Rock 'N Seoul

While many great bands are powered by women, Biuret has had some of the best staying power and fan loyalty in Korean music. Much of that can be a direct virtue of the strength and dynamism of lead singer & guitarist Mun Hyewon. With a voice as broad in spectrum as the stars in the sky, she leads the band in songs as hard and commanding as any of her male counterparts. For a band that rocks as hard as Biuret, they need vocals that aren’t easily lost under the noise. Hyewon sure fits the bill.

I found Biuret sometime in late 2007 or early 2008, between the release of their first and second albums. They were getting some international attention and were the first Korean band that I had seen actually play a festival in Europe. I remember thinking how amazing it was that they were breaking barriers and performing around the world, when even K-Pop wasn’t really doing that at the time. It was this that really impressed me. That a small band from Korea had managed to get the attention of foreigners and that earned them an invite to international festivals when many of the more well known bands in Korea weren’t even getting noticed yet.

By no means was Biuret the first Korean band I found with a female singer. They joined bands like Friendly Band, Sweet Revenge, Bloody Cookie/Story Seller who were already in rotation on my mp3 player, but it really pushed home that Korean rock wasn’t just a boys club and seemed to me that they were helping to open doors previously closed to the ladies in K-Rock.

The current line up for the band is Hyewon on guitar and vocals, Happy Jackson on guitar, Jai An on bass and drummer Um Jinyon. They will be playing the headlining spot at SangSangmadang Live Hall during Zandari Festa next weekend.

And can I say that having been a fan of these guys for over 9 years now, they shot up to the very top of my list of who I’m seeing next weekend at Zandari Festa. I’m so nerdily excited!

You can follow them on Facebook and purchase their music on iTunes.