Distant Pairs: Louis Carnell & Okkyung Lee - 맞닿은 하늘 - The Touching of Skies

Wednesday, July 21st, ISSUE is pleased to stream 맞닿은 하늘 - The Touching of Skies, the debut collaboration of London-based multidisciplinary artist, producer, composer, and singer/songwriter Louis Carnell (Visionist) and South Korean cellist, composer, and improviser Okkyung Lee. The duo’s debut work will stream on ISSUE’s site.

Despite having previously released varied, architectural, and emotive electronic work on PAN and Big Dada, Louis Carnell’s third LP A Call To Arms, released earlier in 2021 on Mute, showcased his own singing voice in the form of song and lyric for the first time. Carnell’s far-reaching and evolving practice has included a host of club-adjacent activities (including co-running PAN sublabel CODES), as well as collaborations bridging electronic and experimental music, and the visual and fashion worlds. Okkyung Lee, has an expansive history with ISSUE, including being an Artist-In-Residence in 2011, and most recently premiering new work with Mark Fell in 2019. Lee has also recently released Yeo-Neun on Shelter Press in 2020, a striking amalgamation of modern classical composition and freely improvised music with the emotive drama of Korean traditional music and popular ballads. Later in 2020, she released “Teum (the Silvery Slit),” a new work featured on a split LP alongside Florian Hecker on INA GRM and Editions MEGO’s Portraits GRM imprint. A new album, 나를 (Na-Reul), is set to be released soon on Chicago label and gallery Corbett vs. Dempsey’s new Black Cross Solo Sessions series.

During the Summer 2021, ISSUE is commissioning artists to produce collaborative work at a time when the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has drastically impacted their ability to travel and perform, and altered the nature of collective work and performance. Pairing artists in disparate locations who cannot work together in “traditional” ways, the Distant Pairs series examines the collaborative process, methods of working, and partnership amidst these constrained conditions.

Notes from Louis Carnell & Okkyung Lee on 맞닿은 하늘 - The Touching of Skies:

Through conversation Okkyung Lee & Louis Carnell found they had a mutual appreciation of looking to the sky for condolence & solace. Both returned home: Okkyung to her parent’s & Louis to his Granny’s during the pandemic. Out of the environments they were more accustomed to, in a time of chaos the sky allowed for an escapism but also a reset in a new time of adaptation. The sky also offered connection, as it is the one thing we all have access to, a plane passes by and we start to think of all the friends we have met whilst performing around the world, a cloud or star that is a lost loved one still offering protection.

The music has been formed from Okkyung Lee’s classical up-bringing and Louis’ experience of
having a Catholic Granny combining piano, cello & choir at the centre, sounds of peacefulness for the pair, but it also explores this dystopian experience we’ve all been through with underlying textures & sonics.

With video by Charlie Soffe
& Special thanks to Sejong NuriRock Creative Center

Louis Carnell (Visionist) has been exploring experimental electronic terrains by dissolving all manner of genres down in order to create work to which these terms no longer apply. His introspective approach has seen him put out albums on PAN, Big Dada & most recently Mute with “A Call To Arms.” Louis, is not only a composer but also a singer & songwriter and has a history of varied collaborators from Fatima Al Qadiri to KK Null. Louis also has strong ties with the visual world and was at the forefront of working with Peter De Potter, Daniel Sannwald & Frederik Heyman.

Okkyung Lee is a cellist, composer, and improviser who moves freely between artistic disciples and contingencies. Since 2000 she has worked in disparate contexts as a solo artist and collaborator with creators in a wide range of disciplines. A native of South Korea, Lee has taken a broad array of inspirations—including noise, improvisation, jazz, western classical, and the traditional and popular music of her homeland—and used them to forge a highly distinctive approach. Her curiosity and a determined sense of exploration guide the work she has made in disparate contexts.

Full Distant Pairs Series Schedule*

Sofia Jernberg & Tomeka Reid: Wednesday, July 7th
Rob Thorne & Raven Chacon: Thursday, July 8th
Viola Yip & Laetitia Sonami: Wednesday, July 14th (Co-presented with Harvestworks)
Cecilia Lopez & Carmen Baliero: Thursday, July 15th (Co-presented with Harvestworks)
Louis Carnell & Okkyung Lee: Wednesday, July 21st
Rashad Becker & FUJI||||||||||TA: Thursday, July 22nd (Co-presented with AvanTokyo)**

*All Times 8pm ET