[Herald Interview] Young K of Day6 hopes to be an artist that people look forward to hearing more from

Young K (JYP Entertainment)

Singer-songwriter Young K hopes people to look forward to what he does next.

“I love when people compliment me as a promising artist, or an artist to look forward to, because I wouldn’t be able to continuously present new songs without these people that wait for me,” Young K told The Korea Herald.

Young K, who is also a member of K-pop boy band Day6, returned to the music scene with his first full-length solo album “Letters With Notes” on Monday, after a 2-year hiatus due to his mandatory military service.

“I enjoyed the process of bringing up this album. I think listeners get to enjoy music when the person producing it also enjoys the process of making music. I made new attempts in this new album which also includes working with new music producers,” he said.

He worked with various producers including Paulkyte, Shim Hyun, CHOILB, Park Moon Chi, Da Sol, and MOGT.

Producer Hong Ji-sang, Young K’s long-time partner, also took part in making this album including “Nothing But” and “Let it be Summer,” which was released prior to the album.

“We’ve been working together since my debut. He is my teacher as he helps me improve as a musician and he knows me better than anybody. For example, he knows what my musical strengths and weaknesses are. He once advised me that I should at least give some change and diversity if I can’t produce music better than before. This is why I want to work on various projects, to give diversity to my work,” Young K explained.

It’s been nine years that Young K has been active in the K-pop scene and since has garnered worldwide popularity both as a member of Day6 and as a soloist.

“Through each solo album, I continue to get a better grasp of what my musical color is. I used to evaluate myself as colorless and ordinary. But now I know that I am capable of showing various colors and that has been well proved in this new album,” the artist said.

Young K’s LP comprises 11 tracks in total which are all like romantic letters that deliver genuine words.

“All the tracks in this album are easily relatable. Some songs will comfort you, and some songs will cheer you up. In the title track, I sing about not being able to let go of something when one has to. It’s romantic,” he said.

“Sometimes it’s difficult for me to compose a song and sometimes it’s easy despite having years of experience. I try to think of what words would sound better in certain parts of a song. I also try to avoid using same expressions when making music. These are some of the tasks that I continuously give myself,” said Young K.

“This album is not 100 percent perfect. But I am not sad about it because I think of this as an opportunity to grow. I hope the public continue to look forward to what I’ve got to show.”

By Hong Yoo(yoohong@heraldcorp.com)