North Korea: group Laibach from Slovenia’s first rock concert – STERN

The famous and controversial for its provocations Slovenian group Laibach has occurred on Wednesday as the first international rock band in North Korea. Your 45-minute concert in the capital Pyongyang denied the group for her rather unusual cover versions of songs from the musical “Sound of Music” as well as a popular North Korean folk song as a visitor then reported. The approximately 1,500 listeners thus took on the first of two concerts on the 70th anniversary of the war’s end with subdued enthusiasm

In addition to 150 visitors from abroad -. Diplomats, NGO staff and tourists – would only locals visited the concert of Laibach in Pongwha Theatre, reported Simon Cockerell of Koryo Tours Beijing travel agency, who had organized specially for the show short trips to Pyongyang. To whom it was going be difficult to say, but had hardly been seen uniforms, added the North Korea specialist added.

The audience seemed to have thus enjoyed the concert, even if – as usual – no one had clapped or jumped up from the seat. “I can imagine that most had absolutely no idea what to expect,” said Cockerell. Surprisingly not only for the audience but for Laibach fans then sounded many of the known in North Korea “Sound of Music” classics like “Do-Re-Mi”, “Edelweiss” and “The Hills are Alive” and the folk song ” Arirang “- accompanied by a North Korean pianist

The rock band Laibach, the German name for the Slovenian capital Ljubljana, was founded in 1980 in what was then still Yugoslavia belonging Slovenia.. It has the German rock band Rammstein strongly influenced. Laibach conscious use of nationalist and political symbols and again creating a provocation -. Some accuse the group pretends to be fascist, others believe they denounce totalitarian ideologies with their performances at

were organized the Concerts by the Norwegian artist Morten Traavik, who had repeatedly organized projects in the insular country. According to him, the group was personally invited by the authorities in Pyongyang on the 70th anniversary of the World War II end, especially the liberation of the Korean Peninsula celebrates of the Japanese occupation of the Pyongyang.