Slovenian 'concept band' Laibach looking forward to performing in North Korea
Slovenia's Laibach will channel their fascination with political themes and imagery into concert.
For a band inspired by art in totalitarian regimes, a gig in North Korea is a dream come true. Slovenia's Laibach recently announced it will play two concerts in Pyongyang next month.
The group is known for music described as a mixture of industrial rock and retro electronic, and for its use of authoritarian imagery, such as Soviet-era symbols, marches and dark uniforms.
The tour will coincide with the ceremonies marking the 70th anniversary of the Korean pen-insula's liberation from Japanese colonisation, and will include Laibach's own music as well as popular Korean songs, said one of the band's founders, producer and spokesman Ivan Novak.
"Originally, we invited ourselves and then they invited us," Novak said.
Formed in 1980, when Slovenia was still part of Communist-run Yugoslavia, Laibach immediately stirred controversy with its name - German for Slovenia's capital city Ljubljana - and because it used a black cross as one of its symbols.
This alone was enough for an official ban by the regime born out of anti-fascist struggle during the second world war.
Laibach were still allowed occasional concerts until, in 1983, they locked the door of a concert hall and played the sound of a dog barking extremely loudly for almost half an hour.
