photo source: Flicker/Ivo Klassmann
The controversial Slovenian band Laibach will become the first foreign band to perform in North Korea when they play two concerts in Pyongyang in August for 2,000 people.
The group will play Korean folk songs, their original songs, and songs from The Sound of Music.
The band is known for being eccentric. Featuring industrial and pop sounds, they sometimes wear military uniforms onstage to protest totalitarianism. According to Norwegian director Morten Traavik, the band will not be controversial when they perform in North Korea.
During the 1980’s, the band offended Yugoslavia’s then-leader Josep Broz Tito and were subsequently banned from performing there.
Traavik told the BBC, “Both the country and the band have been portrayed by some as fascist outcasts. The truth is that both are misunderstood.”