bela

There's a magical quality to bela's music that positions it just outside of time and space; "the music is, in essence and execution, non-binary," says the press release for last year's mercurial "Guidelines" EP. The South Korean artist used sheet music from government archives, combining it with samples of YouTube performances in an attempt to capture the essence of Nongak, a traditional form of Korean folk music. They paid special attention to the concept of "Jangdans", the tempo-shifting rhythmic patterns that are essential to Nongak, infusing their beats with high-end sound design, experienced club sensibilities and their self-assured queer theories. An experienced DJ and party promoter who co-runs Seoul's Sorrow Club events, bela is uniquely positioned to shuttle South Korea's musical history into brave new places. The music comes to life in the performance space, painted over by bela's blood-curdling vocals that re-interpret fragments of poetry as cybernetic black metal howls. There's simply nothing else like it.