Ryu Hankil/Jin Sangtae/Choi Joonyang - 5 Modules I, Hong Chulki - 5 Modules II

Ryu Hankil/Jin Sangtae/Choi Joonyong
5 Modules I
Manual

Hong Chulki
5 Modules II
Manual

Two invigorating releases from Korea serving notice that the boundaries are still being pushed, that fascinating music remains to be discovered in the nethermost nooks and crannies of noise abstraction. The instrumentation wielded by the trio in the first recording perhaps provides some idea of what to expect: “3 Clockworks” (don’t ask me), contact mic, laptop, radio, guitar pickup, Mp3 player feedback. The closest analogies I can think of, sticking with sound artists, are Taku Unami’s scampering toys from a couple years back, though the three improvisations here have something more of a connective thread, exceedingly gossamer though it may be. The overall mien is quiet, the action fairly sporadic though when it occurs there tends to be a scurrying quality to it, the noises rapidly making their erratic way from this corner to that. Actually, things take a turn toward relative density in the second track, greater depth being achieved through more commonly occurring overlappings. The pieces are titled “Window seat I-III” and, yes, the listener does get a sense of complex activity, natural and man-made, nearby and far. If the window in question is scratched and smudged, that makes the perceptions all the more intriguing, more difficult to pinpoint. There’s even something of a drone to hang your hat on toward this second cut’s end. While one’s initial perception may (or may not) be one of detached coolness, repeated listenings reveal much warmth, touches of humor and a really intricate, unusual web of communication possessing a surprising degree of tensile strength. If the final improvisation tarries for a few minutes longer than it had to, not such a big deal. An excellent, staunchly progressive disc.

The second release on this fledgling label is courtesy turntablist Hong Chulki. Picking up where (one might say) Yoshihide has left off in the area of the recordless turntable, Hong creates subtle layers of varying textures, for instance a hollow hum alongside a storm of quiet crackling, that hum on closer listening discovered to contain several elements of its own. Notes from our own Joe Foster indicate a pedigree derived from Seoul-based noise bands and there are occasions when he utilizes certain kinds of abrupt shifting among levels of harshness that betray a leaning toward effects at the expense of the whole but generally, he reins in these tendencies. The first, and longest, track is nonetheless a bit too scattershot in approach, caroming back and forth as though searching for a purpose but ending in frustration (which, of course, could be its point). The others fare better in their relative concision, but there still came a point where I found myself really wanting to hear Hong in the company of others, maybe with the trio above. He clearly knows his materials and is an inventive player (there’s some exciting and tense use of silence in the final track, my favorite of the bunch); I just wanted to hear another sonic opinion after a while.

Either way, both discs are well worth hearing and bode well for more strong music emanating from this neck of the woods and for the Manual label in particular.

manual

Available stateside through erstdist