Park Jiha (KR)
Park Jiha (born in 1985, Seoul, South Korea) is a composer and multi-instrumentalist. She She studied traditional Korean music at the National Gugak Center and plays the Korean piri (a double reed bamboo flute), the yanggeum (a hammered dulcimer), as well as the saenghwang, an impressive mouth organ constructed from 24 bamboo pipes, vertically mounted in a metal windchest. Her fascination for ancient instruments, combined with her passion for lucid and highly contemporary compositions, fill her music with unexpected and mesmerising effects, marking transcultural change.
Park Jiha’s music is characterised by elements of minimalism, ambient music and free jazz, as well as influences from traditional Korean music, which is based on different sound layers, and an unconventional interplay of space and time. During her performances she generates a musical flow which can be gently calming, at times, then furious and stylistically challenging. Her music inspires the listener through this uneasy balance of energetic, adventurous passages and soother calming moments.
Park Jiha was influenced by a wide canon of musicians, such as Steve Reich, Terry Riley, Jon Hassell, Laraaji and Michael Nyman. Her non-Eurocentric, Korean perspective on the complexities of the surrounding world adds an appealing twist to her performances. Park Jiha has released two albums so far, her self-produced debut album "Communion" (2016, together with Kim Oki, Reeds, John Bell, Vibraphon and Kang Tekhyun, Percussion) and her solo project "Philos" (2019). Both albums present a unique mix of transcendental experiments and compositions with a clear, aesthetic approach.