RAd's Ensemble SINAWI encounter

 Aram Lee, Sera Ha, RAd, Songhee Jong, Bonggeun Lee and Jinhyuck Kim

One of the performers during the Korean Festival in ASEAN that happened a month ago at the Cultural Center of the Philippines was the Ensemble SINAWI. This group plays traditional Korean instruments and music but fuses it with modern/jazz improvisational techniques resulting in a sound that is not only interesting, but also very refreshing as well.

After the group’s well received performance, I’ve had the opportunity to meet the group backstage courtesy of CCP President Raul Sunico, SinagTala Management for Filipino Performing Artists’ Martin Lopez and Ensemble SINAWI’s manager, Sungoo Jung. The three of them also happen to be governors of the Federation for Asian Cultural Promotion.

Backstage, I was able to ask the group questions regarding their music and their instruments. I also got a closer look at the ajaeng and the jing. I wondered if playing the aejeng and the gayageum is painful to the fingers but Sera Ha (gayageum) wasn’t able to fully understand my question due to the language barrier. It was only pianist Songhee Jeong who had a good command of the English language and I told her that her jazz chords gave the music lot of flavor, texture and character as she accompanied the traditional Korean instruments.

Sungoo Jung also gave me a copy of the group’s CD entitled Into the Time which is actually their second release. I found out that the group that toured in South East Asia was slightly different from the members who recorded the album. Aram Lee (daegeum) and Jinhyuck Kim (janggu) weren’t included in the album and Jihye Kim was credited for the janggu and percussions instead. The album also featured a few guest artists like Junghee Kim (kkwaenggwari and scat), Duskoo Kim (janggu) and Junghae Oh (vocals).

Some of the tracks in the album were performed in Manila namely Voyage of Time, Eclipse and Rhapsody of East Tree. I thought that after their performance here, I would never hear their music again and they would just fade from memory. But thankfully I can relive the music by listening to their album. But I have to note though that there is one track that I wished that they performed here in Manila. All Day Long, a song that evokes nostalgia, features Bonggeun Lee’s vocals with only Songhee Jeong accompanying him on the piano. This track, the most pop sounding in the album, was sung with emotion and passion by Bonggeun Lee that I can feel his longing and his pain even if I don’t understand the lyrics at all. Looking back, this song could’ve brought the house down if ever they performed it in here. If ever Ensemble SINAWI comes back, I’ll be demanding that they perform this song.

Into the Time

Tracks:

1. Rhapsody of East Sea

2. The Haunted Tree

3. Dancing Moonlight II

4. Night Trail

5. Love Song

6. Voyage of Time

7. All Day Long

8. Eclipse

Text by RAd

Photos by Martin Lopez