As the Edinburgh Fringe approaches fever pitch, John Scott enjoys a moment of tranquillity with Korean group IL WOL DANG.
IL WOL DANG meld traditional Korean music with modern influences. The traditional elements are provided by vocalist and main songwriter Juhang Lee, who also plays several varieties of Daegeum or bamboo flute, and Miji Jang who plays a Gayageum, an extremely complicated type of Korean zither. Contemporary elements come from G.Qoo on guitar, bass and keyboard and Hanbeen Park on keyboards and assorted electronics. 
IL WOL DANG have been together for less than a year but fit together seamlessly. The music they play is not a clumsy parody of traditional Korean music but an evolution of the old into something new. Juhang tells us that IL means Sun, WOL means Moon and DANG means House and the group want to take us to a space between the sun and the moon and to share their life and their home.
Watching Miji strum, tap and bend her multi-stringed gayageum to produce a variety of tones and textures is a mesmerising experience. Juhang’s daegeum playing is breathy and lyrical but she brings a firey intensity when the music requires it. G.Qoo’s pure, bell-like guitar tones reminded me of Manuel Göttsching’s Inventions For Electric Guitar while Hanbeen’s electronics and delicate keyboards bring additional rhythm and texture.
G.Qoo’s bass playing brings a further element of earthy funk to further contrast with the lightness of the daegeum and gayageum and the spacey electronics. It’s a hypnotic mixture and, all too soon, our time with IL WOL DANG comes to an end. As the Fringe bustles and throngs all around us, IL WOL DANG provide a much-needed oasis of calm, albeit one with a heart of passion and fire.
John Scott
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