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Kengchakaj Kengkarnka - Lak Lan


GA Russell

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Kengchakaj Kengkarnka
"Lak Lan"

Impacting: October 29 2019

Format(s): Jazz

 
 
 
  Artist Title Time    
 
 
 
  Kengchakaj Kengkarnka Hom Rong 05:55    
  Kengchakaj Kengkarnka Lak Lan 07:05    
  Kengchakaj Kengkarnka Lom Huan 06:02    
  Kengchakaj Kengkarnka 6849 05:25    
  Kengchakaj Kengkarnka Sneha 07:43    
  Kengchakaj Kengkarnka Deceptible 11:46    
  Kengchakaj Kengkarnka New Chapter 03:58    
  Kengchakaj Kengkarnka Fa(c)t 04:36    
  Kengchakaj Kengkarnka Mind the Gap 07:35    
  Kengchakaj Kengkarnka Revolving 06:44    
 

 

For Immediate Release

 

Bangkok - born, New York-based pianist, Kengchakaj Kengkarnka’s debut album “Lak Lan” explores the intersection of Music, Culture, and Identity

 

New York, NY: Lak Lan (ลักลั่น) derives from a Thai word that can be translated as juxtaposition, dichotomy, or paradox. Although these qualities can be seen as incongruous, eccentric, or confusing, the concept of Lak-Lan opens up room for an exchange of dialogue - a gap for creative opportunities; a temporal moment to investigate new possibilities between spaces. Lak-Lan serves an impetus to unify ideas that are seemingly opposite, define new directions, and provide meaning to Kengchakaj (Gheng/chAH /kad) Kengkarnka’s (Gheng /ghan/kAH) voice as an artist. His compositional practice is rooted in African American derived rhythms infused with the aesthetics of Thai music. These compositions investigate themes of contradiction in identity, thoughts, and feelings - elements he has adopted, captured and expressed through improvisation in the compositions and arrangements of this album.

 

Kengchakaj grew up in Thailand, hearing jazz from an early age from his parent’s jazz collection. Growing up with this predominantly Western musical context, his knowledge of traditional Thai folk music came later. Kengchakaj interest in Thai music embarked on a project he works with Pradit Prasartthong, a Thai contemporary artist who is an expert in this field. “I wanted to understand Thai music more deeply, as my musical upbringing was from a Western perspective, until this point”. This musical and pedagogical dichotomy was the foundation for the inspiration for the 11 compositions featured on this project.

 

Upon arriving in New York in 2015 to attend the Manhattan School of Music, Kengchakaj began composing songs as he began to experience identity alteration and explore his “new” identity through unfamiliarity of new culture setting. The impetus of the album was also the exploration of identifying as a Thai person that plays the music that is not his own, yet also not experiencing “Thai” music as completely his own. This concept of tension between new and old self, a struggle to fit in and find identity, but yet all coming together is woven throughout every fabric of the album. 

 

From this turbulent and exciting emotional time, the inspiration for the music on “Lak Lan” was officially born. Kengchakaj brings together Sirintip Phasuk on vocals/EFX, Shai Golan on alto saxophone, Niall Cade on tenor saxophone, Hugh Stuckey on guitar, Perrin Grace on upright bass/fretless bass, and Nolan Byrd on drums on this wide-ranging and highly compositional album.

 

“The song Lak Lan itself embodies the idea of juxtaposition, weaving Eastern and Western compositional elements into a unified piece that explores the paradoxical spaces within improvisationally-based music...” continues Kengkarnka. “The music is a journey that explores the complex intersection of the self and culture in the modern world”


 

Lak Lan releases on NextLevel on November 8th, 2019. 
 

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About Kengchakaj Kengkarnka:

 

Kengchakaj Kengkarnka is a Bangkok-born, New York-based award-winning improviser, pianist, and composer. Recipient of a 2015 Fulbright Open Competition Award, Kengkarnka’s work focuses on the use of improvisation, aiming to create a collective experience of empathy among performers and audience members alike.

 

Kengchakaj has won numerous awards internationally, including Best Soloist of the Thailand International Jazz Conference Solo Competition (TIJC) in 2013, and First Prize in both the Ensemble (2013) and Individual Performance (2011) categories of the Thailand Jazz Competition (TJC). Kengchakaj earned his Master’s degree in Jazz Arts from Manhattan School of Music in 2017.


 

NEXTLEVEL is an imprint of Outside in Music, dedicated to early career and first-time bandleaders seeking to make an impact on the music. OUTSIDE IN MUSIC is a record label and media company that exists to serve musicians. We are a community that strives to lift its artists above the noise of the 21st-century music industry and make music that expresses the sounds of today's wide-ranging jazz and creative music scene. 

 

 

www.outsideinmusic.com/nextlevel


 

 

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