Vong Pak’s Blue and White Electric Shaman: A Magical Mix of Traditional Korean Percussion Rhythms and Electric Guitars
If you thought traditional Korean instruments could never go well together with electric guitars, think again. On Thursday, October 18th, as part of the Korean Cultural Service’s Open Stage series, NYC-based Korean musician Vong Pak and his band Blue and White Electric Shaman showed an audience of about 80 people the limitless possibilities and aural pleasure that can be created when Korean folk rhythms are seamlessly melded together with contemporary Western music.
Vong Pak and his band Blue and White Electric Shaman performing as part of the 2012-2013 Open Stage series (Photo by Regina Kim)
A true master of traditional Korean performing arts, Vong (or Vongku) Pak has been performing and teaching traditional Korean music in the U.S. for many years. Since 2006, Vong has worked on various crossover projects that blend together Western and traditional Eastern music, collectively titled “Blue and White” (borrowed from the School of Five Elements, with “blue” referring to Eastern culture and “white” representing Western culture). His latest project, “Electric Shaman,” is described as “a fusion of traditional Korean rhythms, Korean ritual-style vocals, and electric guitar instrumentals.” That Thursday night, both Korean and non-Korean listeners alike had the chance to experience this unique blending of two very different art forms. The resulting mix sounded vaguely familiar, yet indescribable and in a genre of its own at the same time.
The band began their concert with a piece titled “2+3,” which started off with traditional Korean drum rhythms that, according to Vong, originally come from Korea’s Gyeonggi Province. Then the bass guitar and electric guitar, played by Jorge Mesa and John Chang respectively, joined in to give a groovy, electronic sound to the beat, in a style that could perhaps be likened to Dream Theater’s “Overture 1928.” The bass was particularly awesome, and the entire piece was a true blend of East and West and of the traditional and the modern.
Vong introduced the second song, titled “Frog,” by telling the audience that it could be considered as K-pop—not in the common sense of the word, but by the fact that it was inspired by a once-popular Korean folk song called “Frog Song” (개구리 타령) . Vong spoke of his visit to Jindo Island in South Korea and experiencing culture shock there because the dialect was so different from the spoken Korean he was used to hearing in South Korea. While beating on two barrel drums (called buk in Korean), Vong chanted throughout much of the song in pansori fashion (pansori is a type of traditional Korean music largely characterized by chanting), albeit in the somewhat strange Jindo dialect (for example, the Korean word for “frog,” which is usually pronounced as “gae-goo-ri,” was sung repeatedly as “gae-go-ri” (개고리), which seemed to amuse some Koreans in the audience).
From left to right: John Chang on the electric guitar, Vong Pak on the barrel drums, and Jorge Mesa on the bass guitar (Photo by Regina Kim)
“Electric Shaman I” used a certain type of Korean drum pattern called teobollim jangdan that was borrowed from “Gyeonggi Dodang-gut,” a traditional piece that hails from Gyeonggi Province. The bass guitar proved to be a nice accompaniment as it followed the drum beats, lending the familiar traditional Korean rhythms a wholly different personality. The next song, “Happy But No Exceed,” like the title, had an overall upbeat (but not too upbeat) sound to it, and it was interesting to see how traditional Korean rhythmic patterns could be shown to have more flavor and variety by adding in some guitar and bass riffs.
Vong’s “Fisherman’s Song” was inspired by a North Korean folk song that was sung by fishermen in Hwanghae Province to pass the time as they were working out at sea. Sung in a gyeong-seo-do sori style, which is characterized by nasal-sounding vocals, the song had an uplifting, soaring quality, as Vong’s wailing chants made it seem as if the singer was looking out at the sea and raising his arms up to heaven to pray for a good catch.
The last song of the night, “Electric Shaman II,” was by far the longest piece in the program, but it was also one of the more memorable ones. In introducing the song, Vong remarked that in ancient times, a shaman was viewed as an entertainer and healer who also unified the community, and that he was working to continue the tradition today by entertaining, healing, and unifying people through his music. And with that, he and his band—this time joined by guest artist Bill Mattinson who produced magical and mysterious sounds with his laptop—launched into a New Age-like piece that, as Vong had promised, had a very healing aspect to it. Using unconventional instruments, including a long, tube-shaped object that produced rattling sounds like rain when inverted and a sheet of aluminum that mimicked the sound of thunder when shaken, the band members conveyed the sounds of nature’s forces, lending an overall ethereal quality to the song.
Blue and White Electric Shaman (with guest artist Bill Mattinson on laptop) performing "Electric Shaman II" (Photo by Regina Kim)
The audience generally seemed to be pleased with the concert. “It was interesting to hear music from Korea. I learned a little bit about Korea and its music, so it was good,” said Leah Frey, a young member of the audience who hails from Switzerland. Richard Sasso, another concert attendee, accurately described the last piece, “Electric Shaman II,” when he said, “The last song in the program today—it put me in a very meditative mood, almost in a trance-like state. It was very contemplative.” A middle-aged lady named Valentina offered her detailed opinion of the concert and of the Open Stage series in general, remarking, “I have the highest opinion of the concert. I’ve been to all three [Open Stage] concerts, and they’re all very innovative. Moreover, the artists are highly professional, and although this kind of music is new to me because I was brought up on classical music, it was absolutely wonderful. I was overwhelmed with emotion. It was so incredible—the first concert, the second, and today the third—absolutely fantastic! So I’m looking forward to seeing more.”
Curious to know how Vong himself felt after the concert, I later asked him via email about his own thoughts on his band’s performance at the Korean Cultural Service. “First, I’d like to say that I’m grateful to the Korean Cultural Service for offering NYC-based artists the opportunity to hold concerts,” he wrote. “I hope that in the future Korean-American artists will continue to be given such opportunities to perform. I’ve been performing on stage for over 20 years now, so honestly I didn’t feel any different during the concert. However, I was able to perform very comfortably thanks to the audience’s positive reception throughout the concert.”
When asked about what inspired him to start his “Black and White” fusion project, Vong replied, “I believe that all art is a reflection of life. Although I’m Korean, I’ve been living in New York for 15 years, and my life and my art focus on producing a sort of chemical reaction between New York and Korea.”
Vong also wrote that he is interested in performing at tours and festivals outside of the Greater New York City area, but that since he is not affiliated with an agency, he himself has to promote his music. “Honestly, I’m a little bit tired of this kind of promotion process,” he admitted. But hopefully, through more events like the Open Stage series organized by the Korean Cultural Service that give exposure to talented independent artists such as Mr. Vong Pak, this will soon change.
This article appears in the book Korean Culture Navigation in NY published by the Korean Cultural Center NY.