Noreum Machi was founded in 1993 and is currently the most widely recognized Korean traditional music group in South Korea. Noreummachi’s performances are based on their original rhythms and sounds of Korea’s Jindo region. The musicians deliver their traditional sounds, movements and rhythms by putting them together as a harmony or by emphasizing each element apart. “Our slogan is new wave Korean music group,” says group leader Kim Juhong.
Noreum Machi performs the virtuosic percussion music known as samulnori. First introduced to the West in the late 1970s by the legendary ensemble Samul-Nori, this vibrant music had a huge effect in galvanizing the student movement in Korea and reengaging Koreans with their traditions.
Samulnori is a modernized staged adaptation of p’ungmul nori, a ritualistic celebratory event with origins in shamanism and animism performed by rice farmers and professional musicians at harvest festivals. Noreum Machi’s colorful program includes spectacular percussion dialogues, shamanic chants, and acrobatic dances.
Noreum Machi essentially continues and expands the journey that Samul Nori began. The group was founded in 1994 by Kim Juhong, a graduate of the Korean Traditional University who studied singing, shaman rhythms, and pansori (traditional storytelling/vocal music) with masters of these various genres, including Kim Duk Soo, one of the original members of Samul-Nori.
While steeped in the tradition of p’ungmul nori and its derivative samulnori, Noreum Machi has reached out to embrace outside elements and improvisation is a key element of their performance. “The name Noreum Machi comes from the Korean minstrels,” adds Kim Juhong. “In competition among minstrels Noreum Machi referred to the minstrel so skilled that no one could match. In other words, the best.”
Noreum Machi uses the janggo drum, the buk barrel drum, the kkwaenggwari gong, and the jing gong.
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
