Interview

May 2022

Interview

A Bit of Traditional
Musical Futurism

The Rise of 21st Century Superstars LEENALCHI

WRITTEN BY
Jang Hye-seon,
contributing writer

Photos courtesy of
Auditorium magazine

When LEENALCHI landed on Earth, it was fortunate they landed in Korea, of all places. People call them the ＾Hipsters of Joseon￣ because their music relies on traditional musical storytelling, or pansori. Today, world superstars travel the globe through YouTube, not the pansori stage.

What would it have been like if there was a club in Joseon? The traditional drums buk and janggu would lead the rhythm, and the vocalist would come in front and sing pansori . Dancers would move their bodies along to the rhythm. Check out ＾Tiger is Coming￣ by LEENALCHI on YouTube. The Naver Onstage video has 2.2 million views on YouTube.

Mixing Various Colors

There¨s something unique about LEENALCHI. This band has unusual composition. Two basses and a drum play rhythms back and forth, and vocalists who are former pansori storytellers sing along in front. The dancers of the Ambiguous Dance Company take over the stage, and purple lights create a dreamy vibe. After watching the video, some commenters were amazed how hip gugak―traditional Korean music―had become. Some said, ＾The rhyme of gugak is off the charts.￣ You¨ll notice how ＾traditional￣ their music is, even if you¨re unfamiliar with it.

They call themselves an ＾alternative pop band.￣ All LEENALCHI members have different backgrounds. Jang Young-gyu, who is in charge of bass and producing, is actively engaged in many fields including film, music and stage direction. Ahn Yi-ho is a vocalist who graduated from Seoul National University with a major in Korean Traditional Music.

Despite their different backgrounds, LEENALCHI¨s members gather together to perform music and enjoy the moment. We met two members, Jang Young-gyu and Ahn Yi-ho, to discuss the band and its activities.

Conversation with
Jang Young-gyu

Q ― LEENALCHI is called an ＾alter-native pop band.￣ You initially called it that, right?

I wanted to make music that the popular music scene consumes. Most of our music relies on pansori. When new genres come out by combining traditional music with other genres, I don¨t want to define it as ＾fusion￣ or ＾crossover.￣ For now, I have attached the word ＾pop￣ as a defense.

Q ― I would like to know how LEENALCHI works. Please share with us the production process.

The way we work today has changed a lot from the early days. At first, we make a rhythm. And we try to find pansori lines that work well with rhythm and bass. We find the right fit after singing countless lines. And then, we change the traditional lines into a form of contemporary music. We create the hook or the chorus, for example. After that, we decide how the vocals will go and complete the song.

Q ― In the first album, LEENALCHI interpreted the traditional pansori ＾Sugungga￣ in their own way. Are you going to continue this recreation work in the future?

The first album is devoted to the traditional pansori ＾Sugungga.￣ In the future, we are planning to make our own stories and music rather than traditional pansori. It¨s a two-stage process of creating new pansori and converting it into music for the band. Ultimately, I think this is the road we should take.

LEENALCHI is the collective expression of the unique personalities of its individual members. © HIKE Co., Ltd

Conversation with
Ahn Yi-ho

Q ― The onstage video drew a lot of attention. Are there any comments that impressed you?

The comment, ＾Welcome to the club of Joseon,￣ was impressive. If Joseon continued until today, I am positive that there would have been people like us in clubs.

Q ― LEENALCHI is now called an ＾alternative pop band￣ in the media. I wonder what you think about LEENALCHI¨s music being defined in specific terms.

The term ＾fusion gugak,￣ which has been used a lot for a long time, has no special meaning, cannot define genres, or represent the characteristics of music. The term was created to escape from prejudices against gugak. Terms that classify music should help the public. But now, such terms seem to mislead them instead. So what is the point of classification in terms of music, and why does it exist?

Q ― LEENALCHI consists of basses and drums. Is this rhythm-oriented composition actually more comfortable for the vocalists?

I¨m not so sure because I¨ve never done it with a guitar (Laughs). But it¨s interesting from the audience¨s perspective that two basses interact musically. LEENALCHI¨s music is like a gallery. There are individual artworks, but it¨s an entire gallery. Four singers each make different sounds, and two bassists have different musical styles. Rather than trying to harmonize one another, we try to focus on what we are good at.

Q ― Currently, there are three female singers (Kwon Song-hee, Lee Na-rae, and Shin Yu-jin) and one male singer.

I¨ve wondered what it would sound like if we stack the voices of the pansori singers. We initially had two male singers but one left the group. And now, it is structured as if the female singers are singing together.

Q ― What is the most important thing in the modernization of gugak?

The modernization of gugak? That¨s an illusion. We don¨t say ＾modernization of Beethoven￣ because his works have existed in the past and still do. Gugak is the same. The word ＾modernization￣ sounds like the present is disconnected from the past. Gugak is not from the past because it remains today. I don¨t understand why LEENALCHI¨s music is in the gugak category in the first place, and I don¨t even know why we must keep dividing past and present.

Forming 21st Century Korean Art

In the late Joseon Dynasty, Shin Jae-hyo (1812-1884) compiled narratives for pan-sori. He came up with four laws to make the ＾burlesque￣ more cultivated. People who kept learning and practicing these laws were referred to as pansori masters. At that time, the pansori singers were big stars. To become a star of Joseon, you had to have characters, narratives, sounds and acting skills. However, when you look closely at the four key elements of pansori, it reminds us of LEENALCHI somehow. They have good looks with colorful costumes, clear and expressive power of music, gifted voices, and a sense of humor that make people laugh.

It is fascinating to watch these changes in 21st-century entertainers. If traditional pansori is the music of the sorrow of our people, LEENALCHI¨s music gives people laughter. This is a new energy creation that supports gugak.

Gugak will continue to change. There is no need to define their music. They are already well aware of their underground identity. Such power springs not from ＾inside￣ gugak and modern dance, but from ＾outside.￣ Gugak is now moving forward through this power. These world superstars who dominate the era shall be the clue to define 21st-century Korean art in the distant future.

LEENALCHI performs with the dance troupe Ambiguous Dance Company.

Park JaeHong

The band ＾LEENALCHI￣ is gaining popularity for its music that properly blends modern pop styles with traditional pansori. The band was named after one of the eight famous chants in the late Joseon Dynasty, and the beginning of their work can be traced back to the animated musical series ＾Dragon King.￣ They have been performing live showcases at a small club in Seoul¨s hip Hongdae neighborhood since 2019. And they have been performing at other venues since their performance at ＾Hyundai Card Curated 53: Sugungga￣ on May 18, 2019.

A Bit of Traditional Musical Futurism