Laibach – The Sound Of Music (Vinyl)

The Sound of Music was conceived when Laibachwere infamously invited to perform in North Korea in2015. The band performed several songs from the 1965film’s soundtrack at the concert in Pyongyang. TheSound of Music was chosen by Laibach as it’s a wellknown and beloved film in the DPRK that is often usedby schoolchildren to learn English. Laibach are joined byBoris Benko (Silence) and Marina Martensson on vocals.The album gives the Laibach treatment to tracks suchas ‘My Favorite Things,’ ‘Edelweiss,’ ‘Do-Re-Mi’ and’Maria,’ here reworked as ‘Maria / Korea’ (‘How do yousolve a problem like Maria / Korea?’).While the majority of the tracks on the albumare from the film, the band also included ‘Arirang,’ aninterpretation of a traditional Korean folk song consideredthe unofficial national anthem of both North and SouthKorea (and released recently to mark the historic summitin Singapore between Donald Trump and the leader ofNorth Korea, Kim Jong-un). Also included is their ownworkout of the Gayageum, a traditional Korean zither-likestring instrument performed by students from the KumSong Music School in Pyongyang and a recording of theband’s ‘welcome’ speech to Korea from Mr. Ryu from theDemocratic People’s Republic of Korea Committee forCultural Relations.The album was recorded and produced in Ljubljana,Slovenia and in Pyongyang, North Korea. It representsanother successful collaboration between Laibach andSilence (Primoz Hladnik and Boris Benko), who previouslyco-created Laibach’s 2006 Volk album.Over 35 years on from their genesis in the thenYugoslavian industrial town Trbovlje, Laibach are stillthe most internationally acclaimed band to have comeout of the former Communist countries of Eastern andCentral Europe. Founded in the death year of the country’sfounding father Tito, and rising to fame as Yugoslaviasteered towards self-destruction, Laibach can make youthink, dance and march to the same music.