Yeore Kim interview

Happy Hour Harmonica Podcast

Yeore Kim joins me on episode 119.
Yeore is from South Korea, where she first picked up the tremolo harmonica at the age of six. Her mother is a piano teacher, so she also learnt piano and other instruments, including trumpet, before focusing on the chromatic harmonica from age 18.
Yeore has released two albums of duets with different pianists.
She moved to France in 2018 after meeting her guitarist husband, Antoine Boyer, with whom she has released an album, Tangram. This contains a great mix of jazz, world music and interpretations of pop songs.
Yeore is currently working on a duo album with her husband, due to released later in 2024, and to be followed by a tour in 2025 to promote the album.
Videos:
YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfFkS5hmOn6BCgU1FCO_IEQ
Japanese player Nobuo Tokunaga:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33t6gCajgyw
7AM duet with pianist Mia:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gA2INoVumc0
Oasis song: Don’t Look Back In Anger:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGiQuyXSN7Y
HUK interview with Sam Spranger:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSKLp_di5uw&t=98s
European Tour blog:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaQmcObOMiU
Podcast website:
https://www.harmonicahappyhour.com

Donations:
If you want to make a voluntary donation to help support the running costs of the podcast then please use this link (or visit the podcast website link above):
https://paypal.me/harmonicahappyhour?locale.x=en_GB

Spotify Playlist:
Also check out the Spotify Playlist, which contains most of the songs discussed in the podcast:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5QC6RF2VTfs4iPuasJBqwT?si=M-j3IkiISeefhR7ybm9qIQ
Podcast sponsors:
This podcast is sponsored by SEYDEL harmonicas - visit the oldest harmonica factory in the world at www.seydel1847.com or on Facebook or Instagram at SEYDEL HARMONICAS
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Blue Moon Harmonicas: https://bluemoonharmonicas.com

Support the show

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1. Yeore Kim interview (00:00:00)

2. Yeore is from South Korea, now living in France (00:01:45)

3. Harmonica is not that popular in South Korea (00:02:02)

4. Started learning music due to influence of mother, who is a piano teacher (00:02:29)

5. Tremolo was first harmonica started playing, at age six (00:02:46)

6. Tremolo is the most commonly played harmonica in Korea, playing classical music pieces usually on it (00:03:02)

7. Mother is a piano teacher (00:04:26)

8. Learnt harmonica in a music academy (00:04:52)

9. Yeore is now a chromatic harmonica player, switching to the instrument age 18, having lessons for six months before self-learning (00:05:14)

10. Applied knowledge of music from other instruments to the chromatic (00:05:46)

11. Mainly plays jazz on the chromatic, initially inspired by Japanese player Tokunaga Nobuo and Toots Thielemans (00:06:22)

12. Musical links between South Korea and Japan, but now the world has opened up with online resources (00:07:07)

13. The influence of Toots and transcribing his music (00:07:32)

14. The Brazil Project albums are Yeore’s favourites, and so she likes to play Brazilian styles of jazz (00:08:57)

15. Yeore studied jazz at Seoul University and plays a diverse range of jazz styles now (00:09:53)

16. Studied trumpet as main instrument on the university music course, but could also use the chromatic on the course (00:10:13)

17. Similarities between trumpet and chromatic harmonica (00:11:20)

18. Can you play same musical lines on trumpet and chromatic (00:12:21)

19. Doesn’t perform on other instruments now, only harmonica (00:14:00)

20. Plays some piano still, but not to perform on (00:14:46)

21. Played with Filip Jers in a guitar workshop in Sweden (00:15:08)

22. Yeore’s husband (Antoine Boyer) is a great guitar player, and she performs and tours with him (00:16:46)

23. Didn’t play gypsy jazz before meeting her gypsy jazz guitarist husband, and still doesn’t (00:17:34)

24. Moved to France in 2018, not being able to speak French of English, and similarity of learning music and languages (00:18:31)

25. Based in Paris but also spends time in Dijon, France (00:19:41)

26. Recorded an album with Antoine: Tangram, which means a Chinese puzzle (00:20:22)

27. One of strengths of harmonica is the dynamic range (00:22:33)

28. Uses some effects pedals to raise the intensity of the chromatic (00:23:19)

29. Composed a song with a brass section from experience of playing the trumpet (00:24:53)

30. Composed other songs on the album (00:26:23)

31. Blackbird song chosen as harmonica is similar to a bird sound (00:26:43)

32. Yeore played Bye Bye Blackbird with Jens Bunge at the Seoul Harmonica Festival in 2018 (00:28:11)

33. Does some duets with Antoine on the album (00:28:30)

34. Classical piece on the album: Valse L, from Yeore’s experience of playing classical music when younger (00:29:41)

35. Sings on one of the songs on the Tangram album (00:30:38)

36. Planning to make a new duo album with Antoine soon (00:31:38)

37. Recorded album with pianist Mia in 2023, a university friend from South Korea (00:33:47)

38. Antoine and other musicians appear on Eutopia song (00:34:42)

39. 7AM song from album (00:35:58)

40. Alone song from Eutopia album (00:37:14)

41. Breeze is a samba song on the album (00:38:12)

42. Recorded an album with a Korean pianist, Sunhang Lee, in 2014, Year’s first jazz album recording (00:39:04)

43. Recording of Oasis song, Don’t Look Back In Anger, on YouTube, and approach to playing pop songs (00:40:17)

44. Blog of European tour (00:42:01)

45. Used jazz trumpet and saxophone tutorial material to learn jazz on chromatic (00:43:01)

46. Teacher at university was a saxophone player (00:44:12)

47. Placed third in the harmonica competition at the harmonica festival in Seoul with Antonio Serrano and Gregoire Maret as the judges (00:44:48)

48. Performed a gig in India to a crowd of over 500,000 people, getting the gig through yoga (00:45:44)

49. Has taught some tremolo previously, but focusing on performing at the moment (00:47:09)

50. Ten minute question (00:47:29)

51. Hohner Super 64 black model is chromatic of choice, also using Super 64X Performance (00:49:08)

52. Uses low octave on 16 hole models to provide accompaniment to Antoine on guitar (00:49:36)

53. Doesn’t play any diatonic or any tremolo any more (00:50:44)

54. Has played some bass and chord harmonica (00:51:03)

55. Plays chromatic only in key of C (00:51:42)

56. Does some basic maintenance, but sends off to a technician for more major work (00:52:07)

57. Embouchre is tongue blocking (00:52:48)

58. How applies vibrato (00:53:11)

59. Usually plays with mic in hand (00:53:26)

60. Mic of choice is the Beyer Dynamic 88 (00:53:47)

61. Uses PA for amplification (00:53:58)

62. Effects uses Line 6 multi-effects pedal (00:54:13)

63. Future plans include recording the new album with Antoine (00:55:09)

64. Going to Australia tomorrow and giving a harmonica workshop in South Korea in December (00:56:17)

65. Why there aren’t more female harmonica players (00:57:13)