Untethered Mind Warps Sound Time-Space. The bear, code-named KM-53, passed away in June 2023. Unlike other Asiatic black bears, which Koreans refer to by ‘bandal gasum gom’ or ‘half-moon chest bears,’ KM-53 embarked on a journey of nearly 80 km from its original habitat in its second year of life, tirelessly moving through the backbone of South Korea's major mountain range. He could not confine himself to the assigned territory. Wild or not, we are all children of nature. Whether successful or not, musical creations are born out of our connection to nature – both as Mother Nature and as the innate quality of an entity. I consider mine to be so.
End of Time Vol.2 features two tracks of live performance recorded just before the infamous 2020 lockdowns. Four years passed, many things have returned to 'normal,' and some 'new normals' have been introduced to the world at an accelerated pace. When this creation was born, I didn’t foresee the end of old normalcy; however, the music seems to invoke a subversive, rupturing change in us and the universal reality we once believed in. I initiated this entire creation and acknowledge that the album is somewhat 'piano-led.' As the leader, I aimed to transport everyone in the ensemble to an unknown domain, a territory in our universe where the expansion of time-space is tethered. The result, as I hear in this album, is a vortex of sonic energies, directed to warp the fabric of time-space and aimed to arrive at a far-reaching point across the universe.
'Journey Through' was a simultaneously composed collective creation; 'KM-53' was an interpretive performance based on the visual score I composed, with a few instructional messages sent to musicians before going live. The superposition of layers from all four or five musicians produced a complexity and depth that overwhelm the senses, too vast to grasp at a glance. Therefore, the music must be experienced, not merely listened to and understood, as if one is lost in the woods rather than indulging in a well-crafted mystery novel.
I extend my deepest thanks to Allison Burik for bathing us with her warmth and openness, Mina Kim for her sonic and personal eloquence, Max Ridley for his unwavering commitment to revolution, and finally, Francisco Mela for igniting us with colorful sparks. - Eunhye Jeong
