THE LIBERATION DAY TOUR
Pyongyang, North Korea, 2015
Directed and organized by Morten Traavik.
35 years on from their genesis in the then-Yugoslavian industrial town Trbovlje, Laibach are still the most internationally acclaimed band to have come out of the former Communist countries of Eastern and Central Europe. Founded in the death year of then-Yugoslavia’s leader Tito, and rising to fame as Yugoslavia steered towards self-destruction, Laibach have consistently opposed labels of any kind, be they “rock”, “pop”, “techno” or “industrial”. Self-styled engineers of human souls, Laibach can make you think, dance and march to the same music.
On August 19, 2015, Laibach became the first ever band of its kind to perform in the secretive country of North Korea, a reclusive garrison state as well-known for its military marches, mass gymnastics and hymns to the Great Leader, as for its defiant resistance to Western popular culture.
Laibach’s Liberation Day Tour coincided with the 70th anniversary of the Korean peninsula’s liberation from Japanese colonization and subsequent division into two enemy states which confront each other in an uneasy truce to this day. The concerts will also be subject of a documentary film scheduled for premiere in early 2016.
“MAN IS THE MASTER OF EVERYTHING AND DECIDES EVERYTHING” Kim Jong Il
Mass Media
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NK News, 01.09.2015
Laibach Rocks North Korea: Scenes from a Historic Concert -
Observers France, 25.08.2015
North Korea swaps mass choreography for… rock music? -
Rolling Stone, 25.08.2015
Cannabis and ‘The Sound of Music’: What Laibach Learned in North Korea -
CNN, 24.08.2015
Laibach Rocks Pyongyang with “The Sound of Music” -
New York Times, 20.08.2015
Hello, Pyongyang: Are.You.Ready.To.Rock. -
The Telegraph, 19.08.2015
Who Are Laibach, And Why Are They Playing North Korea? -
Der Spiegel, 19.08.2015
Umstrittenes Konzert: Laibach Spielen im Ponghwa-Theater in Pjöngjang -
Politiken, 19.08.2015
Provokunstner Sender Hårdtslående Teknoband til Nord-Korea -
Expressen, 19.08.2015
Live i Nord-Korea: Rockens Kanske Största «What the Fuck?!»-event -
Süddeutsche Zeitung, 22.08.2015
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