radio stations “On the night, that do play music, only play the mainstream stuff. you’d be walking into the main part of Hongdae, “It’s not giving people notice of what’s going on in and on the floor, you could see the whole fliers just the club scene, outside. And I want the more taped down. And there is no way of removing it, people in. The more the better. There’s creative even if you were to kick it with your foot, you people everywhere.” couldn’t rip it off. And that’s what made the event As far as music, for any genre, Dirty Efnic told us a really good, successful one.” that ‘dubplates’ are the most important things for the underground. Essentially, dubplates are Marketing is a huge part of the nightlife culture. You have to be able to get people in the door to unreleased edits, remixes, bootlegs, etc. that are your event. With technology, the possibilities are put up on the internet on sites like SoundCloud. endless with how you can market. Dirty Efnic They give unsigned producers exposure and wants to see the commercial radio stations work recognition. Dirty Efnic really respects a local DJ,
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Scotticus Finch, that researches extensively to find exclusive tracks that almost nobody else has. Respect for other artists is truly important for communities to thrive, and Dirty Efnic is a prime example. In Seoul as a whole, we are seeing the drum n’ bass genre make its way into some of the bigger nightclubs. A short while ago, Club Octagon’s MC Goldtea invited Dirty Efnic to come in and check out the scene. When Dirty Efnic showed up, he recognized a few hip-hop/deep house/tribal house DJ’s that he knew from before. However, when they started dropping in DnB, he was blown away. While Octagon was attempting to match up some of Seoul’s top hip-hop MCs with the drum n‘ bass, the genre requires a specific type of MC. “Drum n‘ bass, it’s just so fast, you’ve got to be on your toes. And then your brain’s got to be with it. If you’re not, you’re off the beat.” Dirty Efnic said. The voice is also an important factor. Dirty Efnic says people always comment on his voice being croaky. There’s a reason behind this, as he explained. “The bass in drum n’ bass is so loud, you’re always shouting over the music. You’re not shouting to an extent where you’re just doing something like heavy metal, but you’re just trying to keep in sync with the music. But, you’ve got to have a really, really powerful voice to pierce it.”
want to dance to drum n’ bass, but what they don’t seem to understand, [is that] there is no style. There is no rhythm to it. It’s your own groove.” That is what is so beautiful about the DnB genre. While most people that first hear the genre are trying to keep up with the drums, the tempo is way to fast for that. Dirty Efnic wants you to know: “Just feel the bass. That’s what it’s there for.” Even over the past few months, ElectRow has enjoyed watching the scene evolve and grow. If things keep progressing at this pace, drum n’ bass and other bass-driven genres should be dominating many of the clubs across Seoul and maybe even the entire country. As it grows, we hope to see Dirty Efnic stay at the forefront of the movement.
Be sure to check out the Sub Syndic8 Facebook page here for more information on bass events, DJ’s, MC’s, and photos!
So after visiting Octagon and checking it out, Dirty Efnic started to perform there for the DnB nights in the lounge. And then, earlier this month, we followed Dirty Efnic to watch him play on the main stage at Club Octagon. We were really impressed by the crowd’s energy. You can see in the photo above that people were really getting into the music and dancing. “Girls, don’t be shy to dance.” Dirty Efnic said during our interview. “I mean, I see people. They’re dancing, and they
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ELECTROW EXCLUSIVE WITH: DJ WORDY Following his incredible set on the main stage of Gangnam’s Club Octagon for the R16 Korea After Party, the 3 time DMC China champion, DJ Wordy, sat down for an ElectRow exclusive interview. It was an awesome opportunity to talk about his origins, get some advice, and find out about his plans for the future. DJ Wordy started scratching at age 18 by watching videos to learn the techniques. He believes this method works well because you can watch to learn the basics and then, “create your own style eventually,” he added. Starting out, Wordy used an interesting setup - one Walkman CD player, a mixer, and one CD turntable. “I [would] play instrumental CDs through the Walkman, playing beats, and starting scratching with one turntable for one year.” For him, he didn’t start learning in order to play clubs. He did it because he just thought it was really cool, so only having one turntable was all he needed to learn. However, after that first year he
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got a second turntable and was able to practice things like beat juggling and mixing which definitely came in handy for the DMC competitions. Wordy is living proof that hard work pays off. He felt like he deserved his titles since he practiced very hard, and we couldn’t agree more. As far as the most important aspect of DJing, he told us, “I think having fun.” In this day and age, technology has progressed very quickly and DJ Wordy says that keeping up with the times is important for a DJ. According to him a DJ’s job is “bringing the new music and bring[ing] the vibe.” In order to do that, keeping up with the latest technology is important. However, he says that it doesn’t really matter what equipment you are using. “As long as you [are] rocking the crowd with your stuff, then you’re good.” Everyone has an opinion on how DJs should play and what equipment they should use, but at the end of the day, DJ Wordy is right. It’s about the crowd and whether or not they are feeling your set. He mentioned, “These days, [being a] DJ is so cool. Everybody wants to be a DJ.” However, he strives to bring something else to the table by approaching DJ
Photo Courtesy Of: Ultra Music Festival Korea
equipment as With three titles under his belt, “Right now I’m more instruments. focused on making music,” Wordy continued. “I have He feels that two album[s] and one EP release.” Having worked scratching, with people like Damon Dash and groups like Dipset, mixing, Wordy is definitely an artist to keep your eye on in remixing and the coming years. He plays a lot of These days he doing uses a streamlined digital setup with a laptop, everything live soundcard, and various software/plugins like Ableton is what sets and NI Massive. He used to use a lot of analog him apart from equipment like a MOOG and other synths, and still just being a does, but obviously digital production tools have “jukebox”. made things much easier, especially when you travel When DJs a lot like Wordy does. He likes the warmth and punch aren’t behind analog offers, which often doesn’t fully transfer over the decks, they in digital production. have a lot of other duties including practicing and finding new As we've done with many of our interviews, we asked music. Wordy practices everyday and is constantly him to give us a brief production tip. His advice was searching for new tracks. He made an interesting that it doesn’t matter if you are using cheap or comparison. “Finding new music is like finding expensive equipment, just make sure it “sounds drugs . . . every day you have to [be] searching for good”. This is important for those of you just new music.” While DJs used to have starting out in the production to search through tons of vinyl, game. You don't have to things have become much easier. “Finding new music is like spend tons of money to get Everything is at your fingertips with finding drugs . . . every day creative and make good the internet (see our interview with music. (For more production you have to [be] searching Beatport.com’s Brad Roulier if you tips and tricks keep reading need more proof). However, the this issue). for new music.” internet still requires digging. Wordy told us that he likes to utilize While in Korea, DJ Wordy various blogs and sites such as Google, YouTube, and spent some time sightseeing and eating street food/ SoundCloud to find his new music. When it comes to Korean BBQ, which is always important. We hope to styles and genres, DJ Wordy’s sets feature a little bit have him come back in the very near future to show of everything. Before getting started as a DJ, Wordy the crowds his very technical approach to DJing. In played guitar for years. He listened to a lot of rock the meantime, he’s going to continue making good of roll, but is also influenced by hip hop, electronic, music and traveling the world to “bring the party to jazz, funk, etc. He tries to touch on everything everywhere”. during his sets, because that is the “fun part,” according to him. “So basically, like a chef cooking We wish DJ Wordy the best of luck in his future good food for party people [or] whatever,” he told us. endeavors and appreciate him taking the time to sit down and give us some awesome insights into his For Asia, electronic music is new in the grand scheme life. Special thanks also go out to Red Bull China and of time. Therefore, DJs have to work on educating Club Octagon for facilitating the interview. the crowds at the same time you are entertaining them. The U.S. and Europe are among Wordy’s For more info on DJ Wordy, you can check him out on favorite places to play because the crowds know his website right here. “what’s up” and “people really appreciate what you do,” Wordy said. - ElectRow
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Photo Courtesy Of: Ultra Music Festival Korea
WHY WE LOVE CLUBBING AN UNEXPECTED INTERVIEW WITH BRAD ROULIER OF MANUFACTURED SUPERSTARS
While at a club recently, ElectRow stumbled upon a legend in the EDM music scene. What started as a friendly chat with one of the club’s guests, led to an unexpected interview. MC Dirty Efnic had just finished his performance on the mainstage of Club Octagon, as a new fan approached him. It turned out that this new fan was in town with Manufactured Superstars, who would go on to play the mainstage the following night. After a quick introduction in the noisy entrance of the club, the guest quickly went downstairs and returned moments later with Brad Roulier, one of the members of Manufactured Superstars. After inquiring about having a brief interview, we proceeded back stage to a quiet room. A copule members of the staff surrounded a small table filled with several bottles of half-finished spirits. With the quick push of a record button, we were in business. Hailing from Denver, Colorado, Manufactured Superstars is a DJ/production duo that came to Korea on a promise. This was Brad’s first trip to Seoul and the duo’s first night off in a long time so obviously he was having a lot of fun. They had just finished gigs in Shanghai and Macau and made it over with a bit of free time to check out some of Seoul’s sights, including the Emperor’s Palace, which was Brad’s favorite. More than anything though, he was excited to play the following night. He smiled big and told us, “Tomorrow...I can’t wait til they hear house music,” referring to the Korean crowd. With so many styles out there, we were curious how they intended to approach the set at Octagon and Brad gave us a straightforward answer - “just house music.” He continued, “So, whatever you say, it’s techno, progressive, trance, drum n bass; it always comes back to house [music]." It was clear that Brad had a passion for house music and most people may not know just how deep that passion is. Other than being a DJ and producer, Brad was one of the original founders of Beatport.com. For those unfamiliar with Beatport, it is an online music store that specializes in electronic music. Started back when DJs were the making the transition from analog to digital music, it has become the go-to website for everything from classic tracks to brand new releases. Brad told us that the main goal for Beatport was to make sure that people could find and download any song they were looking for. “Even if it’s really bad,” he added. . In the past few years, the EDM scene has grown significantly, especially in the United States. We figured that Beatport must’ve seen a spike in sales, but Brad
brought up an interesting point. “Our customers are DJs.” Even though the general consumer was listening to EDM, Beatport was there to provide high quality music that “DJs want to buy, not people.” He went on to mention that “only 17% of our music is from North America and 17% of our sales are from North America.” The rest of the music was being purchased and downloaded around the globe. “So, that’s when I knew that we had a good company, when our CFO was like ‘24 hours a day, seven days a week, anywhere around the world, every second, someone is downloading a song from Beatport. That’s when I was like ‘We’re actually doing something that people like.’” It doesn’t matter what holiday is happening in any given country, people are still buying music from Beatport. Although the company was sold, Brad said that he is still an advisory board member and will always get his tracks from the site. It’s incredible how quick and convenient getting new music has become thanks to technology and sites like Beatport. We talked to Brad a bit about his favorite format and he said that he actually has only DJed digitally. He started out on CDs, which required time to burn the CDs, but 3 years ago he made the switch to just putting all his music on USBs. While USBs are super convenient, they also have a downside. He told us a fun story about that. “So, one of my best friends is Kaskade and he was playing with us, and he dropped his USB and it was like the f**king world came to an end.” If you drop that small device, you’re screwed. So, kids, always make backups in case you end up like Kaskade dropping yours right before a set. Before we wrapped up chatting with Brad we asked him to give us a quick production tip since we compiled a list for this issue from some of Korea’s prominent producers (keep reading this issue for that). The guys produce in Ableton, but they don’t master, so he advises “When you send to the mastering house, make sure it’s done.” Short and sweet, but incredibly valuable information. And just like that, we said our farewells and wandered back onto the dancefloor. It just goes to show that you never know who you are going to meet when you put yourself out there and embrace the club scene. We encourage everyone to party responsibly, but at the same time, you have to get out there and party. Music brings people together and that’s exactly why we hope to continue bringing you more news on events and artists coming through South Korea!
PRODUCTION TIPS & TRICKS We asked some of South Korea’s most accomplished music producers if they could give us a tip that they think is most useful for production. If you are just starting out at producing or if you have been doing it for years, you might find a few of these quite valuable.
TIP: "There are obvious advantages of learning some basic music theory and it will open you to much more when it comes to your depth in composing.”
TIP: “If I could only give one piece of advice, it would be how to get one or two synths, one or two compressors, one or two EQs, and one or two reverbs and learn them really well. Read the manuals, watch videos online, find everything you can. There are so many tools these days that it's easy to become a Jack of all and master of none.”
TIP: “Try to work with other producers you can enjoy to work with, I'm sure they are better than you at some points!”
- Bajan / Vodge Diper TIP: “You come into realisation after producing music for a while that having a dedicated discipline to make music everyday to train your ears is very helpful. Dedicate your time to train your ears on frequency ranges, dynamic ranges, and harmonic contents. After all you are making music with your ears first!” - J-Path TIP: “Preventing Digital clipping: make sure you [are] not running your faders as well as your insert effects"too hot", i.e -going over 0DB into the red. To solve this issue, use a a plugin similar to that of Ableton’s utility effect and set its volume to about -12. Make sure to insert it first in your effects chain before all your vst plugins to also prevent your effects from clipping. This will result in greater headroom and a better overall recording.”
- Mykian
- Steve Wu TIP: “The more new music you listen to, the more ideas run through your mind. As for working a track, layer the drums for a fuller feel.” - Helix Squared TIP: “Putting compressor on your channels doesn't make your sound powerful, make strong tunes using your VST instruments or Plug-ins!” - Ferry Ha TIP: “The kick and clap should be in tune with each other. When they seem slightly off, adjust using detune.” - Aaron Cho TIP: “Use sidechain compression on most of your instruments (like Nicky Romero's 'Kickstart'). Check the kick's key first, as it will help stabilize and keep the bottom end powerful (refer to Nicky Romero's kick).”
- David of DOOS
- Flash Finger
TIP: “Less is more. Don’t be afraid to delete instruments, samples or effects that don’t fit. Limiting your options forces you to get creative and experiment.”
TIP: ’In the modern era of sample packs and producer loops one of the most underrated yet most influential production tools that is often ignored is eq'ing. Be ruthless with it cutting out as many frequencies as you can to create more space and clarity in the mix!
- John Gaska / AKSAG / Toy Medic
- Ecky Thump
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ELECTROW’S #FRESHMIXES
THE SUDDEN URGE SERIES: SCOTTICUS FINCH + AKSAG Sudden Urge is a new monthly night that was launched at Club Freebird2 in Hongdae on the 25th of July. Featuring incredibly talented acts like Ian L., M!LK, Scotticus Finch + AKSAG, Helix Squared, Dirty Efnic and Caliph Knight, the night covered several genres. For the first edition of The Sudden Urge Series of mixsets, Scotticus Finch & AKSAG deliver some booty shaking trap/twerk music. We hope to see this genre grow in popularity in Korea. If you have no idea what it's all about, then let this mix introduce you.
LISTEN HERE
ELECTROW’S #FRESHMIXES
DNBS RECORDED LIVE SET FROM JULY 5, 2014 DNBS took place earlier in July and they managed to record part of the event for people to check out and even download. DNBS stands for Drum N Bass Seoul, so the title tells you exactly what you can expect from the mix. Dirty Efnic, our cover feature, was a part of this night, so that’s an even bigger reason for you to grab this mix!
DOWNLOAD HERE
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