Name: ADOY
Members: Juhwan Oh, Zee, Geunchang Park, Dayoung Jeong
Nationality: South Korean
Current release: ADOY's Pleasures is out via Angel House.
Recommendations: Zee: I recently watched a film called Sound of Metal, and it’s incredible.
For music, there is a Korean indie band called TRPP, and I recommend their song ‘Pause.’

If you enjoyed this ADOY interview and would like to stay up to date with the band and their music, visit them on Instagram, twitter, and Facebook.



When I listen to music, I see shapes, objects and colours. What happens in your body when you're listening? Do you listen with your eyes open or closed?

Zee: Some of my best moments of music listening comes when my eyes are open and the music becomes a part of my surrounding, like a soundtrack for my own movie. It’s a fleeting moment that will not return, even if I listen to the same song later on.

I remember a time that I kept on replaying the song ‘Bibo no Aozora’ by Ryuichi Sakamoto as I rode the subway, looking at the other passengers - and felt as if the song kept telling different stories each time.



What were your very first steps in music like and how would you rate the gains made through experience - can one train/learn being an artist?

Dayoung: I began playing music instruments as a teenager, and it was pure fun back then.

As I began to do music professionally, I had to learn perseverance, then as I participated in bands, I learned about the interaction between the members.

Now I am learning the interaction with the crowd and the world!

According to scientific studies, we make our deepest and most incisive musical experiences between the ages of 13-16. What did music mean to you at that age and what’s changed since then?

Geunchang: At that age, I remember listening to a lot of rock, a lot of old Korean pop. It was an escape from reality, and I was happy simply listening. Now that music has become my profession, sometimes it’s stressful, haha.

When I listen to great music, there’s a habit of trying to analyze rather than purely enjoy.

What, would you say, are the key ideas behind your approach to music and what motivates you to create?

Zee: I try to approach the art of creating music the same way I would make a soundtrack for my personal film.

I hope our songs could make someone’s moment a bit more special, and when I get feedback of such moments, it motivates me to make more.

To quote a question by the great Bruce Duffie: When you come up with a musical idea, have you created the idea or have you discovered the idea?

Juhwan: Discovered the idea.

Without input, there’s no output, and the different inputs of life dictate my thinking, whether I like it or not.

Paul Simon said “the way that I listen to my own records is not for the chords or the lyrics - my first impression is of the overall sound.” What's your own take on that and how would you define your personal sound?

Juhwan: Sure, this is what I think as well, and how I listen to music.

Obviously there are some exceptions, but generally the overall sound dictates how the lyrics are heard, etc.

Sound, song, and rhythm are all around us, from animal noises to the waves of the ocean. What, if any, are some of the most moving experiences you've had with these non-human-made sounds? In how far would you describe them as “musical”?

Zee: I personally love the sound of rain at night. There’s something really comforting, like the Earth is taking a shower after a hard day’s work.

It sure is musical to me, not in a tonal way, but kind of like the soothing crackling sound of vinyl.

From very deep/high/loud/quiet sounds to very long/short/simple/complex compositions - are there extremes in music you feel drawn to and what response do they elicit?

Dayoung: I’m personally drawn to sound that is unpolished and raw.

I’m not sure why, but there’s something that resembles actual life. And also, simple rather than complex.

Could you describe your creative process on the basis of one of your pieces, live performances or albums that's particularly dear to you, please?

Zee: There’s a special place in my heart for the instrumental track ‘Up,’ because I made the song as my pet hedgehog was dying of cancer.



She was my best friend at home, and I wish she is happily waiting for me up in heaven.

Do you conduct “experiments” or make use of scientific insights when you're making music?

Zee: Sure, when I try combining elements from different genres, I feel like I’m a musical scientist sometimes, haha. And I love that there is no right or wrong result.

How does the way you make music reflect the way you live your life? Can we learn lessons about life by understanding music on a deeper level?

Geunchang: I think making a piece of art, not just music, is sort of putting your life and personality out there to the world, even if you’re trying to hide them. It just oozes out.

Do you feel as though writing or performing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?

Juhwan: For some, making a great cup of coffee would be a work of art, so I guess it’s inherently the same thing. The difference would be that coffee is to be consumed once, and music is to float around the world forever.

I would try to express something that I wish would be a part of the world, forever.

Every time I listen to "Albedo 0.39" by Vangelis, I choke up. But the lyrics are made up of nothing but numbers and values. Do you, too, have a song or piece of music that affects you in a way that you can't explain?

Dayoung: Many! There are lots of songs from a language I don’t understand that still affects me emotionally through the musical notes. I guess a good example for everyone would be Sigur Ros.

Music is, in the end, a global language in itself.

If you could make a wish for the future – what are developments in music you would like to see and hear?

Geunchang: I would personally like rock come back in a big way.

Zee: And the culture of ‘album listening,’ I miss buying a CD and just listening from beginning to end, reading the inner booklet about 10 times while I’m at it.