Seven Steps to Island
January 15, 2025
Presented by CultureHub LA
Hong-Gie Kim arrived in Los Angeles for his CultureHub Global Residency on January 5th, 2025. He had come from South Korea to rehearse and record a project in the space of one week that had been 8 months in planning- an experimental album in which Korean rhythms, Balinese Gamelan, and jazz would collide. LA was on fire: the Palisades fire was already burning. The Eaton and Woolsey fires would start two days later, and Los Angeles County would be ravaged by the most devastating wildfires in its history.
Despite the blazes throughout LA and Santa Clarita, Hong-Gie’s LA-based collaborators I Nyoman Wenten- legendary master of Balinese music and dance, Vinny Golia (assorted wood winds) and Jonathon Stearns (cornet, keys) stayed out of harm’s way, and California Institute of the Arts - the site for rehearsals and recording- remained accessible. In keeping with the spirit of the Global Residency Program, Hong-Gie’s project became a catalyst for friendship and a precious artifact from a fruitful encounter between international artists. Hong-Gie brought the master stems home to Korea, where he and Ho-Jung Kang completed the final mastering and the stereo and Atmos mixes of Seven Steps to Island- CultureHub’s first album.
Seven Steps to Island can be enjoyed via many streaming platforms here.
This album was made possible by the Seoul Institute of the Arts/CultureHub Global Artist Residency 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.
Dedication: This album is dedicated to the people of Los Angeles and Alta Dena who suffered losses during the wildfires that raged when this album was made- including beloved members of I Nyoman Wenten’s Gamelan Burat Wangi. Peace and healing to all.
Special thanks to Vinny for bringing Wenten and John Baffa to the project, Tay Guhn Yoo for advocating for the ongoing collaboration between SeoulArts and CalArts, Camille Weins, Gamelan Burat Wangi and the energies in the room, Professor Ho-Jung Kang: co-researcher of this project, Professor Seung-Gun Lee who supported the research fund, Yong-hee Noh and Kkoti Park who helped with the residency program, and Stacy Dawson Stearns for her great help in all the processes. Finally, I would like to express my deep gratitude to Seoul Institute of the Arts for supporting all aspects of the creation of Seven Steps to Island.