| World Music |
“This collection represents a life’s journey of discovering that true influence is never imitation, but a deep immersion that allows new musical expression to be born.”
Those words from Jin Hi Kim could hardly provide a more fitting introduction to The Jin Hi Kim Collection, an extraordinary 9CD retrospective released by Neuma Records. Spanning ten hours of music and drawing upon recordings made from the 1980s through 2024, this remarkable anthology offers a panoramic view of one of the most innovative, courageous, and visionary artists in contemporary music.
To describe Jin Hi Kim simply as a Korean musician would be a vast understatement. Over the past four decades she has transformed the role of the komungo (geomungo), the ancient six-string Korean zither, bringing it into dialogue with jazz improvisation, contemporary classical music, electronics, world music traditions, and intercultural collaboration. Along the way she became the creator of the world’s first electric komungo, expanding the instrument’s expressive possibilities while remaining deeply connected to its traditional roots. It thus demonstrates that she honours and deeply respects the past while always projecting herself further into the future.
What makes this collection so fascinating is that it does not document a single musical style. It traces the evolution of an artist who consistently sought new forms of expression while preserving her own unmistakable root’s musical identity.
Throughout this exceptional collection, the true protagonist remains the komungo. Kim’s revolutionary contribution was to demonstrate that this ancient Korean instrument could participate fully in the most adventurous forms of contemporary music. Alongside the traditional acoustic komungo, listeners encounter the electric komungo she helped develop, allowing for extended timbral possibilities, electronic interaction, and entirely new performance techniques. She also occasionally incorporates Korean percussion instruments such as the changgo, an hourglass-shaped drum, with two heads connected by ropes and belts to change the pitch.
One of the most remarkable things about this impressive box set is that it allows listeners to hear and understand the gradual transformation of the komungo from a traditional Korean instrument into a genuinely global contemporary instrument.
One of the most fascinating aspects of the box set is the balance between composition and improvisation. Some albums, particularly Living Tones and later projects, show Kim’s remarkable gifts as a composer. On CD1, Tchong, with Hong Jong Jin (court & folk daegeum) and Robert Dick (soprano & bass flute) is a real must!
Other albums are rooted primarily in free improvisation. Yet even in the most spontaneous performances, a strong compositional sensibility remains evident. Structure emerges organically from interaction rather than being imposed externally.
The obvious temptation is to compare Jin Hi Kim to pioneers such as John Cage, Terry Riley, Lou Harrison, Derek Bailey or Evan Parker. Yet none of these comparisons is entirely satisfactory. Kim’s achievement is unique because she never abandoned her Korean musical identity while simultaneously refusing to be confined by it.
And this is perhaps where the greatest success of this box set lies. Rather than offering simple musical entertainment, it encourages reflection on ourselves, on what surrounds us, on life, our past and our experiences, our future, and it invites you to peace, to meditation too. It forces you to immerse yourself in a musical construction of rare complexity from which you emerge enlightened, conquered, totally seduced, with the desire to meet this incredibly talented artist, Jin Hi Kim.
Over the course of these nine discs, one hears not merely the evolution of a musician but the development of an entire artistic philosophy: a belief that tradition remains alive only when it is allowed to evolve.
After ten hours of extraordinary music, one realizes that this sentence is not merely a description of the collection. It is the very essence of Jin Hi Kim’s artistic legacy.
But to tell you the truth, I want to be clear: these records will not appeal to all audiences. The work requires patience, attention and a certain willingness to abandon its usual benchmarks, because it is difficult to deny the originality of what Jin Hi Kim offers.
And perhaps no conclusion could be more appropriate than Jin Hi Kim’s own words: “This collection represents a life’s journey of discovering that true influence is never imitation, but a deep immersion that allows new musical expression to be born.”
Frankie Pfeiffer
Editor in chief – PARIS-MOVE
PARIS-MOVE, June 20th, 2026
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Komungo (Geomungo) & Korean music
Tracklisting:
1.Nong Rock 14:56
2.Tchong 11:56
3.Yoeum 11:11
4.Piri Quartet 21:39
5.Eternal Rock 13:41
6.Monk Dance 10:13
7.One Sky 17:47
8.Eternal Rock II 18:54
9.Nori III 13:08
10.Nori II 14:09
11.Nori 17:37
12.Refracted Confluence 12:30
13.Tilings 12:39
14.Garden of Venus 16:12
15.Kee Maek III 19:12
16.X5 for Solo Flute 08:11
17.Linking 11:57
18.Kee Maek 12:06
19.Su-Wol-Yong-Yul 12:58
20.Ritual for Earth 22:46
21.Saturn’s Rings 03:28
22.Pale Blue Dot 10:30
23.Dancing in the Deep Sea 09:33
24.Circle of Time 07:06
25.Joy of Flying 11:00
26.Cosmic Meditation 04:23
27.Exceeding 06:52
28.Unknot 07:59
29.Shaman Dance 09:21
30.Dance of Black Crane 07:08
31.Stepping 08:45
32.Sun Rising in Berlin 12:51
33.Aliens Cave 10:22
34.Imitation 06:12
35.Storytelling 05:25
36.Everything is One 07:00
37.Quagmire 10:42
38.Yellow Seed 05:50
39.Mother Jatayu 14:16
40.Repulsive Tree 09:59
41.Ssalgeng 06:30
42.Turning Point 04:42
43.No World Improvisation 06:38
44.Dragon’s Tail 08:28
45.Frog Inside Well 02:26
46.Pushing Through 03:47
47.Yalu Delta 03:32
48.Coming Through 02:40
49.Companies 10:33
50.Company 05:08
51.Fast Talking 04:53
52.Tsunami 09:07