This brave, intriguing concert ended with a collaboration between South Korean and English musicians who had started rehearsing together only the previous day, and developed into an almost surreal fusion experiment.
On the far left of the stage was Black String’s leader, Yoon Jeong Heo, a young exponent of the geomungo, a large, fretted zither plucked with a bamboo stick, that she said has existed for 2,000 years. Next to her was folk celebrity Kathryn Tickell, switching between Northumbrian pipes and fiddle. Then there were Korean musicians playing bamboo flute, electric guitar and electronica, and a passionate singer beating furiously on a janggu, a traditional drum, while Amy Thatcher switched between accordion and a demonstration of English clog dancing.
The K-Music festival has become known for surprises, collaboration and east Asian folk-rock, and this year’s opening concert didn’t disappoint. Asked in advance if she could see a connection between Northumbrian folk and Korea, Tickell said: “There isn’t one! But we are both female band leaders who play a traditional instrument.” Heo said she likes to collaborate (five years ago she played here with saxophonist Tim Garland) and was surprised how easy it was to communicate.
Maybe, but the two sets of musicians started off by demonstrating their differences. The concert opened with an elegant set from Tickell and Thatcher playing new and traditional tunes, ending with the poignant and then celebratory Stonehaugh, inspired by the history of a Northumberland village hall. Then on came the four members of Black String, performing by themselves, with an often frantic set that started with Seven Beats, a lengthy workout that started with twanging geomungo and wailing flute but developed into crashing waves of sound that built up and then subsided, with a guitar riff mixed in with the ancient influences.
It was hard at first to see how Tickell would fit in, but remarkably the two sides found common ground. The collaboration began with the thoughtful and tuneful Our Kate, which was followed by a segue into Black String’s Growth Ring, dominated by flutes and throbbing electronica.
There was a return to English melody with a Korean edge for the percussive new treatment of Ettrick Reel before that extraordinary finale, Mask Dance. More rehearsal time would have been useful, but they deserved the standing ovation.
• The K-Music festival continues until 25 October.
