Kmang Kmang

Classically trained guitarist-composer Barmey Ung formed Kmang Kmang in 2011 as a vehicle for fusing classical guitar traditions, and a touch of flamenco, with his Cambodian heritage. As the local quartet’s debut album title suggests, Kmang Kmang is hard to pin down. Ung has dubbed his ensemble an “avant world rock group.”

For Ung and his crew, that simply means everything goes. Drifting is musically itinerant, constantly shifting shapes among classical, Latin, jazz-fusion, indie and Cambodian. The press release calls attention to post-rock influences, but there’s more of a prog-rock vibe, with knotty tracks like “Lullaby” winding in similar ways to the guitar and violin sprawls of King Crimson.

Ung takes a shot at singing on a couple of the more structured songs, but the instrumental tracks benefit from greater freedom. “Glass” and “The World Is My Playground” showcase Ung’s masterful guitar plucking, interwoven with the four-string acrobatics of violinist Brandi Berry. Also a member of Baroque Band and cofounder of the Bach and Beethoven Ensemble, Berry brings indispensable skill, anchoring Ung’s compositions with self-assured vigor.

Genre hopping and risk taking are simultaneously Ung’s strengths and weaknesses. There’s too much going on, and the result is high on adventure but low on coherence. Drifting is a mixed bag, but dig in and you’ll find some gems. - TimeOut Chicago

Classically trained guitarist-composer Barmey Ung formed Kmang Kmang in 2011 as a vehicle for fusing classical guitar traditions, and a touch of flamenco, with his Cambodian heritage. As the local quartet’s debut album title suggests, Kmang Kmang is hard to pin down. Ung has dubbed his ensemble an “avant world rock group.”

For Ung and his crew, that simply means everything goes. Drifting is musically itinerant, constantly shifting shapes among classical, Latin, jazz-fusion, indie and Cambodian. The press release calls attention to post-rock influences, but there’s more of a prog-rock vibe, with knotty tracks like “Lullaby” winding in similar ways to the guitar and violin sprawls of King Crimson.

Ung takes a shot at singing on a couple of the more structured songs, but the instrumental tracks benefit from greater freedom. “Glass” and “The World Is My Playground” showcase Ung’s masterful guitar plucking, interwoven with the four-string acrobatics of violinist Brandi Berry. Also a member of Baroque Band and cofounder of the Bach and Beethoven Ensemble, Berry brings indispensable skill, anchoring Ung’s compositions with self-assured vigor.

Genre hopping and risk taking are simultaneously Ung’s strengths and weaknesses. There’s too much going on, and the result is high on adventure but low on coherence. Drifting is a mixed bag, but dig in and you’ll find some gems. - TimeOut Chicago

"Barmey Ung is a new name you need to know. He’s trained in classical guitar, but he has a wide-open musical heart... he’s put together a hell of a band to help him rein things in. Sometimes they soar, sometimes they whisper, sometimes they even scream a little - Pop Matters

They are more than world or folk music, and transcend the combination of strings, voice, and drums that make them up. “ - Lumino Magazine

“Chicago’s Kmang Kmang sometimes sound like the unanticipated convergence of alt rock and ECM jazz—with a world of other influences distilled into the mix” - Express Milwaukee

“Anyone with an interest in classical music with a good dose of jazz and instrumental fusion will be swept away with this intoxicating sense of musical style.” - My World Music Friends

“”this Chicago “experimental” music collective blows you away at every level. With chops and vibes that a lot of others can’t even come close to, Kmang Kmang plays wise beyond their years and opens the depths by keeping simplicity at their core” - Midwest Record

“Drifting is an astonishing debut release that will have you smiling from ear to ear… amazing compositions blend everything into a result so cohesive that the disc is very close to completely unique.” - Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange

le spirit provided for a nice conversation that delved into the guitarist/multi instrumentalist’s musical past, factors leading him to form a band, and the forces that guide creativity.
How did you arrive at your band’s name?

“Kmang Kmang” means “Young Young” in Cambodian, and I’m Cambodian. It literally means children, there’s a Cambodian saying tied to that, which means children play. And I thought it was just cool to say. Because there are a few Cambodian words that I feel an American audience can say.

Does the background of those words inform the band’s sound at all?

Well, it’s best not to look too much into it. You know, what do band names mean? And when they try to mean something, it’s usually bullshit. It’s just Kmang Kmang.

Tell me a little bit about how you met the other guys in the band, and how you started playing guitar in the first place.

I’ll start with the members of the band. Bret Swenson is the drummer, and he’s actually an artist. He’s a glass and insulation artist. So he’s just doing this one gig with us. Sam Filip, bass player, we hired him for this gig. So we just met him. I played with another bassist before. I played some of my Cambodian stuff with him, but he had some other things to do this time. So the group is not solidified. It’s my project, so I hired whoever I had to hire and I got whoever I had to get. So, until I have a solid group that I’m comfortable with…this is how I’ve been doing it with my old bands. But I like doing it that way, because when I rotate out players, it’s always like a different performance and it’s a learning experience for me and everybody involved.

How long have you been playing guitar and what got you attracted to it?

I started with classical (guitar) when I was twelve. I guess I was playing music since I was five. I played piano when I was five, sax when I was eight, then I changed to guitar when I was twelve. In fact I remember my parents bought me a nice saxophone when I was twelve, which was right around the time I wanted to switch to guitar, because that was the age when they introduce guitar in school. So I had to beg my parents to buy me a guitar. I even got my teacher to write me a note to my parents. I just loved it, especially the classical guitar, because it’s something that I never heard before. I was never the type of person who wanted to do what everyone else was doing. It’s the stuff that drives me, the things I’ve never heard before. So classical guitar was one of those things, and when I started looking into it I started looking at flamenco and classical and I just thought it was crazy. But I thought it sucked that it’s in this little bubble, it’s in this little classical guitar world. When I was in the Czech Republic, performing there in guitar festival in this little guitar fest world, with classical teachers, workshops and repertoire…I never related to that environment. That’s why I’m here doing my own thing. It’s my voice through the classical guitar, trying to get through to the general public.

Where did you get the idea to blend trip hop with guitar, as opposed to other musical styles? I heard jazz undertones in there too.

Yeah, there are so many undertones, and there are many songs that we’ve played that are flamenco, Brazilian, or Cambodian. We played some of that stuff tonight. But this project is really my excuse to bring everything that I like together, and those things being a part of who I am. That’s the only way an artist can find their real voice, is if they just do it. So this is an experiment and this is the first step. There are a lot of new songs in the works that we weren’t able to play today just because they weren’t ready. But the trip hop thing is just another interest. Trip hop is a pretty broad genre…Massive Attack, Portishead, even Radiohead…how different are those bands? The way I see it is just a melancholy bass, but in the future I’m planning to add some electronic elements, looping effects, beats, sampling, whatever. This would be along the more traditional trip hop lines.

What genres were you thinking of blending with classical guitar from the start? Was trip hop always a direction you wanted to go in?

I’ve been composing for several years, who knows how many, on so many different levels. I’ve composed for orchestras, percussion ensembles, electronics, film, video art pieces, for chamber ensembles, and for myself. I’ve studied flamenco guitar in Spain. I had a Brazilian electro-pop group in Miami from 2008-2009. So I don’t plan the sound out, it just happens that way. It’s just after years of exploration, taking those things that I like and putting them all together.

What artist do you look up to in determining your sound?

I’ve never liked anybody who fit the mold or is generic.

Like Justin Bieber.

I just heard a slowed-down version of Justin Bieber, it’s pretty crazy.

Yeah I have it on my iPod but haven’t heard it yet. It’s pretty interesting.

But what I’m into always changes. Right now, Avishai Cohen, who’s a jazz bass player and used to play with Chick Corea. He does a lot of stuff on the beat, like in 11 4 time. The second song we played, “Calm,” is his song. I can go all day with influences, Paco de Lucia, I love pop music, The Pixies, I have the “Trainspotting” soundtrack in my car right now. I’m completely open-minded.

Is there ever a point where you feel you’ve exhausted your creativity at all? Do you ever add electric guitar to mix it up a bit?

There are more tracks on my MySpace where there’s heavy electric guitar, Jimi Hendrix style guitar. I play piano, bass, and I sing a lot more in some of those tracks. Those types of songs require more direction. Today was just a trio, just a trial run. So there’s a lot more stuff to come. But do I ever get exhausted…yes. Right now I found a balance where everything that I do I’m satisfied with, but it’s taken me a log time to get to that point. When I just started Kmang Kmang, the songs didn’t sound like this, they were a lot more depressing and very personal. It was too personal for most people. And I didn’t agree with for the longest time, because I dedicated my life to that. When I wanted to put it together, it didn’t work, because people didn’t like it. And that can be pretty hard. That was one kind of exhaustion that was really hard to deal with.

People not agreeing with your vision?

That pushed me to see and hear things from their perspective, and it was a big exercise in letting things go, moving on and trying new things. That stuff is still there, but it’s just not as heavy as it used to be. But I still like to make people think, to have them sit and experience the music. I don’t see it as entertainment but as an art.

Note: A video of this interview will be available on
www.myspace.com/kmangkmang - Lumino Magazine

Written by KONSTANTIN BEZZUBOV
Wednesday, 29 September 2010

There is a double meaning behind Barmey Ung’s fresh-out-of-the-rehearsal-room band’s name. literally translates as “Young Young” in Cambodian, but the group’s website also reads, “Kmang Kmang is the ability to do anything,” and “As far into the absurd reaches of our imagination.” The multi-instrumentalist and Lumino luminary has been playing music in some form since he was five, and his debut show as part of a trio took up a small but well-navigated chunk of time at Abbey Pub.
Kmang Kmang

Kmang Kmang The 45-minute performance was part of a 7-band benefit show for Youth Recording Chicago, a non-for-profit organization aiming to build and run a cutting-edge studio in the second city that will allow talented Chicago-area kids to record in a professional atmosphere without worrying about the obstacles involved and funds traditionally needed to allow such an opportunity.

Like the name, Kmang Kmang’s sound also works to reflect the two main musical personalities of the band. With Ung on acoustic guitar, loops and effects, Brett Swenson on drums and Sam Filip on string bass for this first outing, a deliberately cool yet energetic concoction was brewed, one the band calls classical guitar trip hop. Ung projected a reserved but authoritative stage presence as he scaled the fretboard, mixing hypnotic passages with sudden solo burst high on the tonal register.

The compositions’ titles suited the sound. “Drifting” opened up the set with a smooth background of bass and drums, with guitar chiming in, slowly leading the ensemble into an upbeat second half. “Calm” was a cover of an arrangement by Israeli jazz bassist and composer Avishai Cohen, one of the band’s key influences. The piece carried a heavily atmospheric quality to it, with simple strumming creating a mood ideal for constructive contemplation.

A bit of Cambodian flavor was mixed in with “Welcome,” a traditional ceremonial song suited to gatherings of friends old and new – very appropriate in a room filled with the people behind this cause, the other bands playing, and many of their supporters. The drums brought a laid back jazzy quality to most of the songs, and while this added to the overall effect, the differences between the bass and guitar occasionally drowned this out. With so many solos popping up here and there with both instruments, one specific sound would occasionally overpower the others, sometimes adding a roughness that clearly was not intended. Slightly off-kilter tempos during these instrumental switch-offs were another issue, but the band found these rough spots quickly and regained momentum.

These are minor things that probably have more to do with the sound setup than individual musicianship; each member has mastery of their instrument. This was again evident on “Simpliminal,” a lovely piece with a bass and guitar pattern that included bowing and more loops, bass weaving between steady drums.

A few pieces had Ung sing and chant in hushed tones, while the last one featured him promoting the band a bit. There’s no shame in that, especially given the good natured tone in which this was done; the audience was respected enough to be allowed time to absorb the sound and come to its own conclusions. The band was really there to create a meditative mood that was spiked with just enough musical gymnastics to exhibit talent while avoiding the any urge to be excessively showy.

Check out Kmang Kmang at -
www.myspace.com/kmangkmang

To find out more about Youth Recording Chicago go to -
www.youthrecordings.org - Lumino Magazine