Pioneering artists of new music genre get the limelight

Sinnoi -- a Korean jazz trio that is pioneering a new music genre combining Korean folk music and jazz -- will perform their new song “Neo Simbangkok” on Jan. 29 and Jan. 30 at Arko Arts Theater in Jongno-gu, central Seoul.

The trio’s performance is part of the project “Arko Selection” by the Arts Council Korea, the national art organization that supports artists and arts entities. The project aims to promote development in the music industry by selecting 21 art groups and artists from five genres -- traditional music, plays, operas, dance and musicals.

Sinnoi, pansori singer Ji Gi-hak and percussionist Lim Yong-ju were selected for the traditional music genre. “The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly“ by Ji and “The Quing” by Lim will be performed on Feb. 3 to 7 and Feb. 26 to 28, respectively.

Sinnoi pioneers a new genre of music encompassing Korean traditional music and elements of jazz. The group was formed in 2019 by vocalist Kim Bo-ra who mastered Gyeonggi folk songs and Korean classical court music, jazz bassist Lee Won-sool and the electronic ambient sound artist, Haihm.

“The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly” is a Pansori performance based on a Korean children’s book of the same name which was translated into 29 languages and became the first million-seller children’s book in Korea. The story will be turned into a Pansori performance by eight Korean traditional music performers directed by Ji who has been pursuing performances that combine Pansori and Changgeuk, Korean traditional opera.

Another performance “The Quing” will be staged by Lim from Modular Seoul, an electronic music band which performs various genres of contemporary music. The artist has shown interest in the traditional musical instruments and recreates their sounds by adding contemporary musical elements.

Lim’s performance will feature Bianquing, an ancient percussion instrument, along with using a modular synthesizer, also known as an analogue synthesizer, which has been around since the late 1950s.

Tickets for the upcoming performances are priced at 30,000 won and can be purchased at theater.arko.or.kr or by calling (02) 3668-0007. The admission capacity will be capped at 30 percent of all seats to observe social distancing guidelines currently in place.

By Park Yuna (yunapark@heraldcorp.com)