Modulationist by Joo Won Park

Joo Won Park received his PhD in composition from the University of Florida and currently teaches on the faculty at Wayne State University in Detroit. Known for his series of YouTube video series entitled ‘100 Strange Sounds’, Joo Won Park returns to NOREMIXES for his second album, Modulationist, which finds the composer incorporating live instrumentation into his bed of electronic disturbances.

On his previous NOREMIXES album, Overundertone, Joo Won Park toned down the raw and often aggressive nature of the ‘100 Strange Sounds’ series into more quirky melodic passages that mixed foundsound with his Super-Collider experiments. With 'Modulationist', the composer pits live performers against the computer with the entire album arching towards a full-on digital takeover. Percussionist Hunter Brown, joins Park on vibraphone during opener, ‘Hallelujah’, a sparse starting place. Complexity develops with ‘Armor+2’ featuring Giovanni Bertoni on clarinets. ‘Notation for Synth’ provides a playful break from the tension as electronics take center stage. This is followed by ‘JNNJ’ which pits dueling percussion against electronics in the album’s most rhythmically challenging work. ‘Swamps and Creatures’ utilizes foundsound and sparse electronics with bursts of oboe, for the last sign of acoustic instrumentation on Modulationist. The electronics takeover, however, fitting closer ‘Modulationist’ shows just how hands on Park is with his electonics as the composer utilizes no-input mixing for a full on sonic assault on the listener.

NOREMIXES was founded in 2014 by Paul J. Geissinger, aka Starkey, to release music that fits between the genres. The label is an outlet for composers, artists and producers with a focus on synth music, electro-acoustic, ambient and modern classical styles. Paul is also owner of the Seclusiasis and Slit Jockey Record labels.

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