Black String Karma
Karma is an Asian spiritual concept whereby every action inevitably has both physical and spiritual con-sequences. It is the perfect title for this album, since no lis-tener could possibly be indifferent faced with what Black String do. Their music, which combines the complex and the extremely catchy, triggers mental as well as physical reactions. This is a world in which epochs and styles intertwine. From every point of view this album is a completely captivating listen.
The band Black String has added several new dimensions to the genre "world music". The South Korean quartet led by geomungo (traditional Korean zither) player Yoon Jeong Heo takes stylistic building blocks from traditional Asian music, jazz, blues and rock, and from electronica too, and juggles them expertly. It’s a powerful mix, bursting with all kinds of timbre possibilities, a context in which improvisation and traditional forms truly merge. The new album "Karma" represents a modern, global kind of music. Whereas it knows no borders, it definitely has strong and deep roots.Black String's debut album "Mask Dance" had a great reception from both audiences and critics. The New York Music Daily wrote of "towering, hypnotic, psychedelic Korean post-rock majesty", and Jazzwise magazine in the UK des...
Line up:Yoon Jeong Heo / geomungo
Jean Oh / guitar, electronics, beat mixing (on 2)
Aram Lee / daegeum, yanggeum, tungso, danso & taepyeongso
Min Wang Hwang / voice, janggu, percussion & taepyeongso
Special Guest: Nguyên Lê / guitar (on 3 & 4)
Recorded at Brickwall Sound, Seoul, Korea, on January 25 & April 26, 2019
Recorded, mixed and mastered by Hyomin Kang
Produced by Yoon Jeong Heo
Executive Producer: Myung Kuk “Victor” Kye
Cover art by Peter Krauskopf (2019), by kind permission of the artist
Track List:
- Sureña ( Black String)05:45
- Hanging Gardens Of Babylon ( Black String)09:09
- Elevation Of Light ( Black String)04:07
- Song Of The Sea ( Black String)05:09
- Exit Music - For A Film ( Radiohead)03:50
- Exhale-Puri ( Black String)04:46
- Karma ( Black String)07:49
- Beating Road ( Black String)05:40
- Blue Shade ( Black String)05:48