박지하 Park Jiha — Korean Composer and Multi instrumentalist (Piri, Saenghwang, Yanggeum, Flute, Glockenspiel, Bells & Electronics)

My favorite artist of the moment, she has a few big fans here and really ought to have her own thread at this point. I’ve listened to her latest (https://parkjiha.bandcamp.com/album/all-living-things) several times a day since it dropped

These tracks are guided nature walks and rendered with a calligraphic ease, elegance and economy- A good example of this is how a single glockenspiel chime might refer to a ripple on the surface of a water body, but it’s the most open-ended indication.

A few times recently I let this record lead me through the ramble in central park, where I usually try my hardest to get lost (but of course I just *can’t* because, well, I’ve lived on the upper west side so much of my life)and it inspired a kind of nearsightedness, pointing out the delicate microworlds underfoot, or the energy beneath the earth in the post-Imbolc thawing out of the world. The lead voice here is piri, a ‘bamboo-oboe’ with a distinctly gooselike *honk*. So there are birds! But a strong sense of seasonality that places these walks right around their Feb release date (not an accident imo) or shortly after.

I’ve been learning to play sho in a gagaku ensemble rn, and i’m really into the Tang dynasty music from which gugak is derived (this is the nerdiest shit i like, musical or otherwise).
My prayers for a looser and more personal take on those forms with the imperial grandeur dialed way down have been answered. It almost feels like this album was made for me personally in some ways, it’s like a gift from the universe. I also love stuff that flattens temporal layers, and while that’s not quite what she’s doing here, cycles of seasonal change poetically described in traditional instruments are a clear and direct link to the ancient world.

Her compositions are mostly showcases for the instrumental textures, which are fucking exquisite (nevermind that the saenghwang mouth organ is nowhere near as beautiful as sho, its Japanese counterpart). Like, say, Nuno Canavarro her priority seems to be the construction of an immersive sound world.

Terrific thread opener! I've been playing All Living Things quite often since first discovering it. It seems to resonate perfectly for this time of year in the northern hemisphere. It's quiet music but it's certainly not ambient. There's a lot going on here but everything is positioned so well. The result is shimmering, gorgeous.

Deflatormouse, you might enjoy Park Jiha...

― m0stly clean (Slowsquatch), Tuesday, May 21, 2024 2:48 AM (nine months ago) bookmarkflaglink

otm

It seems to resonate perfectly for this time of year in the northern hemisphere.

i agree :D

Yeah, she's great, looking forward to giving the new one a listen...

....also, check out the khaen, it's the Laotian version of the sho, it's got more bass tones, very cool...

i've seen short khaen demonstrations on youtube but never heard a full piece or heard it in an ensemble