At the point I am writing this, it has been many months since our Seoul trip. However! I am determined to keep this blog linear to some extent. So here is the last post for Seoul. A special one because we got to meet another of Jay’s friends, one who both Rūta and I respect so much, Mogwaa.

Jay walked us to a neighborhood in Seoul we hadn’t yet been (but really, there’s so much in Seoul to see, it will take us many trips before we will feel we have a good grasp on every inch of the city). So, as I said, he walks us to a new part of the city, and up to a building just up a little street, it is at this building we finally meet Mogwaa. His music studio is a treasure trove of gear and possibility. Rūta can’t help but smile and glance back at me every time she spies something new and cool around the room.

He sits with us and breaks down his studio setup. Explaining how he goes about making his music. Explaining the peculiarities of every device, where one chain of sound begins, where it flows, and where it ends. There is a rack mounted Envelope which I take particular interest in, and file away in my mind for future exploration and possible purchase.

Rūta plays his many keyboards and synths. Wowing us as she is one to do, busting out all her classical chops on these key’s which are usually party to a very different kind of music. She and I improv a bit together, I believe Mogwaa records that entire moment, which we are flattered by.

(click play) He then explains his current ambitions to master a particular genre of music from an era just recently past, that of his grandparents and parents (if I am remembering correctly). Korean Cabaret Music, enjoyed in disco’s and dance halls, and could be played/sung by one single person using multiple keyboards, drum machines, and microphones. If you hear this music you will instantly recognize. It will call up some memory of movie scenes, characters walking by an open door in some Korean street as this music spills out. Mogwaa explains that this is an important part of his culture, though it is also an art form that is disappearing in todays world of canned music. I admire, and identify instantly with his need to preserve musical traditions important to him. To see them live on in music that he makes. He hopes to be a bridge in a way, bringing the possibilities of this kind of performance into his own creations. We should all be championing musical preservation in this way. Cheers to you Mogwaa.

(click play) We leave after a short cabaret dance party in the studio and set out onto the street to find food! It’s a bit late so some of Jay & Mogwaa’s first ideas have already closed. after walking through what I’m pretty sure were 2 malls as shortcuts and through enough doorways and intersections that I could never walk you back to Mogwaa’s studio (this could be by design, I like to this it’s a bit of a secret place one can only be brought to but could never find deliberately) we arrive at a second floor restaurant selling one of Rūta & I’s favorite Korean dishes, a traditional Chicken Soup. We ate, we drank, and we toasted friendship with Jay and Mogwaa, two truly special individuals.