{"id":20724,"date":"2020-06-01T09:43:56","date_gmt":"2020-06-01T13:43:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/panm360.com\/records\/sugungga\/"},"modified":"2020-06-01T10:03:50","modified_gmt":"2020-06-01T14:03:50","slug":"sugungga-leenalchi","status":"publish","type":"records","link":"https:\/\/panm360.com\/en\/records\/sugungga-leenalchi\/","title":{"rendered":"Sugungga"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Considered an intangible treasure of Korean national history, pansori is the centuries-old tradition of epic storytelling performance, one of exaggerated sprechgesang, ritualized gestures, and sparse drum accompaniment. Of the five canon works still performed today, the allegorical beast fable Sugungga<\/em> is the lightest and most irreverent. Its tale of a dying Dragon King, a dutiful turtle, and a duplicitous rabbit reflects the plebian roots of the artform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though they\u2019re named after a Joseon-era master of the craft, Seoul\u2019s LeeNalchi aren\u2019t preservationists overly precious about the past. Numerous modern Korean artists have sought to reboot pansori in recent years by fusing it with rap, jazz, and of course K-pop; LeeNalchi set off their vocal fireworks against an instrumental backdrop informed by post-punk, new wave, krautrock, and space disco, with kosmische synths and two bass guitars (two, that\u2019s good, I like that). It\u2019s a concept that could have come from the conclusion of rigorous cultural research, or the bottom of a bottle of soju. Either way, it\u2019s astoundingly successful, as the eccentric art-funk of opener \u201cTiger is Coming\u201d makes immediately clear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes haunting (\u201cYou Know Who I Am?\u201d), often hilarious (\u201cTiger\u2019s Third Leg\u201d), always highly expressive, LeeNalchi\u2019s radical arrangements for voice, and the inspired deliveries of the band\u2019s five sorriggun (traditional singers), turn pansori\u2019s rather startling characteristics, something of an acquired taste, to their advantage. The results captured here amount to one of the most impressive episodes of collective vocal music-making this reviewer has heard in years. Most importantly, it\u2019s incredibly fun, and catchy enough to ensnare even the sneakiest trickster bunny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n