What’s up, SeoulGrid? I hope everyone had a good time at World DJ Fest. A few members of the SeoulGrid team and I got there around 4pm, and I think I finally got to sleep at 8am. Ridiculous night, from which it probably took me three days to recover. My favorite moment, however, was after the festival when we went for Kamjatang at sunrise, only to find half of the restaurant (who were clearly Festival attendees) passed out face down at their tables.
Kamjatang Restaurant, or Cheap Hotel?
Good times.
Moving on, this weekend we’re graced with not one top 100 DJ, but three. Yes, you read that correctly: three of the best DJs in the world are all coming to Seoul in the same weekend — Benny Benassi, Mark Knight, and Ferry Corsten. On top of that, on Friday night there’s a show with the Brown Eyed Girls at Heaven, and on Saturday night Tiger JK (of Drunken Tiger) and a few Korean rock groups are pairing up with some of Seoul’s top electro DJs to put on a show at Walkerhill.
Hah. And you thought you could finally take a break from partying this week.
Friday, May 14th
Saturday, May 15th
SeoulGrid Top Pick:
Mark Knight @ Eden
Click for more details.
Party Info:
Fri @ Walkerhill Theater: Benny Benassi
The only reason I’m not awarding this top pick this week is because I just saw him play in Club Answer in November last year… and again in March last year. So while Benassi puts on a great show and is totally worth going to see, his presence in Seoul isn’t exactly a rarity. Normally this alone wouldn’t be enough to stop me from giving it top pick, but this time he’s up against a few other huge names as well, and I think it’s more fitting to spread the love.
But don’t get me wrong. If you’ve never seen Benny Benassi play before, you’d be a fool to miss this show. I really can’t recommend it enough. For God’s sake, it’s Benny frickin’ Benassi. The dude practically defined electro house with satisfaction in 2002, and he’s continued to push the genre ever since. Here’s his latest single: Benny Benassi vs Iggy Pop: Electro Sixteen.
Also DJing at this show are Idiotape, Astro Voize, and No_Fact. I can vouch for Idiotape and Astro Voize, both of whom normally play as main acts. This is a kickass lineup.
Cost:
Tickets will be 50,000KRW at the door.
Directions: (Via Korean Tourism Board)
- Go to Gangbyeon Station, subway line 2, and come out of exit 1 → At the bus stop in front of Hyundai Apartments, take a free shuttle bus to the hotel (Shuttle bus operating hours:06:00-23:20 (from the hotel) / 10-minute intervals)
- Or go to Gwangnaru station, subway line 5, and come out of exit 2 → cross the road and from the bus stop in front of Gwangjin Youth Center, take a free shuttle bus to the hotel (Shuttle bus operating Hours:06:00-23:20 (from the hotel) / 10-minute intervals)
- Or take a taxi from Gwangnaru station to “Walkerhill Hotel” (5-10 minute ride)
Fri @ Eden: “Colors Party: Yellow”
Resident Djs: Yeonjun, Sundance, Ziro, E-you, Brandon, Ahoka
A regular resident DJ night. Club Eden’s resident DJs normally play tech house and minimalism.
Club Eden: More Information & Directions
Fri @ Heaven: “Queen of Beer”
Guests: Baek Ji-Young, Brown Eyed Girls, Ivy
Looking at the poster, I had no idea what the theme was other than that they were serving S Beer. Then accompanying tiny pictures, in Korean only, I noticed a list of K-pop stars. Brilliant marketing there, huh?
I think if I were promoting this party, I would design the poster to have less pink, less beer, and more still-frames from 2:33 – 2:50 of Brown Eyed Girls – Abracadabra, a video so scandalous it hurts. On that note, is it relevant that the other two artists at this party were both involved in sex-tape scandals? I’m going to go ahead and make a bad joke by saying: this party will be scandalous.
So if you’re into K-pop, or you’re not into K-pop but you just think the Brown Eyed Girls are hot, check out this party. But if you can’t make it this time, it looks like you can still catch the tour on May 28th in Club Mass or June 18th in Club Volume.
Club Heaven: More Information & Directions
Fri @ Answer: “Lick One’s Lips”
Resident DJs: DGuru, Gon, Drill, Aya
So, the poster advertises “Paris Moonshew.” I had no idea who she was, so I did some internet detective work and finally found her:
I still have no idea who she is.
So, some cute Korean girl is coming to Answer on Friday. Apparently my research skills aren’t good enough to deduce for what purpose, and none of my Korean club friends know who she is either. Does she DJ? Sing? Dance? Maybe part of the fun is going and being surprised.
As for the resident DJs, they usually play danceable electro house.
Club Answer: More Information & Directions
Fri @ Volume: “We Party: Take Off Kidz”
Guest DJ: Bio Mechanix (Korea)
Jumpsuits. Goggles. Electric guitar? Haha, I’ve never seen these guys play before, but judging from the pictures on their facebook page they look pretty fun. Style is high energy psytrance.
It looks like Club Volume is finally back open. It’s been in a state of limbo for the past few weeks, where they’ve been announcing parties only to cancel them at the last minute, and no one was able to give me the final word on when it was reopening. Since this party hasn’t been cancelled yet and they have a huge DJ coming in on Saturday, I’m assuming renovations are finally finished.
Directions:
- Come out Noksapyeong station exit 3 and head south. Look for Crown Hotel on the opposite side of the road.
- Or take a taxi and tell the driver “Itaewon Crown Hotel.”
[Top Pick] Mark Knight @ Eden
This week’s top pick was probably the most difficult decision I’ve had to make yet. We have 3 different DJs from DJ Mag’s top 100 in the same weekend, each with a completely different style. It’s really hard to choose one world-class DJ over another, so in the end I just had to go with my gut feeling.
Mark Knight played at Club Eden’s grand opening in December 2008, which to this day remains one of my all-time top 5 club nights. The energy he fed into the crowd was absolutely incredible. So when I heard that he was coming back this Saturday, my reaction sounded something like this: “Ohhhhhhh [explitiiiiiiiiive].”
If you saw Funkagenda a few weeks ago and thought it was a kickass show, you’re in luck — Mark Knight is like Funkagenda on steroids. If you missed Funkagenda a few weeks ago and you’re kicking yourself, no worries — Mark Knight is like Funkagenda on steroids. In fact, Mark Knight created “Toolroom Records,” the label under which Funkagenda releases most of his songs. They’ve collaborated on a lot of tracks and their styles are very similar, except that, well, Mark Knight is like Funkagenda on steroids.
Mark Knight’s performance at Eden’s opening night was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen hundreds of DJs spin. And nowadays Eden consistently brings in probably twice as many people as they did on opening night, so combined with the insane energy radiated by Mark Knight’s set, this is going to be one of those nights that we’ll look back on and only be able to describe with one word: epic.
Cost:
Tickets are 40,000 KRW.
Club Eden: More Information & Directions
Sat @ Volume: Ferry Corsten
Ferry Corsten is rated in the DJMag Top 100 as #7, ranking him as one of the most popular trance DJs in the world. He came to Seoul last year and the year before at around this same time — check out a youtube clip from last year at Club Volume. This year he’ll be the first big act to play the newly renovated Volume (well, technically it was Paul Oakenfold, but after the Oakenfold show Volume closed again for… more renovations).
If you’re a fan of trance, then this is an obvious choice for you to make. And if you like top-name DJs, well, Corsten’s top 10. However, if you’re on the fence and not sure where to party — in my experience, while trance is really melodic and beautiful to listen to, it’s definitely a more calming force, and thus trance parties aren’t as wild as house parties. So if you’re just looking for a place to party hard and have a crazy night out, I’d opt for Mark Knight. But in the end it just comes down to your musical preference.
Cost:
Tickets will be 45,000 KRW.
Directions:
- Come out Noksapyeong station exit 3 and head south. Look for Crown Hotel on the opposite side of the road.
- Or take a taxi and tell the driver “Itaewon Crown Hotel.”
Sat @ Walkerhill: “Burning Rock in Da House”
Artists: Tiger JK, No Brain, Super Kidd, No. 1 Korean
DJs: KINGmck, S-Pill, Wendy
Here’s an interesting line-up of Korean artists at Walkerhill, mixing up hip-hop, rock, and electronic.
Tiger JK of Drunken Tiger (Hip-hop)
No Brain: (Pop rock)
Super Kidd (Party rock)
No. 1 Korean (Ska):
DJs KINGmck, S-Pill, Wendy
KINGmck and S-Pill are former Club Naked DJs and are really talented. The event describes their style as electro-clash.
Cost:
Tickets are 50,000 KRW at the door.
Directions: (Via Korean Tourism Board)
- Go to Gangbyeon Station, subway line 2, and come out of exit 1 → At the bus stop in front of Hyundai Apartments, take a free shuttle bus to the hotel (Shuttle bus operating hours:06:00-23:20 (from the hotel) / 10-minute intervals)
- Or go to Gwangnaru station, subway line 5, and come out of exit 2 → cross the road and from the bus stop in front of Gwangjin Youth Center, take a free shuttle bus to the hotel (Shuttle bus operating Hours:06:00-23:20 (from the hotel) / 10-minute intervals)
- Or take a taxi from Gwangnaru station to “Walkerhill Hotel” (5-10 minute ride)
Sat @ Heaven: Punk Rolla
Punk Rolla is a British DJ who drops electro house and some really odd mashups with some old tunes. Check out more on Punk Rolla’s MySpace.
Club Heaven: More Information & Directions
Closing Comments:
This weekend needs to be like three days longer so we can do it justice. But hey, making ridiculously hard decisions builds character. On the plus side, in circumstances like these you could basically plan your weekend by flipping a coin, and you’d still be satisfied with the outcome.
Looking forward: Since these past few weeks have been crazy, surely next week will be rather tame, right? It can’t continue forever… right? Um, I have four words for you: Gui Boratto in Eden. Man, Eden has been killing it recently with their lineup. I owe whoever is responsible for their DJ booking a firm handshake. Oh wait, hold on a second. I have four more words: datA’s coming to Answer. Ahhh, I love this city, and I love this life.
Stay tuned, SeoulGrid clubbers. I’ll catch you all on the dancefloor.
- James
Attn: Promoters: Want to make sure your party gets included in a weekly update? Send an email to parties@seoulgrid.com with the information and flyer. We’ll check it out, and if it meets our standards we’ll include it. Thanks!
