The group bond (the lower-case spelling is intentional) is a group of conservatory-trained, svelte young female fiddlers who came to the British music scene in 2000 with a sort of ``Vanessa-Mae meets the Spice Girls’’ stage presence. They have thrilled youngsters who are non-pursuers of classical music, and received sneers from orthodox classical music fans who disdain their synthesizer-filled tunes.

The instrumentalists, with their overt sex appeal, will make their Seoul debut on March 13 at the Concert Hall of the Seoul Arts Center in southern Seoul, which is the first destination of bond’s Asia tour.

The four photogenic 20-somethings named their string quartet (consisting of two electric violins, one electric viola and one electric cello) bond, and played the James Bond theme at their sold-out 5,000-seat Royal Albert Hall debut.

Producer Mel Bush, who previously discovered Vanessa-Mae and David Essex, created bond after an 18-month, £600,000 (1.1 billion won) preparation.

Shortly after their debut album ``Born’’ was released on the Decca label in the fall of 2000, it climbed to number two on the classical charts of CIN (Chart Information Network _ the organization that tracks and tabulates sales ratings in the UK) before it was thrown off the classical charts. The CIN board’s decision was that bond’s music is not qualified as classical as they define it.

CIN clarified its definition on classical, explaining that ``the music should be composed by a recognized classical composer and be in a classical idiom or form.’’

The bond members were indignant at the expulsion, with first violinist Haylie Ecker saying; ``We're all classical musicians who have trained for 20 years; we have degrees and won prizes…it is a classical musical mixture of sounds and rhythms from around the world... Six men are dictating to the public. It sucks.’’

But the expulsion didn’t seem to do much harm _ in fact, it got them more publicity, bringing up such phrases as ``girls too spicy for classical charts’’ (Times) or ``deemed too raunchy for the classical music charts," (Daily Telegraph). They have sold a million copies of the debut album across Europe and have made frequent TV appearances, to the joy of their waves of fans.

``Born’’ includes 13 tracks, including a remixed version of the track ``Victory,’’ and all of the songs were newly composed or arranged for the album. Dance beats and electronic polish dominates in their music.

The four members are all from proper classical music backgrounds: Ecker, the first violinist, holds a first-class honors degree from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, while Eos Chater, the second violinist, earned her degree from the Royal College of Music. Violist Tania Davis holds a first-class Bachelor Of Music Honors degree from the Sydney Conservatorium, and has just gained a postgraduate diploma in performance with distinction from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. Finally, cellist Gay-Yee Westerhoff attended Trinity College Of Music in London.

On their official Web site homepage one can see them playing in the water in bikinis and saying things like ``I love surfing’’ or ``I like to learn the martial arts of the Shaolin monks’’ in their profile section.