Queer anger and grief, tradition and resistance: musician and performance artist bela (they/them) hails from Paju, South Korea, and lives in Berlin and Prague. bela combines electronic music with pungmul (Korean folk tradition rooted in agricultural rituals and social movements), with raw vocals influenced by metal music standing out in particular. Through the use of heavy distortion and evil-sounding screams, bela transforms Pungmul into a ritual of queer anger and grief. On the album Noise and Cries / 굉음과 울음, co-released on Subtext and Unsound, bela explicitly addresses the problems faced by people with queer identities in a conservative society like South Korea.  

In audiovisual performances, bela often collaborates with video artists Theresa Baumgartner and Lukas Feigelfeld. Their performances are generally marked by a powerful stage presence, amplifying the energetic potential of their fusion between contemporary club sounds and Korean folk traditions. After captivating audiences at festivals such as Unsound in Kraków, Rewire in The Hague and Le Guess Who? in Utrecht, bela is now presenting their intense live performance for the first time in the Ruhr area as part of BLAUES RAUSCHEN.