OKKYUNG LEE — Ghil (review)

OKKYUNG LEE — Ghil album cover Album · 2013 · Jazz Related Improv/Composition Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
snobb
Korea-born, New York-based, Berklee and New England Conservatory graduate/post-graduate composer and cellist Okkyung Lee owns a high position in a list of leading NY downtown innovative musicians. She has played with Laurie Anderson, Evan Parker, Wadada Leo Smith and Butch Morris, and has participated on some of John Zorn's experimental third stream albums. "Ghil" is her new turn - and it is logically rooted in her previous musical experiences.

This album contains solo cello recordings, but don't expect chamber atmosphere, warm tones and comfortable music. Okkyung's nearest influence is early Derek Bailey, but instead of guitar you hear distorted and often deconstructed cello. Likewise, instead of British humor, you get a strong classical background and Eastern brutal noise improvisations in a tradition known from Japanese avant-rockers.

This album was produced by Norwegian noise musician Lasse Marhaug. He used an old 1976 portable tape recorder, plus an odd use of mics and had the recordings take place in such unorthodox places as an abandoned hydroelectric powerplant in the Norwegian mountains, a back alley in Oslo or a cabin in the woods. Usually I don't care much about such details counting them as another marketing trick, but here on this album, the ambiance is a physical part of the music with no doubt.

This recorded material was released on the Austrian noise label Ideologic Organ, with minimal editing and without overdubs or other manipulation. The music presented is noisy, scratchy, distorted and always physical. Different from the myriad of other noise or noisy improv recordings around, this recording is well organized and you can feel some compositional background all the time. Starting from early Derek Bailey works, I can hardly remember such a successful combination of abrasive, scratchy, industrial, distortion on the outside form, while well-balanced philosophic content is maintaind inside. A very Eastern zen-like emotional statement makes for an unusual basis for almost punkish external form, though nothing sounds really punkish. In fact, Okkyung does not sound too different from her playing on Zorn's contemporary classical recordings, just the ambiance is not as chamber-like. Add her unique lyrical touch, which is obviously presented even on scratchy improvs ("art-noise improvs"?), and you have Okkyung's "Ghil", almost a masterpiece of modern noise-related improvisational music.
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