2015’s K-music festival opens on the South Bank on 1 September with SU:M.
K-Music: SU:M + special guest Arthur Jeffes from Penguin Cafe
Tuesday 1 September | 7:45PM
LONDON Southbank Centre | Purcell Room | Belvedere Road | London SE1 8XX
£15 + Booking fee | Book here
SU:M’s name (pronounced “soom”) translates as “breath” and it expresses the physical connection of these two women to the music they create – sometimes a soft sigh, sometimes a cry, sometimes a silent holding of breath. Jungmin Seo plays the gayageum (a massive 25-string zither) and Jiha Park plays wind instruments including the saenghwang (imagine the subtlest mouth organ, with 17 bamboo pipes).
They are an astonishing experience live – they’ve played Womex Cardiff and were seen at WOMAD last year. This opening concert of the K-Music festival of Korean music is their first London concert.
The evening will begin with a short solo set by Arthur Jeffes, leader of Penguin Cafe, who will play music by himself and his father Simon Jeffes inspired by their travels in Asia – and it will end with a short collaboration between Arthur and SU:M.
Members
- Ji-ha Park (Pin, Saenghwang, Yanggeum)
- Jung-min Seo (Gayageum)
Key Instruments
- Piri, Saenghwang, Yanggeum, Gayageum
Discography
- 2010: Rhythmic Space: A Pause for Breath
Performances
- 2013 showcase at Womex
- 2014 10th World Music Festival
Awards
- 2010 MAP (Mullae Arts Plus)
- New Artist Trend 2009 supporting project for young artists
- Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture 21st Century Korean Music Project
For 숨 [su:m], music is a way to express the essence of life, since their formation they have been telling colourful stories of various lives in the language of music.
Since 2007, for a better interpretation of the genre, the two musicians, Jiha Park (Piri – Bamboo Oboe, SaengHwang – Mouth Organ, Yanggeum – Dulcimer) and Jungmin Seo (25 stringed Gayageum – Zither, Steel stringed Gayageum) have composed and performed their own musical pieces. Their ambitious aim is to start a new era for traditional Korean music that sheds a light on the contemporary spirit by addressing in a musical sense the sentiments and lessons learned from living a modem life.
Links:
(automatically generated) Read LKL’s review of this event here.