ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: HOHYUN CELEBRATES “DRAMA.” AND DUETS IN A NEW AGE OF INDIE MUSIC

Whether you are someone who is actively on social media or casually scrolling, chances are you probably have come across HOHYUN’s music in the background of various TikToks and Reels. This singer-songwriter first entered the indie music scene in 2019 and has since collaborated with many other indie artists, forming a community of musicians in the feel-good genre. EnVi met with HOHYUN on Zoom to discuss his latest projects, past lives, and where he’s headed.

In the first week of July, as the heat of summer grew restless and relentless, HOHYUN turned on his webcam in a simple, white T-shirt. As kind as he appears in photos and as eloquent as he sings on stage, he greeted EnVi with a warm smile and a gentle wave of his hand.

The Previous Chapter

To kickstart this interview off, I decided to ask HOHYUN about his past life–what was HOHYUN like before he became a musician? To no surprise, HOHYUN was doing something in the creative field before making music. “2019 was when I started making music. Before that, I was more of a video guy,” he said, humbly. He then elaborated that he would create video graphics, which also required his attention to detail and creativity, but it’s nothing compared to what he’s learned to do as a singer-songwriter.

“Videos focus a lot on colors. For visual effects, I have to make sure the pixels were correctly cut out in each frame. But audio is about sound waves and frequencies. From the start, it felt intuitive to make that switch [to music]. I would still direct or edit the colors for my own music video. But of course, it depends on the collaboration with other directors,” said HOHYUN.

His Songwriting Process: Getting Personal

The advantage of being a singer-songwriter is that the artist behind the microphone is often singing their own stories. And the songwriting process is often the most intimate experience for a singer-songwriter. We took this opportunity to ask HOHYUN about his songwriting process, to see which of his songs were the smoothest to write and compose, given how much of his own story influenced his music. The young artist took a brief pause before answering.

“There’s a number of songs that had a smooth process — usually the more personal ones. Certain songs just write themselves. I usually start with the guitar, strumming chords and humming a few melodies out. Then it becomes easier to write what I’m feeling. It’s like therapy for me. There are things I want to express. Once I sit down and get into my Apple Notes app, I can get more specific with what I’m trying to express,” said HOHYUN.

He added, “‘DRAMA.’ from my recent album was written pretty quickly. The rest of the time for this song was spent on music production. ‘I can’t escape the rain’ was also another song that didn’t take a lot of time to write.

Building a Community of Singer-Songwriters

Although HOHYUN’s songwriting journey has rewarded him with consistent improvement as an indie artist, he also shared some of his proudest moments with fellow singer-songwriters. From Juju B. Goode to Sarah Kang, HOHYUN has found success in music through a newfound community of singer-songwriters. When we asked him which collaborative project was his favorite, he smiled shyly before answering.

“That is a hard question. It’s not like I have a huge catalog. But there’s this song that came out earlier this year in February called “loml” that I worked on with Sarah Kang. She asked me to be on that song. I enjoyed how it sounded, and I don’t often get to do music like [‘loml’], so I enjoyed being on it,” said HOHYUN.

Finding His Own Sound Through Lessons Learned

Having been in the music industry for some time, HOHYUN — like most artists — took a while before he finally found his own sound. But this journey is a testament to his determination and grit. When we asked him, “From Stage Fright ‘til now, what were some lessons you’ve learned that made your first full-length studio album, DRAMA. possible?” he had this to say: “For my first EP, Stage Fright, there wasn’t much of a cohesive theme going on. As I worked on more projects through the years, I learned to write multiple songs and put them into an album. Through the process, I was trying to find my sound… I learned more about what I want to say about my work — more introspective songs.”

It wasn’t until “Sunset Boulevard,” one of HOHYUN’s bigger hits, did he hit his first stride. After releasing the song, he said, “I feel like I came into my own sound. I kept leveling up my production. Writing ‘Sunset Boulevard’ led me to think about sound and cohesion.” And from that point on, the “DRAMA.” singer began, as he said, “leveling up [his] production [and] started writing to make a cohesive narrative” in DRAMA., the album.

Before HOHYUN signed off from our Zoom call, we asked him to say a few words to our EnVi readers. To our surprise, he teased some exciting news for fans of his work.

“Thank you so much for supporting me, and I hope that my music can bring some kind of healing to people who are experiencing something difficult. I appreciate everyone who is reading this interview. Please look forward to the deluxe edition of my newest album, DRAMA. at the end of this year or early 2025!” the “DRAMA.” singer said with a sincere glimmer in his eyes.

Be sure to follow HOHYUN on Instagram for instant access to updates! Stream DRAMA. right now on YouTube Music, Spotify, and Apple Music.

Want more EnVi exclusives? Check out our interview with K-pop’s finest performers, VANNER, here.