Hyukoh confesses anxiety in new album '23'

151) Korean indie band Hyuk Oh members, from left, Im Dong-gun, Lee In-woo, Oh Hyuk and Lim Hyun-jae talks during the press conference for first studio album “23” at D Museum in Hannam, Seoul, Monday. / Courtesy of DRDRamc

By Kim Jae-heun

Popular Korean indie band Hyukoh’s first studio album “23” cannot be any gloomier, as it contains songs with all the anxieties the band faces as young 20-somethings.

The four-member band, all 23 years old, is well-known for its pessimistic songs, but Hyukoh’s music has grown darker as their popularity has increased over the last two years.

The group formed in 2014 and released their first mini-album “20” on Sept. 18 that year, experiencing moderate success in the underground music scene. However, they instantly rose to fame after participating in the Summer Music Festival on the popular TV series “Infinite Challenge.” The band’s next mini-album “22” made the top 10 of the Billboard World Albums Chart and they signed a contract with YG Entertainment’s sub-label HIGHGRND, led by rapper Tablo of Epik High in 2015.

“When the four of us first met one another, we wanted to become rock stars, not rich people,” the band’s singer Oh Hyuk said during a press conference and preview at D Museum in Hannam-dong, Seoul, Monday. “It was our motto to play cool music and do fun things for a long time.

“But we received so much attention after appearing on Infinite Challenge and it was our first time experiencing it. It gave us a lot of pressure while preparing for our next album and we had to consider things we did not have to consider before, such as making songs that appeal to the masses.”

Still, the band’s sole songwriter said popularity alone did not drive him to produce dark music. Oh says his anxiety is a natural part of his growth phase that anybody experiences in their 20s.

Oh wrote the songs for the new album two years ago when he got out of his slump. He had to decide whether to continue with the dark music of their first full-length album as the band was getting too popular to make songs they loved.

“In fact, we tried to make songs that can appeal commercially but failed. We just didn’t know how to make popular music. And to make it worse, we went deeper without realizing it,” Oh said.

Despite Oh’s concerns, Hyukoh’s first album in two-and-a-half years was successful; with the track “Tomboy” ranking No. 1 on Genie’s Music and second on the Melon Music Chart. Another song “Leather Jacket” also topped the Olleh Music Chart and hit No. 2 on Naver Music as well as Soribada.

Hyukoh’s “23” consists of 12 tracks including songs in Korean, English and Chinese, as songwriter Oh is trilingual, being raised in various cities across China in his youth.

Oh acknowledges his experience in China has influenced his music style a lot, which many perceive as exotic and Oriental.

“Of course, I grew up there and it influenced me a lot in many ways. But, I consider myself part of the YouTuber generation and we do not limit ourselves to one culture. I grew up listening to English songs and I search for music from any part of the world if I like the song,” he said.