Why Swedish band The Radio Dept will only play gigs in Asia

Right now, the only place to be for fans of The Radio Dept. is as far as possible from the band’s European home.

The cult Swedish indie rockers are so fed up with playing in their own front yard that they’re only taking gigs in Asia. And even then, the more remote the better.

“We said we were not going to tour before the next album is out, but then we got this offer to play in Mongolia,” frontman and founder Johan Duncanson says during a break in rehearsals at the band’s studio in Stockholm. “We only said yes because we haven’t been there before.’’

Duncanson is not your typical rock ‘n’ roller. Not for him, that life on the road. He prefers working in the studio to playing live. Other than getting paid, the only real benefit of touring for him is the opportunity to see new places. Indeed, the last time The Radio Dept. released an album, instead of touring the big cities of Europe or the US to promote it, he and partner Martin Larsson decamped for a gig in Thailand.

“We don’t find it that much fun to tour in Europe or the US,” he says, adding a hasty apology to his European and American fans. “The US is so expensive and Europe is too close to home. We’ve had some great evenings playing in Europe, anyway.”

Fortunately for local fans, Hong Kong is one of those places Duncanson and his bandmates are willing to visit. On the back of their festival appearance in Ulan Bator, they’ve booked a brief Asian tour including a return to Hong Kong for one night at The Hangout in Sai Wan Ho on June 29. They’ll also play in Seoul, Taipei, Shanghai, Beijing and Bangkok.