Dr. Ray Seol: The Prison of Language | Jazz, Korean Shamanism & Much More

Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Jazz Musician, Author & Berklee College of Music Associate Professor Dr. Ray Seol.In this fascinating conversation, we explore The Prison of Language—a deeply personal and unconventional project that exists as both a book and an album. From his career as a musician and educator to his work as one of the most frequently quoted K-pop scholars in the United States, Ray Seol has a story that crosses musical, cultural and academic boundaries.Recorded during Ray’s Fulbright Scholarship in Korea, the eight-track project grew from interviews with fourteen survivors of suicide loss. The resulting music draws heavily from Korean shamanism and ritual, creating something far beyond what you might traditionally expect from a jazz album.There is also a deeply personal element. One of the tracks was written on the day Ray’s mother was buried more than twenty years ago, adding another layer of memory, grief, culture and musical expression to this remarkable work.From his base in Boston, Ray Seol takes us through the making of The Prison of Language, his experiences in Korea, his work at Berklee, his scholarship surrounding K-pop, and the powerful intersection of music, language, ritual, loss and healing.This is a conversation about much more than jazz. It is about finding a musical language for experiences that words sometimes cannot fully express.Enjoy this compelling conversation with Dr. Ray Seol on Neon Jazz.🎵 Get The Prison of Language:Amazon — The Prison of Language For More Neon Jazz: Shows via MixCloud: https://www.mixcloud.com/neonjazzkc/Subscribe via Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/user/neonjazzkcSubscribe via iTunes/Apple - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/famous-interviews-joe-dimino/id546432639?mt=2The Home of Neon Jazz: http://theneonjazz.blogspot.com/Contribute to Neon Jazz via PayPal:                     https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=ER  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.