Little Boys in South Korea: Festival Appearances and Dream Collaborations

Born in Japan in the winter of 2020 after a bet made during a flight, Little Boys is an Italian power rock duo with a combination of punk, garage rock, delta blues and cinematic influences into a stripped-down, visceral form of power rock.

Little Boys have built a strong international live presence through three tours in Japan, two European tours and a ten-city tour across China, including appearances at major rock festivals. This year, the band will embark on their first South Korean tour, performing across the country for nearly a month, including an appearance at Seoul’s Block Party Festival, before returning to Japan for their fourth tour.

Meet Elle, the vocalist who plays left-handed on a standard right-handed guitar without reversing the strings, and Esse, who is in charge of the drums, in this exclusive interview as they talk about their upcoming tour in South Korea, festival appearances, travel destinations, and dream collaborations.

1. Before we talk about your tour, can you tell us about when and how Little Boys was created?

Elle: Little Boys were born because of a bet during a flight to Japan. To this day, we’ve never told anyone exactly what that bet was.

At the time, it felt like nothing more than a game. Looking back, it ended up changing both of our lives.

Once we landed in Japan, we went our separate ways. We were both fighting our own battles and searching for something we couldn’t yet put into words. When we returned to Italy, we started meeting every evening to give that idea a real shape.

Little by little, it became something with a life of its own, something far greater than just a band.

Looking back, I don’t think we created Little Boys. I think Little Boys slowly created us.

Esse: Little Boys was born from a clash of wills. The first moment we looked at each other and, without saying a word, understood that neither of us would ever give in to the other. That was the beginning of a creative tension that still holds this band together today.

2. How would you describe your sound and what do you want people to take away from your music?

Elle:  The songs I remember the most are rarely the easiest ones to listen to. They’re the ones that quietly changed the way I looked at the world. That’s the kind of music I want to make.

I don’t want our songs to become background noise. I want them to interrupt someone’s thoughts, make them question something they’ve always taken for granted, or leave them seeing the world from a slightly different perspective.

If someone walks away from one of our shows just a little more curious than when they arrived, then we’ve achieved exactly what we set out to do.

Esse: I’d like our sound to be raw. Something that scratches the inside of your ears, somewhere between your eardrum and your bones. Something that lives right on the edge of discomfort. At the same time, I’d love to write songs that are almost pop but with that same abrasive sound. If people take anything away from our music, I hope it’s a little bit of that discomfort, a shot of adrenaline, and maybe the urge to pick up an instrument and start playing themselves.

3. Which song or segment of the show do you look forward to performing in your upcoming tour in South Korea?

Elle: For me, it’s never about a specific song. It’s about the moment when the concert stops being something we’ve prepared and starts becoming something we’re discovering for the first time ourselves.

That’s my favorite part of every show. We react to each other, to the audience, and to whatever happens in the room. Sometimes everything clicks. Sometimes everything falls apart. I genuinely enjoy both.

If I knew exactly what was going to happen every night, I’d probably get bored. The uncertainty is what keeps live music alive.

That’s what I’m looking forward to the most in South Korea. Walking on stage with no script, no expectations, and seeing where the night decides to take us.

Esse: On every tour, we always bring songs that haven’t been recorded yet. The stage is our first laboratory. We want to see how people react before we ever step into the studio. That’s still the most exciting part for me, and I can’t wait to do it again in South Korea.

4. What are your favorite venues to perform in?

Elle: I don’t really have a favorite type of venue. Small or big doesn’t make much difference to me. What really changes everything is the audience. But if I could choose, I’d always pick the strangest places. One of the most memorable shows we’ve ever played was inside a subway station in Osaka. I’d love to play on a boat, in an abandoned building, or anywhere that doesn’t feel like a normal concert venue. The more unexpected and theatrical the setting is, the more inspired I become. I love walking on stage feeling like absolutely anything could happen.

Esse:There’s something beautiful about both. Big, well-equipped venues are exciting, but small underground clubs have a soul that’s hard to describe. If I had to compare it to food, it’s like choosing between a Michelin-starred restaurant and your grandmother’s kitchen. I’d go to my grandmother’s every time. I still haven’t found my perfect venue. For me, it’s not about the size or the reputation. It’s about the atmosphere, the natural acoustics, and the feeling that everyone in the room is sharing the same moment.

5. You are an Italian rock duo with music deeply inspired by Japanese culture and aesthetics, what is your creative process like?

Elle:To be honest, it all happened by accident.

My creative process has never been about following a plan. I simply follow whatever idea fascinates me in that moment. Most of the time, I have no idea where it’s going to lead.

Japan was supposed to be just one experience. Instead, it became bigger than my own imagination. Rather than leaving it behind, I found myself growing into it.

Now I’m exploring every direction it can take me. That’s one of the reasons why we’re about to spend more than a month touring South Korea. It isn’t a change of direction. It feels like the natural continuation of the same journey.

At this point, I’ve stopped trying to predict where my ideas will take me. I don’t control them. Sometimes they end up controlling me.

6. During your free time, do you already have plans where you would like to visit?

Elle: To be honest, I’m not very good at having free time. I usually fill every hour with something that catches my curiosity.

If I manage to steal a few hours between shows, I’d love to explore the side of South Korea that you can’t really find in a travel guide. I’m fascinated by the country’s spiritual traditions, its hidden places, and the stories that only local people know.

I’d also love to spend time with the musicians and producers we’ve already started getting to know. For me, the best way to discover a country has never been through monuments. It’s through conversations.

And yes… I definitely want to explore Korea’s specialty coffee scene too. I’ve heard it’s incredible, and I’m curious to find out if it lives up to its reputation.

Esse: I’d love to see the more traditional side of Korea. The old neighborhoods, the historical places, the traditions, those are the things that really interest me. Every country has its own identity, and that’s what I always try to discover when I travel. I’m sure Korea has a lot of places like that, and I can’t wait to experience them.

7. Are there any South Korean bands or artists you would like to collaborate with?

I’m about to give the least professional answer of this entire interview…

Lee Dong Wook.

And Kim Ji Hoon.

I know. They’re actors. I’ve accepted the consequences of this decision.

Jokes aside, I’ve never chosen people because they’re famous. I’m interested in people who make me curious. If I meet someone in South Korea whose way of thinking completely surprises me, whether they’re a musician, an actor, or any kind of artist, I’d love to create something together.

The best collaborations usually begin with curiosity, not with a plan.

8. What would you like to be remembered about you and what legacy would you like to leave behind?

Elle: I don’t really care about being remembered. I care about leaving something behind that keeps living after we’re gone.

I’d love Little Boys to be impossible to imitate, not because we’re trying to be different, but because we were honest enough to become ourselves. I think originality isn’t something you invent. It’s what remains after you’ve stopped trying to look like anyone else.

If our music leaves people a little more curious, a little more fearless, or simply gives someone permission to become the version of themselves they’ve been hiding, then that’s the only legacy I could ever ask for.

And if, somewhere along the way, we leave behind a small seed of beautiful madness, then I’ll feel we’ve done something worthwhile.

Esse: Well… maybe as someone who hit the drums pretty hard. But more seriously, I’d like to be remembered through what we’ve created. I’ve always admired artists who didn’t just make music, they built entire worlds, with their own atmosphere, stories, and mythology. If our music can leave people with that same feeling, then I’d be happy with that.

9. What’s one thing most people don’t know about you?

Elle: Most people think I’m completely spontaneous, and they’re right… right up until something really matters to me.

That’s when I become ridiculously perfectionistic. I can spend an embarrassing amount of time chasing the right guitar sound, changing a single word in a lyric, or moving something by a few millimeters until it finally feels right.

The funny part is that most people will never notice those details. I do, and unfortunately, once I’ve seen them, I can’t unsee them.

Esse:Most people don’t know that at least half of what Elle says about me isn’t true. She has a very creative imagination.

10. Do you have any upcoming projects or albums you're currently working on that you'd like to share with us?

Elle: Absolutely. We already have a collection of songs that finally feels like us. Not the band we thought we should become, but the band we naturally became.

As soon as the South Korean tour is over, we’ll disappear for a while. We’ll head to Japan, to the Iya Valley, where we’ll record our next album surrounded by mountains, forests, and silence.

I have a feeling those songs won’t be the same by the time we get there, and honestly, I hope they won’t. After spending weeks living and performing across South Korea and Japan, I want everything we experience along the way to find its way into the music.

That’s what excites me the most about making a record. It shouldn’t simply capture who you are. It should capture who you’re becoming.