Salia @ Kollaboration DC 3 (2012)

First year that Kollaboration DC pulled an existing, international star to headline the show. This was the second event that I saw her perform at and it was just as good as the first one. Salia performed 3 of her songs with both hers and Kollaboration’s house DJ, Asu Rock, who did a helluva job once again.

Just as a quick refresher for those who don’t know about her, Salia did the first opening, Trust, in Vandread, and one of the songs from School Rumble, Amai Yume.

I kicked the night off in the VIP section, just like I did the past 2 Kollaborations DC. Here we are next to this year’s backdrop- new friend Michelle, Salia, and yours truly. Why I look like that, at this point in time- had to run run run to get to the show on-time (and nevermind early like I planned to originally) due to DC’s atrocious metro system. Better slightly late than never though, right?

And then a few snaps from the show

Then I went ahead and got both her new single, Trust in Me, as well as her first own album titled the same. Album comes with a small poster, and in my case, her signature on the front cover (that’s next to invisible in this shot).

The songs were pretty interesting, with a darker feel to them that I haven’t seen in whatever pop music I end up hearing, in a while.

Last but not least, hung out a bit at the show’s official afterparty at Bistro Bistro in Dupont Circle. This shot is courtesy of my friend Paul.

All in all a night well-done. Hopefully I’ll catch her again sometime soon.

Kollaboration DC 3 (2012)

Third show since Kollaboration expanded into the nation’s capital, and was getting better and better every year. So what it is? Essentially a festival to highlight and promote various up-and-coming local Asian artists and recognize them for their talent and hard work in areas they are all passionate about. All of the performances this year pushed the envelope compared to last and they even pulled a J-Pop artist Salia into the mix. That was the first milestone for the event and I hope international guests become more regular in the future.

I highly recommend looking the performances up online (youtube), but here are the top 3 contestants this year-

3rd place were the Lascajacakhan trio with their diverse fusion of styles.

2nd place went to the Mighty Morphing Boogie Rangers for their satirical hip-hop style group dance performance.

And the winner of this year’s show was George Yamazawa with his touching and inspiring free form poem about his father.

All in all, the show was absolutely worth it again this year, and I hope Kollaboration DC keeps expanding and pushing the envelope next year.

10th KORUS Festival

So I ended up attending this thing with friends this weekend. It was predominantly Korean festival, but with quite a few guests and some of the local Asian talent as well as a few heads from Kollaboration DC.

Surprise was meeting Salia, who is a pretty prominent J-pop artist and did songs from Vandread and School Rumble in the past. Another chance to catch her will be at Kollaboration DC this weekend.