Don Spike to Produce K-Pop Audition Program in Kenya

Composer and producer Don Spike will be bringing K-Pop auditions to Kenya.

Sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the International Exchange Program, the project team A.S.K (acronym for African Sing Korean Soul) will head to Kenya on August 30 and the audition will last for ten days. Don Spike and saxophone player Shin Hyun Pil along with one or more musicians currently active in Kenya will be the judges for the show.

It’s been revealed that this audition program will not just be a simple show where Korea finds new talent, but an attempt for cross cultural exchange.

Don Spike comments, “The emotion and soul are national characteristics that are imprinted in the music. The biggest goal for this project is to introduce Africa’s emotions and soul. Thurs, rather than introducing unfamiliar African music right away, we needed a new way of effectively introducing their music.”

He continued, “I think that if K-Pop, which is known by Koreans and people abroad, contains Africa’s soul, it would be great. Also, I think that African musicians will be able to naturally convey Korea’s emotions through practice.”

The audition winner will be flown out to Korea at no expense and have the opportunity to record and release a single in Korea. The winner will also not have to worry about recording and living expenses during the trip. To make the deal even sweeter, the winner will also have the opportunity to work and collaborate with the top musicians in Korea. When finished, the single will be distributed worldwide for free.

This is an interesting turn of events. Earlier in 2012, Don Spike made a slew of negative comments against audition programs and their monopoly effect on the music industry.