The Sound of Music was conceived when Laibach

were infamously invited to perform in North Korea in

2015. The band performed several songs from the 1965

film's soundtrack at the concert in Pyongyang. The

Sound of Music was chosen by Laibach as it's a wellknown and beloved film in the DPRK that is often used

by schoolchildren to learn English. Laibach are joined by

Boris Benko (Silence) and Marina Martensson on vocals.

The album gives the Laibach treatment to tracks such

as 'My Favorite Things,' 'Edelweiss,' 'Do-Re-Mi' and

'Maria,' here reworked as 'Maria / Korea' ('How do you

solve a problem like Maria / Korea?').

While the majority of the tracks on the album

are from the film, the band also included 'Arirang,' an

interpretation of a traditional Korean folk song considered

the unofficial national anthem of both North and South

Korea (and released recently to mark the historic summit

in Singapore between Donald Trump and the leader of

North Korea, Kim Jong-un). Also included is their own

workout of the Gayageum, a traditional Korean zither-like

string instrument performed by students from the Kum

Song Music School in Pyongyang and a recording of the

band's 'welcome' speech to Korea from Mr. Ryu from the

Democratic People's Republic of Korea Committee for

Cultural Relations.

The album was recorded and produced in Ljubljana,

Slovenia and in Pyongyang, North Korea. It represents

another successful collaboration between Laibach and

Silence (Primoz Hladnik and Boris Benko), who previously

co-created Laibach's 2006 Volk album.

Over 35 years on from their genesis in the thenYugoslavian industrial town Trbovlje, Laibach are still

the most internationally acclaimed band to have come

out of the former Communist countries of Eastern and

Central Europe. Founded in the death year of the country's

founding father Tito, and rising to fame as Yugoslavia

steered towards self-destruction, Laibach can make you

think, dance and march to the same music.