Danish ukulele master brings workshop tour to Korea

Tobias Elof plays the ukulele in this handout photo. / Courtesy of Paul Olutokunbo Kristian Henckel-Ojo

By Jon Dunbar

Tobias Elof is on a five-month musical tour of Asia with his ukulele.

His “workshop tour” has brought him through the Chinese-speaking world, including Taiwan, China and Hong Kong, and now he has arrived in Korea to train people in the art of the uke.

“I’ve been playing the uke since the age of eight and I remember early on having thoughts about how far I can get with this thing,” Elof told The Korea Times.

Elof has traveled the world to hone his skills, spending three months studying traditional techniques in Hawaii and learning advanced techniques under ukulele legend James Hill in Canada, then he went back to Denmark where he practiced Scandinavian fiddle music.

He was the first ukulele player to be accepted into Northern Europe’s most-recognized music school, Sweden’s Skurups Folkhogskola. Later, he joined the music conservatory in Odense, Denmark.

“I was so privileged to be accepted with the ukulele!” he exclaimed. “As with anything, if you dig deep enough you’ll discover more.”

Arriving in Korea last month, he reunited with fellow Danish musician and reggae singer Philip K, performing together with Korean reggae band Nocksteady-Sun on Jan. 27.

“My music is very honest to how I am as a person,” he said. “My childhood was growing up in the countryside with traditional music and occasionally folk dances accompanied by an eager fiddle player,” he says.

“And my teenage years were in high school in the center of Copenhagen. I went to a lot of night concerts and late-night parties with heavy bass music and noisy punk held inside dirty squats with vegan community kitchens and socialist discussions.”

Now, he is set to teach ukulele workshops this week, first on Wednesday at Ggum Seoul branch, then Saturday at Daejeon Aloha Ukulele Store.

“Beginner ukulele is easier to play compared to other instruments,” Elof said. “The workshop is a little bit nerdy and will probably be a little bit too much for an all-new beginner.”

The classes cost 30,000 won and run from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., which will include a 30-minute performance by Elof. Only 30 are allowed in each class, and the registration deadline is Tuesday.

Visit facebook.com/tobiaselof for more info or to register.