Seoul-based electronic rock band ADOY followed up the immense success of their EPs (CATNIP + LOVE) and full length album (Vivid) with a new EP, her. The music videos for EP standout tracks “Baby” and “Simply” garnered more than 2M views in less than a month.
The four-piece band from Hongdae comprised of Juhwan (vocals and guitar), Zee (synthesizer), Dayoung (bass), and Geunchang (drums), put their own spin on pop songwriting, dubbing their music “commercial indie,” which incorporates the stylings of contemporary, radio-friendly pop music with motifs brimming with analog, lo-fi interiors.
ADOY unapologetically embraces the veneer of both commercial and nostalgic appeal without the restrictions and limitations imposed by either. Their new EP successfully carries out the band’s intent of bridging the gap between commercial and indie, and the sounds of the past and the future.
Today, the four-piece band from Hongdae are thrilled to share details of their upcoming North American tour, featuring stops in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Toronto and many other cities on their way to Austin for an appearance at SXSW. Full list of dates below. Tickets are available for purchase HERE
Tell us about your story as a band
Before we started ADOY, we were all in the Korean indie scene with different projects, but sort of nearing the end of those respective bands. Juhwan recruited the rest of the members to experiment making something new, and that’s when the basic idea for ‘Grace’ was created. We all felt like there was something there, and it led us here!
What does art and creativity mean to you?
For us, art translates to ‘feeling.’ When we craft sounds, we focus on the feeling we want to convey, and we don’t really stop editing until we receive that feeling as well.
Who were your top 3 artists last year?
Tyler the Creator.. Beach House.. Coldplay.
What do you do when you’re feeling uninspired?
Drink and watch fun stuff. After a day of not thinking about music at all makes you want to do music again.
What is 2022 looking like for you?
We have many plans: gigs, working on new musical projects, preparing new live sets, etc., we just hope the virus would go away so that we could put those projects to life!
Tell us about your latest release and how it came about
Last year we’ve released our latest EP ‘her.’ We selected 6 songs from the many song ideas we created from the last 2 years, and we had a lot of fun doing so. We’ve even travelled to Jeju Island to mix the album while looking out at the sea, hope that uplifting feeling could translate to you guys the listeners.
How does a song of yours start, evolve and finish?
Usually Zee comes up with rough musical ideas or beats, and then once in a while all of our members would gather to listen to them. In that session anyone can toss in melody lines and ideas. We actually have a small room with a microphone and computer, and when someone thinks of a melody he/she can simply press record and record it. In one session we usually get a ton of ideas, mostly crap but one or two will always stick.
What is the achievement or moment in your career you are the most proud of and why?
Our biggest show ever was in a venue called Yes24 Live Hall in Seoul. It was a dream for all of us, as it is for many indie musicians here, to play there. Until then we only went there to see our idol musicians rock out, but actually being on stage in front of our biggest crowd ever was a surreal moment.
What do you think an artist should sing about nowadays?
There should be no limit on what an artist should express 🙂
Do you have any regrets so far?
Not really, we think there’s not much point in regretting, bad things always happen before good things and vice versa. If we had to pick one thing, though, is we always regret stuff on our previous releases: ‘could’ve make this kick a little louder, could’ve mixed this a bit differently, etc.’ It’s inevitable. But then again, it means we haven’t hit our full potential yet, so it’s all good.
What is some piece of advice you would give to yourself right now?
Stay positive!
