Park Woojae - Park Woojae Geomungo Extension (2014)

WOOJAE PARK
Park Woojae is a graduate of the Korea National University of Arts and also a winner of the National Korean Music Competition. He has had two recitals sponsored by the Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation (Contemporary Korean Music, Geomungo Four New Face, 2005) and the ARCO Gallery (Here and Now, 2006) and was invited as a young soloist to perform by the Nangye Korean Music Festival.

Woojae has developed his own plectrum, used to play a Korean harp, and also developed stroke styles that use the plectrum and a bow. Through these playing styles he has created a unique musical world and as such has expanded the traditional performance boundaries of the geomungo (six-stringed Korean zither instrument).

2014 saw the release of his solo album, Geomungo Extension. This eclectic album was seen as a revelation for geomungo music, with four notable songs standing out – Passivity, Elation, Morphosis and Caress, each displaying Park’s unique stroke technique and bow utilization that transformed the geomungo from an instrument one plucks into one that reverberates with the strokes of a bow.

He has also worked with the ensemble music group Baramgot , directed by Won Il. The ensemble excels in both the playing of improvised folk music (sinawi) and the interpretation of various contemporary styles. He has also worked with artists from different artistic fields such as modern choreographers, for example Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, he has also overseen composition and music performance for Fractus V, the newest work choreographed by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui.

Tracklist:
5:51 | 01. Park Woojae - Morphosis
5:10 | 02. Park Woojae - Abyss
4:23 | 03. Park Woojae - Passivity
3:20 | 04. Park Woojae - Red
3:47 | 05. Park Woojae - Be a Drift
6:13 | 06. Park Woojae - Blue Rain
5:32 | 07. Park Woojae - Voice and Geomungo
6:03 | 08. Park Woojae - Sonnet 18
7:41 | 09. Park Woojae - Sooyeonjangjigok