A Conversation with ... Chang Jae Hyo
- Title
- A Conversation with ... Chang Jae Hyo
- Abstract
- In this video, Cluster co-spokesperson Prof Dr Ute Fendler talks with the renowned South Korean percussionist Chang Jae Hyo about his activities affiliated with the Cluster of Excellence. In July 2024, Chang Jae Hyo visited the Cluster of Excellence to perform on two occasions. On 14 July, he gave a concert at Kulturhaus Neuneinhalb called "Maum Percussion" and on 19 July he was part of the Africa Caribbean Festival of Bayreuth. Together with Tao Ravao, Childo Tomas and Matchume Zango he performed centre stage on Bayreuth's city centre.
- YouTube playlist
- A Conversation with ...
- Date
- July 28, 2025
- Language
- English
- Transcript
- Hello. >> Hello. >> Welcome to Broid and at Africa Multiple Clust of Excellence. Um maybe also for those who would listen then to us it might be a bit strange to have Africa multiple but we are with a South Korean musician. Um, but uh you also play in very international settings and also with uh African and uh I mean musicians from all over the world. So maybe you can give us a short introduction of yourself and of your work and uh yeah and then also this connection between your music South Korea as a South Korean musician with African music. Yes, I'm I'm a percussionist and then I was study about Korean traditional singing and drumming >> and I don't know why but my life my life as a musician is became to going abroad out of Korea and I met many of musicians from all around the world and I have uh long relation with uh uh one Japanese world music festival name called the skiyaki world festival and I met there many of uh not many but very special musicians from Africa >> and I was luckily to have a chance to play and perform with them in 2011 we spent like three weeks Mhm. U resident there and yeah I I was really learn a lot uh through that uh uh residence program and luckily really I I was I had a chance to >> uh travel uh with them >> in 2012 February >> uh we went to Africa >> like South Africa, Tanzania, Zimbabwe Switzerland. So um yeah uh why I'm here in Africa multiple program because I think uh it it's not I'm really special but I can be a kind of uh uh person who uh can be a bridge between uh Korea and Africa because uh especially in in Korea, South Korea And there is not many African people and Korean people not much know about African culture. >> And for example, even for myself some until some years ago uh I was thinking Africa is a kind of one color. >> I mean not the skins uh as a culturally that there is really big but I have no idea about Africa. uh even I I was visit to to the Africa but finally I I realized that uh Africa is really really big huge continent and there is thousand of culture there. >> So I was regret a lot and uh especially uh when I joined the Africa multiple for the first time in 2019 and I was uh performing with uh three great African musician and And yeah, I I had a big uh learning through that project. >> So uh at from that moment I'm a little bit more >> research about African music and African culture. So um I'm working as a artist but some sometime uh I do as a artistic director for the festival >> or some uh making some piece for the performing arts. uh in the sense uh I cannot explain but there is something written in my uh artistic body. So uh what what written on that is uh the spirit of the idea of the African the rhythm. Uh, of course I I cannot say I really understand well deeply understand the African beat but uh yeah I I feel something uh through this many years of the collaboration with African artist and I am I will continue to uh the research what is and what I felt >> uh uh the feeling and understanding about African music. Actually, uh Korea has a a little bit special type of the traditional rhythms uh especially in in folk music and I deeply love and respect the spirit of the this Korean tradition music. But in the same time I feel strongly that this Korean tradition music traditional music and the African rhythm has a kind of relation >> something related. So yeah I I'm happy to join with the African multiple and I will continue to research and study >> African music and culture. >> Thank you very much. But now we have we talked a lot about the connection between South I mean your work uh between South Korean music and African music but we would like to know also more about you. So where you because you're coming from a different kind different background uh in terms of music and also have uh an itinerary that brings you from traditional music to different uh music styles in your work over the last um I don't know how for how long actually for 20 years maybe or even longer. So it would be really nice to learn more about that. M >> well um I I don't know why but I was totally fall in love with the Korean traditional music when I was 13 14 and then I decide to go to Korean National Traditional Music High School uh as a singer for the first time >> and yes uh during after the studying living as a professional musician. Luckily, I have many wonderful chance to meet great musicians uh all around the genre and all around the culture of music. >> And uh since 2010, I became a the my career is became a artistic or music director for the festival in Korea. And I realized that many of people are not interesting about traditional music. >> Mhm. >> Many people say traditional music has to be respect. >> But in the same time, people ask me all the time. >> Well, it's good to have traditional music, but we have to change something, you know, all the time. Something like that. And >> yeah, I I agree with that idea. But for the moment why we don't think we have to change I mean our life is changed all the time and recently the the life of the mo contemporary people's life these days people's life is changed so quick and every day every moment >> but you know why became traditional music because is already very uh strong and yeah good music perfect music that's why people love this traditional music for many hund more than 100 years and why we lost this feeling about u uh feeling traditional music so I I uh how to say analyze this idea for many years and And I discovered that um I have to forget about the traditional music or not traditional music. And I I I I discovered that I have to uh go inside of myself first and then I I again I realized that there is uh really diversity uh in the I'm talking about music in Korea and all around the world. So recently I'm thinking about my uh inner self and then I I I'm I'm personally I'm quite kind of close person. I mean it's many time I I I been alone. So uh I I decide that going out from here and then try to meet more people. But uh how to say uh but not really you know funny or exciting things. So so I I'd like to making a space for uh speak more slow tempo more just a little bit uh going a bit deep uh in my mind and audience mind also. So I want to uh uh play more above myself right now but maybe I don't know I will back to again uh to traditional music area or more contemporary area I don't know but >> for the moment I'm trying to develop more things with this idea as an artist >> I mean we had the chance in Roy to to to see your performance um that you called uh M. >> Yes. M perussion. >> Percussion. >> So maybe you could explain a little bit more what the M is mount percussion. And also the instruments that you use during this percussion that comes from the traditional music but that you open up to new aesthetics and new styles. M mom percussion is a yeah it's a new concept the mom is uh we can translate like uh mind inner self spirit sometime can be a heart >> many many layers uh we can explain in English but uh actually mom is doesn't exist >> we feel or we imagine something. So I put the mom percussion on the title. It's because of Korean and this Korean words uh is a kind of symbolic >> uh that I'm Korean percussion musicians. So this time and when I perform in I brought three instrument. Uh the one is ching is a a little bit middle size of the gong and the one the other one is grangari. So small size gong but very noisy >> and I play with this instrument metallic instrument >> uh as a kind of more express things and going a little bit more deep. And the last one instrument name called Changangu is which I really love the this drum is a two side drum. uh it has more than thousand years of the history and in it it's not the exactly same uh shape but it exist in all around Asia >> more than yeah more than many many cultures historical instruments >> and this uh jangu can play really traditional music uh it can be solo So it can most of time is uh supporting the musicians the singers and then we can dance >> we put on on on our body and is sometime uh we can use this instruments for the really contemporary music >> and also for example myself I use it really um experimental >> instrument I mean So I I use these three uh instruments with my singing for the the performance. I I put my concentration about the the the mom mom before mom now >> mom for the future and audiences or the mom of the audience. >> Mh. Uh so it it it I mean the concept of the mount percussion performance was uh of course I introduced some Korean music traditional music style but I play really uh kind of very improvisation and experiment experimental music styles. So after the performance I felt that uh of course there is a lot of mom in their uh audiences but uh yeah I feel that uh yeah we try to uh understand each other kind of sharing with the audience and the artist on the stage. Yeah. So I was really happy >> with >> I think the audience was also very happy during that performance. Um and there will there's also then the video on the YouTube channel of the cluster so that people can even even if they couldn't be at the performance can can share this experience as well. >> Yeah. Maybe we can go back uh just a little bit because you started by saying um that you you start with traditional music and you mentioned several times the traditional instruments and I know that you uh were also were or still are a pansoy singer. So maybe for the you could explain a little bit more about what does that mean traditional music to you? I mean in terms of really what you practiced as a singer uh singer and percussionist. >> I know it's a very big field but maybe you can give us a little bit >> uh you know like a teaser that people might then go and research more about it. >> Yeah it's a really difficult question even for myself. >> Okay. >> Yeah. I mean I always asking to myself what is the traditional music? Okay, >> what is the uh pop or what is the contemporary music? What is classic? >> So when I say traditional music is uh it exists for a long time >> but it's not the linked with our daily life >> anymore. I mean still there is but I don't know uh especially in Korea is really uh uh linked with our daily life uh some because normally some some few 10 years ago like 100 years ago when they drink and they trying to having fun they singing with a table or really small instrument uh with uh uh they are pop at that time but now the pop and the traditional music is really separate. >> And when people say uh the music is a western >> mhm >> music and kugak which is the traditional music in Korea. >> Kougak is a kind of another type of the music. M >> so I think >> it's really natural but uh it's a kind of a tricky things >> why we because before the music is come coming to Korea >> the kuga was a traditional music was a music there but now it's changed like this >> so um many of uh these days people cannot feel the this traditional music is wow is something like but uh I don't know why I was really uh falling in love it it it doesn't need many days it just one some few seconds I was totally falling in love and it was a pansery which is uh the I you could say monrama with the singing like a kind of one man >> uh one person musical >> sometimes And it can be more than 8 hour long. Of course, there is some intermission there with one drama. This is a traditional form of the pans singing. >> And of course, uh it's not only just about the the story. Uh originality in Pansori is they put some the issues at the time in the in their community or society, but not anymore. uh we have only five big forms of the pansori story uh but uh we just following what made already >> we don't put uh >> in new things there >> and actually I what I believe is pansori was a kind of media >> kind of book uh kind of historical storyteller >> uh Yeah, of this. Yeah, >> but we lost this kind of stuff. Oh, um, of course it's my guessing. I I I I I didn't live at the time, >> but uh anyway, um, these days pansy and all the the traditional music, it's difficult to change something >> because it has to be protect. >> The concept is like that. So yeah, I I understand why we have to do and why it has has changed like that. Uh and then I I I want to develop more why I feel something with this uh tra all the traditional music and >> yeah but I want try something uh because I'm I'm a person so curious about many things. So I I like to try something add or minus >> mh >> uh on on the traditional styles of the music itself >> and I don't know people will accept my idea or not but >> I think yeah I I want to keep this idea for the moment >> and I hope people will understand what I want to say and to to them. But anyway, uh I I don't think I am a great or genius musician. But uh it's good to having yeah the musician like me in the global and then we people we will we will understand that uh there is some more how to say possibility >> or some more different way to understanding about the the the music. >> Yeah. Yeah. I just try but uh uh yeah uh especially the Korea is changing very quick and really dynamic society so it it's bit difficult to saying or keep the idea of the traditional >> uh yeah I mean yeah things can change and sometime things have to be changed but yeah I will try to keep this concept until what I cannot keep anymore. >> Okay. Thank you very much. But I think I mean what is really good that you you have all this knowledge about the traditional music and practice >> that you I mean being able to change something first means you have you have to have a big knowledge and practice in the old in the traditional one. >> Yeah. that you can open it up to to new tendencies and also in the collaboration with >> musicians from other parts of the world. >> Yeah. In in that most of important thing is we have to I have to and you have to uh concrete love of and respect for the traditional music first >> and then if you if I want to change something I have to study a lot. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. This is the really important rules, >> okay, >> for myself. >> Yeah. But I think this also became very very obvious in the performance that we had the chance to see in BOID and uh also the gatherings with the with the African musicians um that everybody can also then watch on the Africa multiple YouTube channel. So, thank you very much for coming again this long way from South Korea to meet the African artists here in Bo, which is a bit I mean becomes a for for some days at least the center of this international exchange. Thank you very much for all your work and for coming here and let us discover uh new music worlds. Thank you so much. >> Thank you.
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