Ssing Ssing: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

Sept. 21, 2017, Bob Boilen One look at (and listen to) the crossdressing, Asian rock band SsingSsing and you would hardly think they re singing music inspired by traditional Korean folk. But SsingSsing isn t like any other band I ve ever seen or heard. The group sings a regional folk style called minyo and the gender bending look has to do with shamans not glamour. As singer Heemoon Lee describes it, In Korean traditional art, male shamans, called baksu, have the body of a male. But as mediums, they need more than a single sexual identity, because they re channeling both male and female spirits. When I act a female character and sing, I have to overcome the fact of my being a male sorikkun (singer), and try my utmost to bring a more neutral, unisex feeling to the performance. It sounds silly, but I feel like going back to the sensibilities of my youth, when I liked Madonna, The understated music, the small dramatic gestures and the costumes all combine for one of my most memorable Tiny Desk C