Similar to the way oceanic islands arise from volcanic activity, Seven Steps to Island is the prod-uct of a unique combination of pressure, heat, and timing. Hong-Gie Kim came to California on January 5th, 2025 with an idea to create a new form of music. This production had been care-fully planned for many months and was supported by the Korean Government, Seoul Institute of the Arts, CultureHub, and California Institute of the Arts. Hong-Gie’s’ vision required musicians who were able and willing to enact a dialogue between Balinese gamelan, traditional Korean rhythms, and jazz, so my first step was to call multi-instrumentalist Vinny Golia: “Vinny! I need you- and I need a big favor.” That favor was to bring his friend and colleague, I Nyoman Wen-ten, the legendary master of Balinese music and dance, into the project. I held my breath. Without Wenten, I did not know how we would bring this dream into reality. But Vinny is mag-ic and Wenten said yes. The second step was complete: Wenten and Hong-Gie’s deep percussive abilities and similar, joyful spirits would become the heartbeat of the project. Third step- round out the sound with Jonathan Stearns, whose cornet would offer nuanced counterpoint to Vinny’s bold, intricate woodwinds and whose deep keys could provide basslines and tonal textures for a new sound. When the musicians met in a Zoom call to discuss the concept in October 2024, the chemistry felt right and we hit step four: Hong-Gie Kim’s Atmosphere was real.
In January we would have 1 week to make it all happen, so planning had to be tight. The logis-tics of planning a recording session when one does not yet know what the music will be are hard to pinpoint, but luck flowed our way. Wenten graciously extended the use of the Gamelan room at CalArts for rehearsals, and Vinny invited recording engineer John Baffa to the project. John arranged to hold the recording session in CalArts’ incredible ROD studio. When he told us that he had a vintage Ludwig kit in the studio for Hong-Gie to play, it was clear that our feet were on step 5.
The Palisades fire started on the first day of 2025 and was already burning when Hong-Gie’s plane touched down in LA on January 5th. January 7th, the Eaton fire began and life as we knew it changed: Los Angeles county was enveloped by the most devastating wildfires in our history- fires that would destroy over 18,000 homes and structures by the time they were fully contained.
Many of our friends and families lost homes and businesses to the blaze (even beloved members of Wenten’s Gamelan Orchestra); mass evacuations were in effect; Hong-Gie had left town for a convention and could not return due to road closures; we were all living with emergency suit-cases by the front door. But our hearts were alive inside of this time of collective struggle, and the promise of music kept us steady.
Step 6. The roads were clear and safe on the 11th for our first rehearsal. And the next, and the next. Hong-Gie led rigorous rehearsals, set compositional structures guided by his precise drumming. Hong-Gie Kim’s Atmosphere became a space in which formal structure dances with improvisational flight. The music became an entity bigger than the quartet, and Baffa captured the island as it emerged during one day-long recording session.
Step 7 was achieved upon Hong-Gie’s return to South Korea during many meticulous and in-spired mixing and mastering sessions with Ho-Jung Kang,
It is with great love that we offer Seven Steps to Island to listeners in stereo and Atmos mixes. Each track feels like a miracle to me- a veritable island of hope in a world that continues to know flames; a living example of the way ancient and modern instruments, rhythms, and sounds can mingle and become something new. We invite you to share in the solace, fantasy, and won-der of our island, and to find a place of comfort within it.
Listen well, and enjoy.
Stacy Dawson Stearns
[Musicians]
Hong-Gie Kim: drums,gangsa pemade, modular synthesizer
I Nyoman Wenten: gangsa pemade,reong, kendang
Vinny Golia: saxophone, bass clarinet, alto flute,gong gede
Jonathon Stearns: cornet, keyboard
All music composed, arranged and produced by Hong-Gie Kim
Recorded at R.O.D Studio at California Institute of the Arts on January 15, 2025
Executive Producer: Hong-Gie Kim
Producer: Stacy Dawson Stearns
Recorded by John Baffa
Mixed by Ho-Jung Kang at AudioMatrix Studios
Mastered by Ho-Jung Kang
Dolby Atmos Mixes by Ho-Jung Kang at Audio Matrix Studios
Recording studio assistant: Chris Kanghyun Lee
Cover art: Jonathon Stearns for CultureHub LA
Photography: Heather Seybolt
Liner notes: Hong-Gie Kim
Album introduction notes: Stacy Dawson Stearns
This album was made possible by the Seoul Institute of the Arts/CultureHub Global Artist Resi-dency program, which supports international creative collaborations between artists toward a vision of a peaceful world.
본 앨범은 교육부 전문대학혁신지원사업 '2025 SeoulArts Artist in Residence' 프로그램으로 제작되었습니다.
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