Kailin Yong's Y-rless string quartet

It had been a while since I was this curious about an upcoming gig. A quote from the event description went:
“This group of string players is bringing a refreshing new sound into town”  “They are taking the tried-and-true classical string quartet model and stretching it beyond it's stylistic and sonic possibilities/comfort zone.”

Now what is more relaxing on a Friday night, after a week of being boxed in and towing the corporate line, than to be taken out of one's comfort zone. After what seemed to have been a long time, I took my camera out of the dry box and we left for Artistry to see the Y string quartet with

Christina Xinxue Zhou

Felix Phang

 

Kailin Yong

Kim Eun Hyung

Seating at these type of events at Artistry is always a theatre setup with chairs row by row. It is my impression that this kind of seating makes people feel more they are to listen rather than chat. Which in this case was extra nice, because as per Kailin’s first announcement, the performance was going to be “unplugged”.

The band played a wide range of classic tunes rearranged to suit the 3 violins 

and 1 bass 

configuration and with often Latin rhythms from songs like Sway (I can hear the sound of violins long before it begins) and Quiza Quiza Quiza.

In my opinion it was simply fantastic, a thoroughly fun discovery, from what is currently being offered in the music scene. With surprises spreading thin for anyone who goes to live music gigs on a regular basis, this is a great discovery and I hope the Y quartet will continue to explore the ranges of their 16 strings…without wires!