It can sit comfortably next to an epic post rock shoe gaze just as comfortably as it can sit next to a Brian Eno soundtrack.
-Lazer Horse-
“a stylish instrumental duo, whose performances are almost like a monastic ritual
－Songlines
“…their instrumental duets are intricate, considered, with space to breathe”
－fRoots Magazine
숨[suːm] was formed in 2007 by two Korean traditional musicians.
Their ambitious aim is to start a new era of Korean traditional music that sheds light on contemporary spirit by addressing in musical sense sentiments and lessons learned fr...
Show the rest
It can sit comfortably next to an epic post rock shoe gaze just as comfortably as it can sit next to a Brian Eno soundtrack.
-Lazer Horse-
“a stylish instrumental duo, whose performances are almost like a monastic ritual
－Songlines
“…their instrumental duets are intricate, considered, with space to breathe”
－fRoots Magazine
숨[suːm] was formed in 2007 by two Korean traditional musicians.
Their ambitious aim is to start a new era of Korean traditional music that sheds light on contemporary spirit by addressing in musical sense sentiments and lessons learned from living a modern life. One of the founders, Jiha Park, admits: I like Korean traditional music, but when I play it I feel a little weird because I don’t live in that time, a long time ago. I live now, in the 21st century, so I want to make my own music.
To reach that goal they experiment with melody and rhythm and adapt traditional instruments to their needs. Jiha Park plays Piri – a bamboo oboe, Yanggeum – a dulcimer, and Saenghwang – an impressive pipe organ played with the breath, while Jungmin Seo uses an unusual 25 string zither Gayageum.
Their music is not limited by any particular notes, and musical phrases are adapted to their breathing capacity. Breath is a key word for the group. It is the translation of the word 숨[suːm] (pronounced ‘soom’) and to them it is a means to music: Sometimes a soft sigh, sometimes a gasp, and sometimes a silent hold of breath. They understand the musical virtue as moderation, therefore they do not try to fill their music unnecessarily, they limit the number of instruments and members of the band, compose fully on their own and play their own pieces. All of this emphasizes the artistic value of their musical abilities and makes their music pure and sophisticated.
The band was enthusiastically received at WOMEX 2013 in Cardiff.
•2014. 10. Europe tour Concert-Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Italy, Hungary
•2014. 09. ‘10th Cross Culture Festival’ Warsaw Poland(Invited)
•2014. 08. ‘George Town Festival’ Penang Malaysia(Invited)
•2014. 07. ‘Sfinks Mixed 2014’ Boechout Belgium(Invited)
•2014. 07. ‘WOMAD Charlton Park Festival 2014’ Wiltshire U.K.(Invited) •2014. 04. ‘Cinemasia Festival 2014’ Amsterdam Netherlands(Invited)
•2013. 10. Official Selection in WOMEX 2013 (Cardiff, UK)
•2013. 04. Europe Tour Concert- Spain, Hungary, Turkey.
•2013. 04. ‘Sound of the Xity 2013’ festival in Beijing China (Invited)
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