The Barberettes Find Famous Friends Abroad

The Barberettes, who might be unknown here to many, are gaining popularity overseas instead including the attention of several famous foreign musicians.

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Marty Friedman, a former lead guitarist of heavy metal band Megadeth, is one of them. When the Korean female trio released their first album two years ago, he sent them an email to express his interest in their retro style music which reminds him of American girl groups in the 1950s and 60s.

Friedman did not just remain a fan. In August last year, he came to Korea to participate in the production of their second album, staying in their basement studio in Seoul. He not only played guitar but also composed some of songs on the album.

Stuart Zender, a bass guitarist of British funk and acid jazz band Jamiroqaui, is another who calls himself a fan of The Barberettes. After he saw their performance at a festival in England in May, he went backstage to meet them. He also participated in their album.

"Inspired by old pop music from the 1950s and 1960s, we wanted to make a modern-day revival evoking memories to a bygone era", said the trio's leader An Shin-ae.

"In 2014 when releasing our debut album, we only included songs we could do best, but this time we decided to go beyond trying a wide range of music genres in our second album which was just released recently", one of the members Park So-hee said.

The trio had worked as backup vocalists for famous singers and also performed together on stages or in streets near the Hongik University area or Itaewon in Seoul for a couple of years until the release of their first album in 2014.

"As an indie band which we believe isn't necessarily opposite to mainstream, we are rather 'independent' in everything from writing songs to choosing costumes", Ahn said.