Sungha Jung will be releasing his third album ‘The Duets’, come December 17. The album has a different approach compared with its two predecessors (‘Irony’ and ‘Perfect Blue’), in that every track on it features another guitarist playing with him.

The news was officially released when Sungha uploaded a ‘making of’ video of the album on his highly subscribed to Youtube channel a few days ago. It has been well received by viewers, and fans eagerly anticipate the latest installation from this young guitarist.

There are 9 tracks in the album, and 5 different artists he collaborates with, namely: Masa Sumide, Rynten Okazaki, Shun Komatsubara, Aki Miyoshi and Akihiro Tanaka.

“The Duets shows that one plus one equals more than two and I’m happy to be a part of it,” Masa Sumide comments regarding the album.

Thoughts on the album and Sungha’s growth as a musician

Playing finger-style guitar solo is an impressive skill, and Sungha has mastered that. The next level would be to use his musical skills in relation with another musician. In this case, listening is a vital element, so as not to overplay. To play just the right notes, be it adding a subtlety here and there, or simply playing fewer notes, takes years of experience. And once the musicians lock, that is when the magic happens.

“This project of Sungha Jung making a duo album with other guitarists is a great thing simply because it is not something everyone is able to do. I hope that Sungha will continue to follow his natural talent in music,” Komatsubara mentions.

Sungha is not a stranger to playing duets; he has done that numerous times in concerts with the likes of Tommy Emmanuel, Ulli Boegershausen and Thomas Leeb, to name a few. But being in the studio presents a different world. There is an absence of a live audience to spur on the artist, but it does open up the session for a duo to experiment, generate or discard ideas. On the other hand, the need to get the notes and tone almost perfect weighs more in a studio album. That can be a constraining factor for the nervy hands. With this album, Sungha shows himself to have grown to a level that enables him to blend in well with other musicians in such a situation.

“Sungha is growing to the next level and I’m curious to see how Sungha’s World is going to grow further,” Okazaki observes.

From the preview of the songs, it sounds like it’s going to be a great album. It may be just the perfect Christmas gift for a friend or loved one.

To buy the album when it comes out, visit his website.

To view Sungha’s upcoming shows, click here.

Image Courtesy : Sungha Jung

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