Nam Ky Khoi Nghia - Asialife HCMC

B
y the end of my interview
with Korean rock band Biuret,
there is only one question left
to ask: How did lead guitarist
Happy Jackson get his name?
Laughter erupts throughout
the hotel room, and drummer
DR buries his head in his hands
as Happy begins to excitedly tell
his story.
“An underground religious
cult wanted to charge me money
to change my name to Happy
Mandela, as it would bring me
luck,” he explains. “I’m a big
Michael Jackson fan, though,
so I thought that if I swapped
Mandela for Jackson, it would
bring me even more luck!”
Happy is evidently very
satisfied with the results. As
Biuret enters 2010, they have the
same steam train momentum
behind them that fueled their
rise to prominence during the
second half of 2009, placing
them among the likes of China’s
P.K. 14 and Japan’s Toe as bands
garnering acceptance from the
West and forming the genesis of
a pan-Asian rock explosion.
Local Acclaim
Formed in the Hongdae area
of Seoul, Biuret consists of the
stunning Hye Won Moon (lead
vocalist, chief songwriter and
guitar), Jai Hyun Ahn (bass),
Happy Jackson (lead guitar)
and DR (drums). Back in 2002
the four were either in school or
doing the rounds on the barfly
circuit as musicians for hire.
With the music scene in Hongdae
being particularly small, it
wasn’t long before the quartet
ended up jamming together.
Recognizing their undeniable
personal chemistry and their
shared love for the early 90s Seattle
grunge scene and the more
theatrical rock of Muse, Biuret
officially formed.
When asked what it’s like
being a rock band in Asia, Hye
appears slightly embarrassed
and addresses the question with
humility. “It’s hard for us to say
what it’s like to be a rock band
in Asia as we haven’t performed
everywhere yet. As far as being
a rock band in South Korea, it’s
definitely not easy because it’s
not mainstream. 80 percent of
the time is hardship and only 20
percent is fun. You really need
to endure to get to a certain
level.”
This modesty is typical of
Asian rock bands, but in Biuret’s
case, it betrays the scope of their
achievements. Their debut EP,
released in 2005, was met with
acclaim and sold out within
months. This local success led to
an opening gig for British indie
legends Oasis in Seoul, “a great
experience” according to Happy
Jackson, as Biuret had grown up
listening to them.
Two years later their first
album, Be Full of Spirit – Beautiful
Violet, and its 2009 follow-up
Dreams Come True established
Biuret as South Korea’s most
popular rock band since Cherry
Filter.
The Next Level
Demonstrating a remarkable
understanding of the dynamics
of melodic punk rock with
South Korea is widely recognized
as a pop music powerhouse, but
Seoul-based band Biuret aims to
show that the country can rock.
John Thornton speaks to the band
at their first show in Vietnam.
Photo by Fred Wissink.
The Seoul
of Rock
a dark twist over the course
of two full-length albums, the
band experienced a decisive
turning point in their career
last year when they entered
and won the international talent
spotting contest Sutasi—no
mean feat considering Sutasi
takes in contestants from all
over Asia.
“We really had no clue what
Sutasi was, as there had never
been anything like it before,”
says Hye. “We looked at it as
more of a trip for us to take.”
However, the band soon
realized the seriousness of the
event when they met the panel
of music industry experts, who
had worked with the likes of
Steve Wonder and acts from as
far and wide as India.
“We watched other artists
perform and were completely
in awe of them,” recounts Hye.
“After that we went straight
back to our hotel room and
practiced all night long.”
The practice paid off in
more ways than one. Happy
Jackson reveals that winning
gave the band a newfound
confidence in what they do. He
says they’re now able to get
out of their comfort zone and
step up their game in front of
any crowd.
Bassist Jai elaborates: “A
lot has changed since winning
Sutasi. It’s opened up the
scope of our music and our
way of thinking. The thought
of branching out had never
occurred to us before. Now we
have more gigs and hopefully
more longevity as a band.”
Around the World
Indeed, the opportunities
post-Sutasi have been arriving
thick and fast. Biuret was
invited to perform at Perth’s
One Movement For Music industry
showcase last summer,
whereupon they struck up a
friendship with fellow HCM
City headliners, Melodramas.
This in turn led to Biuret
supporting Melodramas at a
gig in the U.K. after wowing
more industry experts at the
International Live Music Conference
in London last month.
Their recent debut in Vietnam
at The Hi-Fi was met by an
enthusiastic crowd of local
Vietnamese.
An English-language album
targeted at the international
market is also in the works,
proving Biuret’s intent on
becoming as big as possible.
The band has yet to enter the
studio to record the album,
so pinning down its sound is
difficult. However, they insist
that only moderate changes
will be made in order to maintain
the essence of previous
releases.
The album will be followed
by an extensive tour, taking in
Asia, Australia and the 25th
anniversary of the Independence
Rock festival in India
and jaunts to the United States
and Europe in early 2011.
With Biuret knocking on the
door of the West, alongside
P.K. 14 and Toe, the predicted
Asian rock explosion may just
be a little louder than first
anticipated.
“A lot has changed since winning
Sutasi. It’s opened up the scope
of our music and our way of
thinking” – Jae Hyun
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