Café OTO is hugely excited to welcome cellist, composer, and improviser, Okkyung Lee for three days of solo performance and collaborations with London-based and Korean artsts – her first residency here since 2019!
For the first night of her residency, Okkyung will present two different cello sets; a solo acoustic cello set followed by a brand-new pre-recorded multi-channel reworking of her piece “Teum (The Silvery Slit)” originally written for the Acousmonium at GRM.
For the second night of her residency, Okkyung presents two new collaborations, alongside drummer and percussionist, Crystabel Riley and turntablist, Mariam Rezaei!
For the third and final night of her residency, Okkyung revisits her trio alongside saxophonist John Butcher, and bassist, John Edwards, who first performed together in 2013. Tonight they’ll also be joined by Korean musicians Eunyoung Kim (piano) and Junyoung Song (drums) for a very special quintet set.
Okkyung Lee is a cellist, composer, and improviser who moves freely between artistic disciples and contingencies. Since 2000 she has worked in disparate contexts as a solo artist and collaborator with creators in a wide range of disciplines. A native of South Korea, Lee has taken a broad array of inspirations—including noise, improvisation, jazz, western classical, and her homeland’s traditional and popular music—and used them to forge a highly distinctive approach.
Although Okkyung is probably known best for her improvisational work utilizing visceral extended techniques on her instrument, she has been creating various types of compositions and site-specific works, responding to its architecture, audience, or objects surrounding her, producing an immersive experience that also challenges the built-in hierarchy in traditional concert settings. She has appeared on more than 30 albums, including the latest release 나를 (Na-Reul) on Corbett vs Dempsey, and Teum (The Silvery Slit), written for acclaimed Acousmonium by GRM and live cello, released on GRM Portraits/Editions Mego.
She has been commissioned to compose music and assemble projects for Explore Ensemble (London, UK), Time Spans Festival (New York, USA), Groupe de Recherches Musicales (Paris, France), Sonic Acts Festival (Amsterdam, The Netherlands), Borealis Festival (Bergen, Norway), Donaueschingen Music Festival (Donaueschingen, Germany) and Nam June Paik Art Center (Yong-In, South Korea). She has performed in Museum of Modern Art (New York), Whitney Museums of American Art (New York, USA), The Met Breuer (New York, USA), Museum Tinguely (Basel, Switzerland), Museo del Novecento (Milan, Italy), Serpentine Galleries (London, UK), White Cube Galleries (London, UK) and many others.
Photo of Okkyung Lee by Eun Chun