Plaça Reial in Barcelona became, last Friday, September 20 (2024), a space for unprecedented sound navigation with the concert of Terra ignota, a show resulting from the collaboration between the Catalan band Blood Quartet and the South Korean trio Dongyang Gozupa, within the framework of the BAM 2024 Festival. An unconventional artistic alliance that captivated attendees with a proposal of experimentation and cultural fusion, both risky and suggestive.

With an austere scenography and a sound that oscillated between free jazz, alternative rock, ambient electronics and touches of Korean folklore, Terra ignota was presented as a musical journey through unknown territories. The project, co-produced by Seoul Music Week and Fabra i Coats: Fàbrica de Creació, with the support of the Institut Ramon Llull, represents an unusual symbiosis between East and West that crosses stylistic and geographical borders.

The yanggeum —a traditional Korean instrument similar to the psaltery— dialogued with Mark Cunningham’s abrasive trumpet, Kike Bela’s hypnotic bass and the sound textures of Pau Rodríguez and Lluís Rueda. For their part, Jang Do-hyuk’s rhythmic forcefulness and Ham Min-hwi’s electric bass provided a frenetic impulse that effectively contrasted with the more abstract side of the Barcelona quartet.

The proposal combined themes specific to each group with compositions created expressly for the occasion, the result of intensive improvisation sessions carried out during their joint residency at Fabra i Coats. The result: a kind of science fiction soundtrack where improvisation becomes a tool for exploration and cultural differences, creative engines.

Far from seeking assimilation, Terra ignota opted for the coexistence of musical identities, offering an evolving show that does not seek the comfort of the listener, but their curiosity. A demanding but fascinating proposal that demonstrates how music, in the hands of brave creators, can become a true shared territory.