Jin Hi Kim & Gerry Hemingway

September 28, 2010. Jakarta, Indonesia

Recorded in August of 2009 in a beautiful wood room in rural Massachusets this recording captures the ongoing work of a collaboration that began in 2003 with Jin Hi Kim’s invitation for a project in Korea. Jin Hi Kim plays the traditional Korean Komungo, often referred to as the father of Asian zithers partially for its very rich and bass-like tone as well as its long history in Korean traditional music. She also plays what she calls the Electric Komungo, which uses the same basic traditional instrument outfitted with electrical pickups built into the instrument and then processed through a MAX/MSP program on her computer that she designed that connects the natural sonic qualities of the traditional instrument with very wide array of related processing orchestrations. “For me there is a connection I have discovered through working with Jin that relates to the way I have developed a sense of articulating time that is as much about the space between each sound as the placement in time of each sound that finds a natural parallel to the way in which Korean traditional music is organized in respect to pulse and rhythm” (GH). This duo recording is unlike anything previous in the Auricle catalog in its musical character, sense of space and the way in which these two players hear each other and find connection between the cultural backgrounds of these two very different musicians.

Web page about the duo: http://www.gerryhemingway.com/auricle10.html
Jin Hi KimHome Page: http://www.jinhikim.com

Pulses

Jin Hi Kim
komungo, electric komungo`
Gerry Hemingway
drums, percussion, voice

1. Double Portraits 9:51
2. Windtails 7:17`
3. Rain Dance 7:22
4. Pale Blue Dot 8:56
5. Deimos & Phobos 6:16
6. Saturn's Ring 3:37
7. Quick Step 3:09
8. Return 8:30
9. Pulses 7:16

Total time 62:43

All works by Jin Hi Kim & Gerry Hemingway © 2010 (ASCAP/BMI/GEMA)
Recorded August 18, 2009 in Shutesbury, MA
Recording, Postproduction, Mastering & Design by Gerry Hemingway
Produced by Jin Hi Kim & Gerry Hemingway
Inside performance photo taken in the Detroit Institute of Arts Museum
Cover photo is of a Korean hand made paper window shade Special thanks to Jim Hemingway

reviews/comments:

Touching Extremes April 30, 2011

"The impressions immediately materializing since the very first listen of this beautifully unpretentious album are clear. For starters, the conspicuous sense of spiritual empathy between players who find themselves with eyes closed, systematically drawing instant charts as they choose the proper dynamic nuances when the music’s flow indicates a new route. Second, and perhaps most important, is the remarkable morphing of the different instrumental personalities into a single entity comprising two souls. Kim’s komungo – both in the acoustic and electric version – is a tool which, mainly designed for melody, nevertheless owns unmistakable percussive qualities, pretty evident in the way in which the strings must be energetically plucked during certain animated transactions. On the other hand, Hemingway’s drumming receptiveness lets us envision a whole world of lyrical intuitions, which he adapts to the Korean partner’s enchanting patterns and swirls by fusing his improvising self with her unique blend of Eastern tints and concentrated transmissions of energy. This amalgamation of inventive currents, instantaneous acceptance and clever elaboration of the result, appearing as natural as dribbling water on a spring’s rock, leaves any academic issue out of the equation. Every minute of this CD is at one and the same time perfectly graspable yet rich in meaningfulness and non-conformism." Massimo Ricci