NYC Bassist Brandon Lopez Teams Up with Gayageum Master DoYeon Kim in New Album, Redefining What We Thought Was Possible with Improvisation. Prepare to have your wig blown back by the improvisational force of nature that is adored bassist Brandon Lopez.  He has returned to 577 Records once again – this time with gayageum master DoYeon Kim!  Syzygy, Vol. 1 delivers a cosmic blast of experimental fascination that will open the door for you to leave our reality. Based in NYC, Brandon Lopez has been a regular on the record label and in its delightful New York Forward Festival community. He is known for his uncanny ability to pull sounds from the ether and twist them into adventures that begin at the ear and end at the soul, traversing through the fibers of your existence with explosive vibrations.  Described as “relentless” (by the New York Times) and “brutal” (by the Chicago Reader), this composer/bassist has a way of devastating our collective idea of music with his intuitive approach to improvisation.

“As I’ve found it,” Brandon explains, “In improvisation, in its best cases, the individual or individuals engaged in the act of it seem to be in a larger conversation that, in its best cases, are utilizing and sacrificing an individual process to a greater process, which is a process, as I’ve found it, of dialog and making and listening and intuiting and MEOWing up and intentionally MEOWing up and helping the other when they are MEOWing up and getting helped when you are getting MEOWed up or MEOWing up and transfiguring the MEOW ups. And between the practitioners, who, let us not forget, are also the listeners, find some kind of meaning or sense inside of that practice.  It’s a simple and ancient practice that’s complicated and constantly on the cutting edge of whatever we as people are up to.”  (Editor’s note: we’ve replaced the expletives in Lopez’s quote with “meow” to keep it family-friendly.)

Meanwhile, DoYeon Kim brings a whole new layer of sacred sound to the album, which marks her first time with 577 Records.  She shreds on her gayageum in a way no one knew was possible.  Whether it is the way she becomes one with her instrument through her traditional training and courageous exploration or the magic of her collaboration with Lopez, you'll be thirsty for more. Indulge in their ancient, dynamic melodies when Syzygy, Vol. 1 drops on January 31, 2025, and stay tuned for Vol. 2!