By Sammy Stein
A gayageum is a traditional Korean plucked zither with 12, 18, 21, or 25 strings. Historically made from paulownia wood, the instrument produces a soft, delicate, resonant sound, the range of tone enhanced by having movable bridges. Do Yeon Kim is an internationally recognised gayageum player who has been key to bringing this instrument into contemporary music. Being a plucked string instrument with a wooden body, it has percussive overtones that make it versatile and able to blend with percussion or stringed instruments.
On Wellspring (Tao Forms), Kim teams with Mat Maneri on viola, Tyshawn Sorey on drums, and Henry Fraser on bass, and the result is a crazily magical seven tracks, four composed by Kim and three group compositions.
The opening track, ‘The Beats of Distant Thunder,’ is a creative blending of sound with plucked strings, flowing lines, and percussive distractions that create a flow of energy from one musician to another. The breath-like ebb and flow, along with a rise and fall in dynamics, make for a piece brimming with interest. It feels like almost the perfect free playing match, as each musician takes explorative themes, sees where they go, and passes the concepts deftly to the rest. Sorey’s percussion is monumental on this track, and the gayageum reveals a huge range of sounds.
‘Walking In The Dream’ is an enchanting blend of sung and spoken vocals and sonorous, gutsy bass lines. It is a track that brings in essences of Crass at times, with the shouted, meaningful vocals. On ‘Whispers Among Dawn,’ Kim changes her 25-string gayageum for a 12-string one, and the sound is distinctly more open. The interaction with the bass is mesmeric. On ‘Sun Shower,’ Kim is back to her 25-string gayageum for a beautiful number with interaction between viola and gayageum that becomes hard to differentiate at times. Halfway through, Kim unleashes madcap vocals that align perfectly with the multi-layered textures of the instruments. The sheer depth of the controlled noise of the final third until it fades is worth listening to at full volume.
On ‘Diffraction,’ Kim switches to the 12-string gayageum again, for a dynamic, interactive track, followed by ‘Linear System’, which is so laden with sound, it sounds like many instruments; it is hard to believe just one is involved. It gets denser, and more layers seem to evolve until everyone quietens and the vocals of Kim gently, almost tentatively, rise from the near silence. The music builds again, then, with a cymbal crash and a bass, it is gone, yet not quite. It moves into the final track, ‘Calculus for Our Souls,’ which is the most atmospheric track of the album, with Kim's vocals singing, shouting, calling over the instruments, with Maneri’s viola adding its own lines underneath before the drum and bass introduce even more layers to this extraordinary music.
This is one heck of an album, with something for everyone, from free jazz lovers to punk vocal style and hints of classical in the string lines. It is mesmeric and different, yet there is also a familiarity – the sense of musicians coming together and creating free jazz that does just what this kind of music does – connects and communicates.
Kim says of the album that she was asking the question: How could she embody the world through her music to create a powerful and lasting impression on the listener?
Question answered: This album does exactly that. It is an expression of primal force, encapsulated by musicians who understand what Kim needed and wanted. The dynamics are beautiful, the communication sound, and the music captivating.
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