Formed in early 2011, Janya are a four piece world music group, three of the four members (the instrumentalists in the group) coming from Korea. The singer, Lola Danza, who has a free and composed jazz and classical background in New York, is American and has a Korean mother. United by origin as well as a desire to project classically-flavored world music, Janya are a very bright flower in the relative undergrowth of current popular and inventive music. In the group, Danza is accompanied by Seungmin Cha on daegeum (Korean transverse bamboo flute), Eun Sun Jung, gayageum (the multi-stringed "Korean piano", really a zither or harp) and Woonjung Sim, janggo (drums).     

Powered by Danza's classically-arched compositions, and buoyed by the mini orchestral textures of the wide-open Korean instrumentation, Janya has already recorded a rich album entitled "Janya" (Evolver Records, 2011). In May, 2011, the group also performed a highly successful concert on the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC.

Janya have strong roots in traditional Korean music and, as shown by their album, Western music such as that of Stravinsky. Through Danza, there is also the broader thread of rock music and blues. Her vocals cover a colorful range of influences from jazz-blues singers to maybe even Robert Plant! Overall, however, the impact is of music drama in the operatic sense, a kind of "Porgy and Bess" meets Claudio Monteverdi, or a blend of blues and other expression on Eastern landscapes. Instrumentally, Danza herself is a multi-octave wide improvisor with experience experimenting with such famous figures as Ornette Coleman, and her voice traverses many moods over the intriguing instrumental accompaniments.

Mood is an important aspect of Janya's music, as, in each piece, Danza sets out an exposition, develops a topic, then provides the answer all in a theatrical whole.

Given the traditional instrumentation, it is not surprising that the musicians and music exhibit a firm classical sensibility. In the through-composed music, both singer/composer and instruments are always exploring, sometimes with each-other, perhaps sometimes against each-other, but always arriving at a thoroughly aesthetic destination.

Janya describe their music as "modern Korean shamanic music". Korea has, in some parts, a history of shamanic ritual, and there is music that accompanies this--usually the music is percussive beats and flute, with vocal chanting. Janya has placed this music in a compositional context through Danza's music and lyrics, and music written by the group as a whole. That is, Janya have added songs to the general texture of the shamanic music, and opened up the texture by reducing the usual traditional Korean reliance on constant bells and beat. In other words, they could be said to have brought song-writing to the music, music that is usually by design there to serve a ritual.

The excellent result is music for the stage or the concert hall, hence the title "modern" Korean shamanic music.

Danza's compositions suit the traditional shamanic musical textures very well. The story-telling and bluesy vocal breaks are a dramatic and visionary way to open out this music. The lyrical subject matter of the music is powerful, and the sound world employed is ideal for it.

The strong theatrical side to the music was shown at the group's concert at the Kennedy Center, which also included visual theatrical elements such as Danza spreading petals about the stage as Cha sang (taking a break from the daegeum), telling the story in the lyrics. Danza's singing was also frequently accompanied by her acting.

It may be surprising for some to learn that the group only formed in March, 2011. Janya have already made quite an impact, the chemistry between the members being evident from the first notes of both the concert and the album.

The theater-musik element makes an immediate appearance on the album "Janya". The first track "Epilogue", a kind of overture to the coming operatic story, is introduced by bells and an evocative harmony as the bells and gayageum collide, before Cha invokes the beginning of the story (in Korean). Danza then introduces in English the general text of the album, which appears to be searching for answers to life and the human condition. 

The pace picks up, as both Danza and Cha trade lines in their respective languages. There is a sudden pause as Danza pronounces the rule to follow: "seek and ye shall find," she exhorts the audience, reminiscent of a single-voiced Greek chorus. Like an Oracle, she addresses the likely answer to the individual's search, that of writing your own destiny... and does not omit to add, "enjoy your time". You must occupy your own space if you are to progress. But time is rationed, and the words "tick tock" follow.

The elegantly sculptured sounds of the ensemble, and its future possibilities, are well illustrated by by the second track, "No Escape". Danza's exquisite references to breathing, echoed by the  irresistible sound of the gayageum, weave an environment of tension and exoticism. Given the shamanic nature of the music, perhaps there is exorcism as well. The bells of Sim color and pace the performance.

The keyboard-like gayageum frequently occupies a percussive role as well as a harmonic one. On "No Escape", however, it's harmonic possibilities are particularly well revealed, with low sonorous chordal effects. This track, and the emotions and subject matters contained within it, may open a new avenue for current (and future) music, that of popular music drama. Far from "no escape", "No Escape" may provide an escape from the restrictions of popular music as it currently stands.

The theatrical picture is continued on "Withered". Danza moves from classical choral vocal qualities to hard rock-like "extremis", to the accompaniment of frantic rhythm. Blues inflections of Billie Holiday or Sarah Vaughn appear, and also delicate chromatic passages. There are even touches of Led Zeppelin's more excitable moments, as Danza works up a storm over the energized percussion. Given that the vocalist is female, this track presents a new sound in music.

A theme of the album is family dynamics, generations, and ancestry. "Generations" discusses the influence of heredity. Danza sings of tiny fragments of genealogy passing down. She breaks up the music into chromatic fragments to illustrate. Sim is prominent, the jjango propelling the drama. All this culminates in "Mother", one of the longer pieces. Danza's Korean side is of course from her mother, though she grew up in America. 

The colors of the instruments are of course from Korea. However, at times the daegeum (the bamboo flute) can take on a quasi-guitar like, blues quality in its higher register--this is often present in traditional shamanic music, but it takes on a new quality when presented in a more open song-like context. It is an extraordinary sound that the West needs to hear more of, and it is present to great effect on "Mother".

The superbly titled "Epic-Sinawi" is the longest track. It is also possibly the most extraordinary piece. It features a brief stand out passage of throat singing from Danza as well as a rainbow splash of other vocal textures from the improvisor. This is what Yoko Ono should have done, but couldn't! Close ensemble work from the gayageum and janggo set up a blues vibe, which is doubly emphasized as such by the entry of the daegeum with its almost  "down-home" higher register vibrato. On these longer pieces, the gayageum really come into its own, too, with string bends, revealing the world-wide fascination with slide-like and "between note" effects.

"Janya" is the final track, and it is a splendid summary of what is special about these musicians and their music. Powerful drumming from the janggo in mid track announces the end of an album that is really a symphony, if not a performance of a concise opera. The cohesion and connection between the musicians is clear.
 
Janya are a true example of synchronicity, an exceptionally fruitful amalgam of apparently disparate musical national forces that are in reality forces with the same vision, that of expressing human emotion and stories. And so the group shows the clear connection between folk musics of different worlds: folk music is the world's body of music that is at the root of all popular and much classical music, the "world beat" that as legendary composer Van Dyke Parks puts it, provides an endless "refreshment" for the Western listener.

In the open compositional formats of their music, Janya also point a way forward for popular music performers, by adding "world" textures and a classical feel--in Western terms, the group's performances appear to hark back to ancient Greek theater.

On the evidence of their music to date, the four are destined to be among those at the forefront of modern theatrical expressionist music, if they are not already there. The group show considerable promise, and, given their very successful Kennedy Center performance, have already "arrived".

Janya are performing as part of the APAP/NYC 2012 performing arts festival on Friday January 6, 2012 at the Drom, 85 Avenue A, East Village, New York City.