[K-Culture at Home #12] Gugak Remix Series: Black String <Exhale-Puri>

Black String

Available August 18 - 25

Black String channels the soulful spirit of both American jazz and Korean traditions, spiced up with an eclectic mix of acoustic instruments and electronic sounds. The improvisation, spontaneity, and enigmatic depth that characterize both styles are embraced in the original music of Black String, through both composed and freestyle creations. The group draws inspiration from American jazz legends like Ornette Coleman as well as Korean folk music and mythology, providing rich creative source material and an irresistible stylistic mashup. Black String seeks to harmonize its own unique musical language, expressing the intuition and idiomatic nature of music from an Asian tradition, with the broader spectrum of world music enjoyed throughout the world. 

“Towering, hypnotic, psychedelic Korean postrock majesty”

- New York Music Daily

“An engaging exploration of what can be achieved by bringing ancient and modern into creative fusion”

- Jazzwise

Yoon Jeong Heo is Black String's lively leader and a virtuoso of the traditional Korean geomungo zither. Her talent cuts across various musical genres, expanding the possibilities for the geomungo and Korean music in general by bringing together elements of traditional, improvisational, and contemporary music. Heo has held numerous solo recitals since 1998 and has performed in Korea, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States, among many other countries. Heo has broadened her musical spectrum by collaborating with prominent artists like Stephan Micus and has performed on major stages including those at the Rudolstadt World Music Festival in Germany (2009), WOMEX opening concert in Copenhagen (2010), and the UN's International Telematic Music Concert for Peace (2010). Heo spent six months in New York after being selected by the Rockefeller Foundation as a resident artist for the Asian Cultural Council New York (2007-2008) and joined three other jazz musicians during her tenure to form The Tori Ensemble.

Black String, composed of Yoon Jeong Heo (geomungo), Jean Oh (electric guitar), Aram Lee (daegeum, yanggeum) and Min Wang Hwang (ajaeng, janggu), was founded in 2011 as part of UK Connection, a government sponsored Korea-UK cultural exchange program. The group has performed at WOMEX 2016, the London Jazz Festival, and Winter Jazzfest among many other renowned festivals and venues. 

Premier

June 22, 2020 at Seoul Traditional Donhawamun Theater

Musicians

Yoon Jeong Heo: Geomungo (six-stringed zither)

Jean Oh: Guitar, Electronics

Aram Lee: Daegeum, Sogeum, Yanggeum, Taepyeongso

Min Wang Hwang: Ajaeng, Janggu, Percussion, Vocals

Program

Exhale-Puri

Elevation of Light

Mask Dance

Blue Shade

Dang Dang Dang

Featured Instrument: Geomungo

The traditional Korean geomungo, also known as the hyeongeum (literally meaning "black zither"), is a traditional Korean six-stringed zither that features both bridges and frets, allowing for a wide range of control and expression. Scholars believe that the name geomungo is derived from the name of the ancient Korean kingdom of Goguryeo (37 BCE - 668 CE), during which the instrument originated, and roughly equates to "Goguryeo zither" or "black crane zither." The instrument's six silk strings stretch over a resonator made of paulownia and chestnut wood. The forceful geomungo is considered the more masculine counterpart of the similar gayageum zither, whose delicate sound is associated with femininity, but both instruments are played by both male and female performers.