Come catch KLEX’s last event in 2016, our monthly improvised music series Serious Play Improv Lab (SPIL 028) on Thursday, 29 December, 8:30pm @ Findars! We are pleased to feature Hyelim Kim from South Korea – composer, researcher and performer who plays the taegŭm (Korean traditional bamboo flute). Also on the bill are Yen-Lin Goh (toy instruments and sound objects), Yii Kah Hoe (chinese flutes), Yong Yandsen (tenor sax) and Siew-Wai Kok (vocals). Let’s celebrate the end of the year with good music! See you there, and please bring your friends!

https://www.facebook.com/events/1785940548332471/

ABOUT THE MUSICIANS:

Taegŭm performer, composer and researcher, HYELIM KIM, is opening new possibilities for Korean music by using a traditional Korean instrument, the taegŭm (大笒), as a tool to promote exchange with a wide variety of musical cultures. Based in East London, Hyelim now involves the music scene and various music-related activities particularly at local music venues including Café Oto, Servant Jazz Quarters, Arch 1 and Wilton’s Music Hall. She has held numerous performances overseas including three recitals and performances at London Jazz Festival (London), the 2High Festival (Australia), the Omi World Music Concert (New York), the Sori Art Electroacoustic Concert (Australia), the NZEMS (New Zealand) and the World Classics (England). Her debut recording entitled ‘Nim: Hyelim Kim Taegŭm Collection’ released by Universal Music in 2013 includes traditional pieces together with new works, special commissions and her own composition. Kim is currently a post-doctoral associate and teaching assistant at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, United Kingdom.

Malaysian pianist GOH YEN-LIN is an avid performer of contemporary classical music integrating culture, language, and multi-disciplinary art. She has premiered numerous solo and chamber works across North America, Europe, and Africa. Yen-Lin’s special interest in improvisation has led her to form contemporary improvisation ensembles and to work extensively with different instrumentalists, vocalists, dancers, actors and theater directors on improvisation projects and concerts. She started including toy piano and toy instruments in many of her performances after discovering their unlimited potential through Ge Ganru’s melodrama Wrong, Wrong, Wrong!. She was selected as one of eight artists (one of two musicians) for a one-month residency at Brush Creek Foundation for the Arts in Wyoming, U.S.A. Her passion for teaching brought her to Tanzania in 2013, working as a piano/voice teaching fellow at Umoja School of Music and a lecturer at Tumaini University Makumira. She is currently a senior lecturer at Sultan Idris Education University in Malaysia.

YII KAH HOE is the winner at the Malaysia Philharmonic Orchestra Forum for Malaysian Composers II (2007), winner of 11th BOH Cameronian Arts Awards (best music and design), and a recipient of the Third Prize at the International Competition for Chinese Orchestral Composition organized by the Singapore Chinese Orchestra (2006). He was also a finalist in the International Competition for Composers ‘Città di Udine’ (Italy, 2010). His works have been performed in the U.S., London, Trinidad, Germany, Mexico, Paris, Italy, Melbourne, Bangkok, Hanoi, Manila, Korea, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Cairo, Singapore and Malaysia. Yii was the festival director of the various contemporary music festivals in Malaysia, president of Society of Contemporary Composers, and is a senior lecturer at SEGi College Subang Jaya.

KOK SIEW-WAI is a vocal improviser, artist-organiser and video artist. She has performed in festivals such as Kuala Lumpur Contemporary Music Festival, SoundBridge Contemporary Music Festival, Choppa Experimental Music Festival (Singapore), Playfreely Festival (Singapore), Asian Meeting Festival (Japan), E-Poetry Festival (USA) and more. Siew-Wai is the co-founder, co-curator and director of the Kuala Lumpur Experimental Film, Video & Music Festival (KLEX).

YONG YANDSEN is an improvised saxophonist. He has played at the Kuala Lumpur Contemporary Music Festival, Asian Meeting Festival (Japan), Mosaic Festival Singapore, Choppa Eclectic Improvised Music Festival (Singapore), Turn Around Free Jazz & Improvisation Festival (Singapore), Music Matters Festival (Sri Lanka) amongst others. Yandsen, together with Darren Moore and Brian OíReily, form an improvised trio called Game of Patience. They have toured to Japan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand. They released debut CD album “Trial and Error” and a vinyl album “The Bad Sleeps Well”.

SERIOUS PLAY IMPROV LAB (SPIL) SERIES:

SPIL is a project of the Kuala Lumpur Experimental Film, Video & Music Festival (KLEX) launched in May 2014. It aims to create exposure and understanding, and to facilitate local, regional and international collaborations and exchanges for experimental and improvised music in Malaysia.

More info: [email protected]

https://klexfestival.com/spil/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/klexfest/