Yeahwon Shin - Lua Ya (2013) [Official Digital Download 24/88]

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Yeahwon Shin - Lua Ya (2013) [Official Digital Download 24/88]

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Yeahwon Shin - Lua Ya (2013)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/88,2 kHz | Time - 40:28 minutes | 689 MB
Studio Master, Official Digital Download | Artwork: Digital booklet

"Lua ya", ECM debut of Korean singer Yeahwon Shin is a gently undulating album of songs, with a strong and subtle improvised component. These are songs remembered, discovered and invented by Yeahwon and her distinguished accompanying musicians, pianist Aaron Parks and accordionist Rob Curto, drawing both on childhood memories and the spirit of the moment. The album’s development has been fortuitous. The impetus for “Lua ya” came originally out of an Aaron Parks session. Yeahwon had come along as a visitor to Mechanics Hall, near Boston, where producer Sun Chung was recording a solo album with Parks (“Arborescence”, due for imminent release on ECM). The rich resonance of the sound in the room encouraged her to think about how a piano/voice duet might sound there, and in experimental mood decided to test it.

The album heralds the arrival of Yeahwon’s daughter Lua, and is dedicated to mothers and children everywhere. The songs covered on the album are ones that Yeahwon learned from her own mother. “We had a small garden and we’d sing all the time while planting things each season. Those are some of my earliest musical memories.” Some of the songs, like “Island Child” and “Remembrance”, are very well known in Korea, others, she says, perhaps less so today. Yeahwon sang some of the pieces for Aaron Parks and for Rob Curto before the session, but most of the musical direction was determined in the process of recording. “We tried a few different approaches, basic things like who should start a piece, before we decided – it was Sun’s suggestion – to simply play a thirty minute concert in the hall, with no discussion. We just kept going. Some of the best musical moments came from this.” “Lua ya” was recorded in May 2012, in Mechanics Hall, Worcester MA, with Sun Chung as producer and mixed in Oslo by Sun Chung, Manfred Eicher and Jan Erik Kongshaug.