Six-piece fusion ensemble Coreyah have been compared to a microcosm of 21st-century Seoul – like the Korean capital, their music offers a mix of modern and ancient.
The band use traditional instruments and song forms, mixed with world music and contemporary Western influences, to conjure a heady stew that has proved equally popular on dance floors and in concert halls.
We found out more from the group’s 32-year-old percussionist, Kyungyi.
Is this your first time in Abu Dhabi?
aYes it is. In the Middle East, we performed in Jordan just last week and twice in Qatar. We believe that Arabic music and Korean traditional music have large similarities in harmony.
Talk us through the line-up.
Our vocalist is Ashin Kweon, who studied Korean traditional vocal, Ohmbre is the leader and the guitarist of the band, Dong-kun Kim plays traditional Korean wind instruments, Halee Jeong plays Geomungo, the Korean zither, Cho-rong Kim plays traditional Korean percussion instruments, and I am a multi-percussionist.
How do you achieve that mix of contemporary and traditional?
We think traditional music doesn’t necessarily mean old music. Traditional music develops with people, and is influenced by the change of times. We do use traditional instruments, but we grew up in Korea during the 1990s/2000s, and are influenced by Western pop and rock music, as well as folk music from different countries.
Have you found a greater international enthusiasm for your music in recent years?
Where we feel most the power of the internet is when we get feedback from across the world. For example, one of the songs we perform is called Asa Branca, which is originally by Luiz Gonzaga from Recife, Brazil. We adapted the song into Korean, and the video clip of our live performance spread across Brazil through YouTube. We had a phenomenal response from Brazil, and we were introduced on local MTV.
What does “Coreyah”mean?
“Core” means “whale” in Korean. It carries our vision to travel the world with our deep music, as a whale swims through the ocean all around the world. It also sounds similar to “Korea” as we would like to be the band that represents Korea.
Which of your tunes should new listeners Google?
For a serious one from our earlier music, listen to Walk into the Sea. For a taste of our latest music, search for Born Wrong.
• Coreyah perform at Abu Dhabi National Theatre on Friday at 7.30pm, admission is free
rgarratt@thenational.ae
