Shimmying to Jellyboy
Posted by: Shawn ˑ September 2, 2011 – 1:55 pmBy Shawn Despres
This Saturday night (September 3), Seoul belly dancer Eshe and her Navah and Mahadevi troupes will be presenting a new non-verbal, belly dance drama called “La Mer” at their Nirvana Nights Vol. 3 event. “La Mer” is an hour-long production and boasts 10 dance scenes, all of which will be performed to the music of Korean electro-pop musician Jellyboy.
Jellyboy is the solo moniker of Dae-inn Kim, the bassist for lauded local rockers Apollo 18. He released two fantastic solo albums, 2005’s “Everyday Trouble” and 2007’s “They Dream Daydream Everyday,” before starting to play with Apollo 18 in 2008.
Eshe starred in Apollo 18’s “Orbis” music video and has performed several times with the band. She was aware of Kim’s Jellyboy past, but she didn’t hear his solo stuff until earlier this year.
“Out of curiosity one day I Googled Jellyboy and found his ‘Infant Song’ video on YouTube,” Eshe says. I asked Dae-inn if he could send me the track and he did along with an unreleased song called ‘Dancing Hell.’ I danced to both tracks at Apollo 18’s US tour fundraiser in February.
“When Apollo 18 got back from playing in the States, I asked Dae-inn about his other Jellyboy music. He’s so shy and so humble. After much cajoling, he reluctantly played me some more of his stuff. I loved it all!”
Completely imagined by Eshe, “La Mer” is the tale of a family of mermaids and the encounters they have with other sea creatures and a group of Sirens. It’s the third belly dance drama she’s produced. Previous shows have featured a wide range of songs from around the globe. But once she heard Jellyboy’s music, she knew that she wanted to make something only using Kim’s tracks.
“Jellyboy’s work has such a wide range of emotion. At times it’s delicate, fresh, and innocent. Other times it’s raging, inconsolable, and dark. For a dramatic story, I couldn’t have asked for better music. Dae-inn’s a genius. I feel so lucky to know him, and to have access to his talent.”
Kim is quick to admit that he never envisioned his Jellyboy music being used in a belly dance show.
“I had no interest in belly dancing before,” he shares. “But that changed the first time I saw Eshe’s dancing. I love Eshe and everything she does. I feel truly honored that she, Navah, and Mahadevi will be dancing to my music.”
Like everyone else, Kim will see “La Mer” for the first time on Saturday night. He’s got an early concert with Apollo 18 at Culture Station 284 that day and will be quickly making his way to Theater Zero right after he finishes playing.
“I can’t wait to watch the show,” Kim says. “I want to feel my music in Eshe’s dancing and feel Eshe’s dancing in my music. I think that it’s going to be a really fantastic experience for me.”
Kim’s main focus right now is Apollo 18. The trio are keeping him plenty busy having toured in the US, Japan, and Taiwan already this year. They’ll soon be releasing their new “Gogol” EP as well. Although Jellyboy has been put on the back burner, Kim’s alter ego is far from dead.
“Right now I’m trying to make the best music I can with Apollo 18,” he says. “I’ll make more music as Jellyboy sometime in the future. I don’t know when it’ll happen, but I definitely want to play as Jellyboy again someday.”
Nirvana Nights Vol. 3 takes places on September 3 at Theater Zero in Hongdae. In addition to “La Mer,” the event will also include belly dancing from Farasha (from Tokyo), Jimin Park, Eunji Park & Top Belly, Aly Kate Mewse, Maha Bamaarouf, and Maya & Ana. There will be a hooping performance from Kali Deno & Vanessa Barbee, and jazz and K-pop dancing from JK Pole & Dance Korea. Gwangil Bae, Riol Kim, and Doyon Ha will play a short live music set. Wilfred Lee and Alison Hjelseth will be doing live art. The show starts at 8:30 pm and tickets are 20,000 won. For more information, head here.
