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| 'Shamanic funk' band Ak Dan Gwang Chil (ADG7) members / Courtesy of Lee Jong Sam |
By Kwak Yeon-soo
Fusion gugak has been enjoying a sudden heyday lately. There have been numerous and various efforts to creatively reinterpret gugak, or traditional Korean music. Young musicians have churned out new styles of gugak, mixing old and new, or East and West, for modern-day audiences.
Unlike other fusion gugak groups such as Leenalchi or Coreyah that combine elements of traditional Korean music and Western pop music, Ak Dan Gwang Ghil (ADG7) uses only traditional Korean instruments to create sounds.
The nine-member ensemble consists of three vocalists ― Hong Ok, Myeong Wol and Yoo Wol ― as well as daegeum (bamboo flute) player Kim Yak-dae, piri (double reed oboe) and saenghwang (mouth organ) player Lee Man-wol, ajaeng (seven-stringed bowed zither) player Grace Park, gayageum (12-string zither) player Weon Meondongmaru, and percussionists Chun Gung-dal and Sunwoo Barabarabarabam.
ADG7's members refuse to be called traditionalists as they are passionate about reinventing traditional music for the modern era. Upbeat, bouncy songs by ADG7 link folksy tunes with the catchy repetitions of pop music.
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| ADG7 vocalist Myeong Wol rehearses at Seogyo Square in Seoul, July 9. Korea Times photo by Kim Kang-min |
The band performs repertoire from gut (shamanic ritual) and Seodo Minyo, or folk music of Hwanghae Province in present-day North Korea, that is characterized by high clear nasal tones and fine vibrato.
"From the beginning, we were focused on how our music could be unique, how we could impress the world with our distinctive sound. Our main strategy was to infuse Seodo Minyo, which is rarely taught in schools or performed by musicians, and add a contemporary touch to it," Kim said during a recent interview with The Korea Times.
Noting that Seodo Minyo is no longer passed down in North Korea, he added: "It's quite ironic that South Koreans have a greater enthusiasm for North Korean folk music."
ADG7 was formed in 2015, the 70th anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule. The band's music explores the true meaning of liberation and the country's desire for reunification.
For instance, the song "Widmung" from their second album is dedicated to Kim Bok-dong who passed away in 2019 ― she was a South Korean victim of wartime sex slavery practices by the Japanese military.
"The past has made us who we are. South Korea is a nation built on sacrifice. In that regard, we believe it is our duty as musicians to tell our listeners a bit more about our history," Kim said.
Furthermore, ADG7 uses music to bring a sense of comfort and solace to listeners. "We always wanted to become musicians that can provide comfort, relief and positive energy to people. But we didn't want our songs to sound too instructive. So we started writing lyrics that are more relatable to everyday life. Nowadays, we just try to express sincerity in our music," Hong Ok said.
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| ADG7 percussionists Chun Gung-dal, left, and Sunwoo Barabarabarabam rehearse at Seogyo Square in Seoul, July 9. Korea Times photo by Kim Kang-min |
All ADG7 members are part of Jeong Ga Ak Hoe, a professional traditional music group founded in 2000. Comprised of some 16 professional gugak performers, it specializes in gagok (a genre of vocal music using poetry as its lyrics), julpungnyu (string ensemble) and pansori (a traditional style of narrative music).
Surviving in the gugak scene wasn't easy. To popularize the old-timey musical genre, they collaborated with contemporary songwriters and wrote music for theater productions.
With unrelenting efforts to expand their presence in the music scene, their powerful engaging performance immersed audiences in a spiritual experience and delivered positive energy originating from gut and Seodo Minyo. They won multiple awards including the Sori Frontier Award at the 2017 Jeonju International Sori Festival and Best Group at the 2018 KBS Korean Traditional Music Award.
"Many describe our music as 'shamanic funk' because our band fuses Korean folk music with a swaggering, funky groove. We actually imagine ourselves becoming shamans while performing onstage," Kim said.
Another characteristic that makes ADG7 unique is their candy-colored costumes that appear genderless.
"The colorful costumes are derived from images of shamans who wear vividly colored clothes and bold jewelry. Crossdressing expresses shamans' genderless quality because they are mediums channeling heaven and earth. As for the vocalists, they often wear women's hanbok while putting on traditional hats worn by men," Park explained.
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| ADG7 ajaeng player Grace Park rehearses at Seogyo Square in Seoul, July 9. Korea Times photo by Kim Kang-min |
Gaining popularity overseas, ADG7 has performed at major music festivals such as the World Music Expo (WOMEX) in 2019 and globalFEST in 2020.
Hong Ok recalled that one of their most memorable overseas tours was when the band performed in front of the British Museum in the U.K. in 2016. "When we were rehearsing, a Korean tourist came up to us and warned that we shouldn't be presenting gut to foreigners. We became really nervous, but despite our concerns, the audiences cheered us on and danced to our music," she said.
The ensemble expressed regret about music festivals having to be postponed indefinitely since last year.
"We originally planned to hold 40 performances in 16 different countries last year, but all of them got canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It's heart-wrenching, but we were able to make more TV appearances instead. I hope we can participate in a global music festival next year," Lee said.
ADG7's members are vague about their future plans, including future tours. One thing they know for certain is that they want to continue creating songs that explore time as a construct.
The band members echoed that they share a sense of responsibility to carry on the legacy by creating their own musical worlds. "Music is a living art that changes over time. Therefore, I believe that making our own music based on what we have learned in the past is just as important as keeping traditional music alive," Lee said.
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