Interview: Eyre Llew & In The Endless Zanhyang We Are
A few weeks ago we received an email that really piqued our interest. Patrick Connor is a Brit living and working in South Korea where he runs a music company called DOINDIE. As well as being Korea’s number one independent webzine they also do a whole load of other things too; organise events, book acts for festivals / shows in Korea, bring international artists to Korea and also send Korean bands on tours overseas. They also run a small label called BEELINE RECORDS, where they manage several Korean acts. Quite the busy man!
The idea that grabbed our attention is an international tour swap, which we just thought was a very cool thing. The Korean band (let’s call them ITEZWA for short) will come to the UK this May and play 10 shows supporting Eyre Llew (+ Focus Wales and Primavera) – The full dates can be found below. Then, in September they are organising a full Asia tour (China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam etc) for Eyre Llew (exact dates etc TBC). For the Korean leg of that tour they will be supporting ITEZWA. I’m sure you’ll agree, a very cool concept and a fantastic opportunity for both bands to reach audiences they wouldn’t normally have access to. Ahead of the UK leg of the tour, we spoke to both bands about what to expect.
The Endless Zanhyang We Are
(((o))): Tell us a bit about yourselves. What do you sound like & how long have you been together?
We are the band ‘끝없는잔향속에서우리는’ (in the endless zanhyang we are). We are a four piece bands consisting of vocals, guitar, bass and drums. It’s a long name isn’t it. So, some our Korean fans call us ‘end zanhyang’. Zanhyang means ‘reverberation’ in Korean.
It has been almost two years since we started our band. Three of us went to the same collage and played music together there as well, our guitarist joined us later on. It is hard to define our sound exactly I think, but our fans who come to watch us like to say our sound is a post modern rock sound.
(((o))): What is the ‘post rock’ scene in South Korea like? Are there a lot of bands like you guys?
The post rock scene in South Korea is not as big as it is in other countries, I don’t think. In fact, it has got smaller in the last few years, a lot of the good post rock bands stopped playing for some reasons. But there are some fantastic bands around, in my opinion Jambinai is one of the best. They play crazy music that combines Korean traditional instruments with post rock. They joined the label Bella Union in the UK a few years ago.
Aside from them, there are some other post rock bands around still, but they are quite different to us. Honestly, I am a bit uneasy with the post rock tag, I don’t really feel like we are a pure post rock band, even though that is what people label us as. There are lots of amazing bands over here in all genres, if anyone ever comes this way to visit .. you won’t be disappointed.
(((o))): What kind of gigs do you guys play?
Well, our songs are all quite different. In Korea we say they have different ‘colors’. Some of our songs are really quite energetic and will make you want to ‘rock out’, while other songs are really quiet with a much more chilled vibe that will make you feel more relaxed. I guess you could say we are a ‘colorful’ band.
(((o))): The tour exchange’ program is going to give you a chance to play in the UK? Are you excited for that? Is there anything in particular you’re looking forward to?
Of course, we are stoked to be going to the UK. We are always excited to experience new things and be in new situations. We are excited to meet new people and communicate with them via our music. I think it will be more difficult for us to communicate directly with the language as our English isn’t great, but I believe that people can talk to each other through their personalities and feelings. We are looking forward to experiencing European culture as well, it is the first time for all of us to go over there. We are most interested to learn about the performance culture in Europe as well. I know it is really unlike Korea. In Korea, the gigs are really only held on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. However, I heard that in Europe there are gigs held everyday. It will be fun to see how people from other countries will react to our music too.
It is especially exciting to be collaborating with Eyre Llew from the UK as well. That is going to make the tour even more rewarding and fun than it would be if we were alone. It will be great to get to know them better before we have them over here in Korea in the fall.
(((o))): What do you hope, as a band and as people, to get out of the exchange?
I think the most important thing as the band and people is for everyone to be happy and to have fun! I hope that at the end of it we have some more fans and in the UK and that everone enjoyed the show. Of course, we hope the same is true when Eyre Llew come back over to Asia as well! Personally I wish that our band and sound are well known to many people after touring.
TOUR DATES:
** with Eyre Llew
09.05: BRISTOL – The Mothers’ Ruin **
10.05: WREXHAM – FOCUS Wales
13.05: CAMBRIDGE – The Blue Moon **
15.05: LONDON – thousand island **
17.05: BRIGHTON – The Alternative Escape Festival **
18.05: OXFORD – The Cellar [Oxford] **
19.05: LEEK – Foxlowe Arts Centre **
22.05: SHEFFIELD – West Street Live **
24.05: MANCHESTER – Bunny Jacksons **
27.05: NOTTINGHAM – TBC **
28.05: NOTTINGHAM – Acoustic Rooms **
+ 1 More Show TBC
Eyre Llew
(((o))): Tell us a bit about yourselves. What do you sound like & how long have you been together?
We are an ambient-rock trio from Nottingham, UK often compared to artists such as; Bon Iver, Sigur Ros & Manchester Orchestra. Since forming in August 2014, we have since released nine singles and a self-recorded 12 track debut album entitled ‘Atelo’. We played our first ever show in May 2015 which sold out and from that have extensively toured the UK, Europe and Asia independently.
(((o))): I believe you guys have been out to Korea once already? What was that like? How are gigs there different (if at all) to playing in the UK?
Yeah! As you can probably imagine the whole experience was just insane. In the best possible way and we were sad to leave at the end of it. The people were some of the loveliest (now) fans and friends we’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting and by the end of it we were actually exhausted from saying thank you. Which was an incredible thing! We were even bought gifts from people who had returned to multiple show dates to say thank you for just being the band that we are and coming to their city. Some of those people even flew over to attend our debut album launch show in Nottingham, UK which is unreal.
The hospitality in South Korea was unlike anywhere we’ve ever experienced – and that’s saying a lot as there are some genuinely stand up hosts and promoters in the world who go well out of their way. As a whole though they knocked it out the park! Taking the journey down to Busan was one of the best things we decided to do with the trip. With only one show booked there it could have gone either way. After that nights performance we were offered additional shows through word of mouth which helped with all our travel, housing, meals and drinks etc. It’s not very often that a tour is built from playing one show and being asked to play the next day, and from that the next day and so on and so on… We were just blown away. In short,, we cannot wait to be back in Asia.
(((o))): As part of the ‘tour exchange’ you are also playing all over south east Asia (China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam etc). Have you been to any of those places before & is there anywhere you’re particularly looking forward to?
Yes, we’re returning to Asia and of course we are so happy about that! Sam has been to South East Asia a couple of times but the rest of us and the band alone has only been to South Korea. We’re certain it’s going to be a real eye opener with the difference in cultures, politics, food/drink, border control, experiences and crowd reactions – it all adds to the excitement of it for sure!
Sam talks a lot about his love of Vietnam and Jack Bennett is particularly looking forward to seeing Japan for example. It’s going to be interesting though to experience these places in Asia you wouldn’t usually do as a tourist. In Europe it’s a lot of Service stations and motorways but for us here we’re doing a lot of public transport as well – so will be in the thick of it.
(((o))): I know that Patrick ‘discovered’ you playing at Focus Wales, an event we’ve covered a lot in the past, do you feel these kinds of ‘industry showcases’ still benefit bands in the current music environment?
We’ve always enjoyed the shows we’ve had and additionally have been fortunate to get offers for things afterwards – such as the Korean Festival stuff last year for example. A balance of right place right time and also a heck load of really hard work. We’ve always seen it as just because we’re playing that doesn’t mean we’ve made it, it just means we’ve got a chance at potentially walking away from it with something; whether that’s some new fans, a load of merch sales, a tour opportunity, another booking or whatever.
It’s an interesting topic really because as much as they’re helpful they can also add lots of pressure on a band, even become frustrating after a while. It’s especially when you’re maybe unsigned/independent, like us, where you don’t have a team behind you like a label, agency, PR or management representing you. We’ve found that some people don’t take you as seriously or expect you to be as professional (even though we’ve released an album, sold out multiple venues, played a vast amount of festivals all over the UK, Europe and S.Korea as well as touring internationally). The expectation of labels having big budgets are getting slimmer and more and more bands are going out on their own. There are others like us that aren’t against working with labels and agents – we’re just doing everything we can until the day comes where we find the right people who approach us.
Considering it’s just been the three of us and a few key individuals over the years who have helped us with this or that opportunity, we’re proud of what we’ve achieved. Festivals are a massive part of the UK touring circuit and it’s a huge part of how we’ve got to where we are today. From that though, a lot of hard work and time has gone into promoting each of the shows right, making the most of it etc. It’s a tough one and I think generally speaking they definitely do tend to serve a purpose, though it usually sways towards agency bands in our experience. There are some amazing festivals out there though which go a long way to source and look after unsigned talent – Zandari Festa (Seoul), Focus Wales (Wrexham) and Seazone Music & Conference (Sopot) to name a few that we’ve played.
(((o))): What do you hope, as a band and as people, to get out of the exchange?
Well as a band we loved the idea of introducing our fans to them and vice versa. It is the most organic and respectful way of building a scene around you, helping each other to grow – in this case it reaches international fans for the both of us which is really cool. The gig swap and tour swap things have been brilliant for us on a European level and we totally see this being something that only carries on the positivity.
As people we look forward to making new friends, sharing loads of memories, getting to do what we love every night while seeing new parts of the world. For us, it’s just idyllic! We can’t wait for people to see In the Endless Zanhyang We Are – they’re really great!
