Joce Mienniel is a French flutist, saxophonist, composer, arranger, orchestrator, and electronic programmer. In 2004, he graduated from the Paris National Superior Music and Dance Conservatory.  Aram Lee is a young Korean musician who plays the daegeum (traditional flute with a very deep sound), as well as other traditional Korean flutes like the sogeum and yanggeum. Mienniel and Lee are joined by Korean percussionist Minwang Hwang, who plays janggu (an hourglass-shaped drum) and provides some vocalizing on Wood & Steel, jazzy world music that unites East and West. Lee and Hwang both perform in a Korean contemporary world music quartet called “Black String.” 

The wood is Korean bamboo and emblematic of pansori, one of Korea’s oldest musical styles. Though keyless, over the centuries the type of flute played by Lee acquired a rice-paper membrane that enhances its primitive, enigmatic sound. The steel, played by Mienniel, is a European metal flute, more complex in construction, which evolved over the centuries into a tempered, chromatic instrument with many keys.

Opening with a poignant “Song of Willow,” all three musicians provide a full and enchanting sonic introduction to their respective instruments. During the journey documenting this brilliant Franco-Korean encounter, we hear each musician featured in unnamed solo pieces, and the title cut on Wood & Steel is a duo that provides sublime and pensive reflections. The most evocative mood pieces include the nearly 12-minute “Heullium” (based on traditional Korean music) and compositions by Lee (“Bukcheong Arirang”) and Mienniel (“Ethiopic”), the latter with Hwang’s eerie shamanistic chanting.

Closing the album is “Wood & Steel & Drums” with its alluring charm and emotional depth leaving us wanting more from these three. They color the air with sonic tints and poetic hues, much as an impressionistic painter puts brush to canvas.  Perhaps the album should’ve been named Wood, Steel & Skin, because together, these three instrumentalists have created a compelling piece of world music that fuses traditional Korean melody and rhythm with the creative spark of contemporary jazz improvisation. (Joe Ross, Roots Music Report)