"I have always been struck by the depth and originality of her music and her voice. Her musical vision is a bold and beautiful one."
Ben Monder, Guitarist and Composer
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Interviews/Articles
Sunny Kim listens first. Then she creates space. Then she sounds.
A vocalist, composer, improviser, and educator born in South Korea and based in Australia, Sunny shapes intercultural sound culture through deep listening, creative courage, and relational care. Her work brings diasporic, First Nations, and global traditions into transformative dialogue—not as collision, but as conversation.
She founded Ensemble Ochaye, a collective of diasporic women artists whose works MotherSong MotherLand and Water Song have been commissioned by Sydney Opera House, Perth Festival, Adelaide Festival, AsiaTOPA, and Melbourne Recital Centre. She co-leads Hand to Earth, an ARIA-nominated ensemble with Yolŋu songkeepers Daniel and David Wilfred, where traditional manikay meets vocal improvisation and ambient sound. She is a founding artist in Cloud Makerand Tower Divas, initiatives that nurture intercultural collaboration and honour diverse creative lineages.
Her artistic philosophy emerges from diaspora and long-term collaboration. In her 2020 Peggy Glanville-Hicks Address, To Dance with Our Others in Embrace, she advocated for creative cultures rooted in reciprocity, patience, and trust. Her leadership lies as much in the spaces she creates as in the sounds she makes. Relational. Reflexive. Attuned to complexity.
Sunny's sound world traverses jazz, experimental, traditional, and electronic idioms—blending extended vocal techniques, real-time processing, and improvisation. Her 2023 release Liminal Silence was praised in DownBeat Magazine as "deeply spiritual… an otherworldly soundscape." She has released six albums as a leader, four nominated for Best Jazz Album at the Korean Music Awards. Her voice has resonated at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Pierre Boulez Saal, and beyond, in collaboration with artists including Shabaka, Roswell Rudd, Ben Monder, Trevor Dunn, Darius Jones, and Min Xiao-Fen.
As an educator, she teaches Jazz and Improvisation at the University of Melbourne and joined the Banff Centre's international faculty in 2025. She holds a Doctorate in Music Performance from Griffith University, where her research focused on trauma-informed, intercultural collaboration. Through teaching, research, and artistic practice, she models inclusive creative leadership—mentoring emerging artists and shaping future sound cultures with integrity, imagination, and care.
Her work has been recognized with the 2024 Music Victoria Award for Best Experimental Work and the 2023 APRA AMCOS Art Music Award for Performance of the Year.
“Kim’s haunting voice doesn’t stay within any tradition. Her processed vocals soar over us like aurora borealis.”
Martin Busink, Musique Machine Magazine
"Delivering haunting melody lines... Kim's winding, electronically manipulated vocal recalls early Ursula Dudziak."
Larry Nai, Cadence Magazine
“Haunting... gorgeous and pliable... Kimʼs vocals are hushed, reminding at times of Rhiannon from the San Francisco womanʼs collective alive of some 25 years ago... Kimʼs vocal is not a scat like Ella, but an open sound, ala Annette Peacock.”
Mark E. Gallo, JazzReview.com
"That simple but refined flavor is evident throughout Painter's Eye, from the shimmering ripples of "Bloom and Wither" to the hushed, uneasy drones of "Ink Silence." Kim is expressive but controlled, connecting emotionally with a stark sense of constraint.”
Shaun Brady, Jazz Times
“[Sunny Kimʼs] bell-like vocal instrument, clean phrasing, and distinct, confident tone ring true from beginning to end... extremely talented and likable.”
Michael G. Nastos, AllMusic.com
“A crystalline voice that delivers the lines with controlled passion.”
David Dupont, Cadence Magazine
“Sunny Kimʼs voice sings, murmurs, cajoles, and whispers with intelligence, clarity, and beauty... she has more than enough chops to run away with the show.”
David Wayne, JazzReview.com
“The collaboration of Kim's Korean lyrics and Ben Monder's moody guitar make Painter's Eye absolutely shine. The entire album is something of a stunning experience, and it might just break a few hearts, too."
Dave Sumner, AllAboutJazz
“Sunny’s music seems to know no boundaries, yet always expresses profound respect and connection with culture, meaning and musicality. She is an influential and original artist of the highest calibre with a growing international reputation.”
Annette Shun Wah, Arts advisor, Artistic Director OzAsia Festival 2020-2023
"Sunny is a fine and studied singer. With her conservatory background and chops, she is capable of taking on any kind of a challenge. In my music she handles the compositional demands with great eloquence and expertise...very sensitive to the musical and emotional demand of each song. I'm singing on the trombone and Sunny is a great complement to my efforts."
Roswell Rudd, Jazz trombonist
"Sunny has rich and beautiful texture, perfect pitch and excellent musicianship. She's an intelligent singer and a true artist. It makes me absolutely delighted to hear the way she approaches Steve's [Lacy] songs."
Irene Aebi, Jazz vocalist
"Sunny's influence range from Bjork to Billie Holiday with lyricism and emotional presence that are all her own."
Dominique Eade, Jazz vocalist
“[Sunny Kim]’s a totally spiritual singer but also has a strong command of her craft.”
Darius Jones, Jazz saxophonist
“Sunny’s performances capture the hearts and minds of her audiences and collaborators alike through her honest and spiritual approach and the purity, depth, and flexibility of her sound.”
Aviva Endean, Clarinetist and Improviser
“Sunny’s music is as if I shut my eyes and imagined what new music could sound like. Surprise, suspense, imagination, and great taste make for great music.”