False Advertising Talk Playing in South Korea
- Interviews
- 19th October 2018
Last week, we ended up in South Korea for Zandari Festa. As it happens, so did our friends in False Advertising! We caught up with them to get their scoop on playing on the far side of the world!
Q1: Showcasing in Korea is such an out-of-left-field thing that most people wouldn’t have even considered was possible a few years ago. How did it feel to be invited to go there and play?
A1: We were very excited to have been given the opportunity. Finding ways to play to Asian audiences has been one of the things we’ve been trying to do since we began releasing records a few years ago. We’ve always had strong feedback from the fans we have over there and so this was clearly an incredible opportunity for us to gain a better understanding about the Korean music market, and meet a lot of awesome people.
Q2: Seoul is a crazy city with plenty to see and do. How did you find it? What was your favourite place?
A2: Aside from some of the awesome venues, eateries and bars in Hongdae, I ventured out over the last few days and found myself in the Myeong-dong night market. I love Korean food so much and the amount of different things they had at this place was insane.
Q3: You guys have played internationally before, including SXSW in Texas and Waves Vienna in Austria. In terms of audience and atmosphere, how did Zandari Festa compare to festivals in the west?
A3: What stands out to me is how welcomed we were made to feel at all of our showcases in Korea. It was also very cool to feel an instant, visual and audible reaction from people. People even screamed at certain points! We’re used to people going ‘Wooooo’ rather than full blown screaming. It was awesome.
Q4: There was plenty of pretty amazing artists on show at Zandari. If you had to pick one to bring over to the UK to tour with, which one would it be?
A4: We played with a band called Sheep Got Waxed from Lithuania, they were this sick experimental band that had an incredible range between freeform jazz, and really quite heavy rock music – like Primus or something. We would love to tour with them! I also loved the Korean band Jambinai and Japanese band Harahells too.
Q5: Do you think the whole experience has changed your outlook on the worldwide music industry?
A5: Everything that we do like this exposes us to different people’s opinions on what we’re doing and gives us a better understanding over how it comes across, so the experience certainly aided in this ongoing never ending task. The experience has also further hammered home the need to get out and meet and play to people, as we met so many new friends there who are based all over the world.
Q6: Do you have any tips or advice for artists hoping to go out to Korea for Zandari Festa next year?
A6: Just keep doing good stuff. If you’re trying really hard to make the most out of the music you’re writing, releasing and playing to people then going somewhere like Zandari Festa will feel like an exciting step, rather than a horrifying leap. Don’t sweat the organisation that you’ll need to put into it though – there are all sorts of logistical challenges that come with getting equipment over there and things like that. Give yourself lots of time to plan how you’ll go about doing things and ask people loads of questions.
Q7: Your last single “You Said” did pretty well on Spotify and radio. What’s next on the cards for False Advertising?
A7: Hopefully more of the same, although you may have to wait until next year to see and hear what’s actually coming next. We’re hurriedly planning something very exciting at the moment which is going to take a little while to be ready, but plan to keep killing it live in the meantime. So more live shows are what will actually happen next.
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Autumn Palmer
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