South Korean musician and performance artist bela arrange the collision of worlds; traditional sonics withstanding the test of wild modern age Korea and grimy metal bars come together in 2024’s Noise and Cries, their first LP. Glistening electronics meet their country’s folk pungmul, as well as singing inspired by metal’s most extreme leanings, depicting a canvas of queer identity, severance, endurance, and precarity of life back in South Korea. bela has been based in Berlin since 2022, and, from that moment onward, has gripped audiences throughout the continent.

bela presents at Le Guess Who? their work in collaboration with visual artist Theresa Baumgartner who will add her idiosyncratic touch to this visceral live performance. Baumgartner is known for her work that blurs the lines between AV performance and installation art, using experimental filming techniques and an approach to stage design that is rooted in fine art and sculpture.

Co-curated with Unsound at Le Guess Who? 2024.