South Korea / Japan, 1994, Korean folk
A collaboration among Koreans and Japanese, this album is steeped in Korean folk traditions, and it utilizes not only traditional Korean folk instruments such as the janguu and the kkwaenggwari but also Japanese instruments such as the koto. The addition of the ajaeng (a Korean zither played with a bow across its twisted silk strings) makes this recording more appealing to me than a merely percussive/vocal performance. No matter the country of origin, strangely-played stringed instruments in avant settings always get me. I feel like those instruments are the human soul in music form.
Museum Musica 