INTERVIEW: KYUL

Today, MIA's team invites you to discover a new artist, with lullaby melodies and a soft voice. Discover our exclusive interview with Kyul :

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1. Can you introduce yourself and tell us a little bit more about you?

I’m a songwriter, and music producer in Korea. You can pronounce

‘결(kyul)’ as [kɪəl]. It means ‘texture’ in Korean, like wood grain. And the

word is also used as ‘character’. So, in Korea, you can say literally ‘you

have the same ‘kyul’ as I have. (=we fit well together). I love to make songs

with which people can sympathize, being happy or cry.

2. How and when did you discover your interest for music?

I wrote songs before I was 20 years old, and later on I majored in

sociology at Korea University. I loved Hip-hop then, so I used to make hip

hop beats. Moreover, I started to write things about relationships through

music, and I started singing then. I love the artists like James Blake, or

Chet Baker, and they sing that way. It was a pleasure to be inspired by

them.

3. As an artist what would be the ultimate fear to face to? 

Obsession about self-production. I’ve released single or EP about

once every three months. I’ve made it all by myself from songwriting to

mastering. Some artists asked me for collaboration, but I rejected the

suggestion because I felt lack of time to make my own tracks. It’s a kind of

perfectionism, as psychological aspect. I study the process of music

production everyday, and work around the clock to finish the work. It’s a

bad habit. I need to collaborate more with someone. There are so many

cool artists and engineers everywhere.

4. Tell us a bit more about your EP “Even Though We Are Not the

Same”. What is the meaning behind this title? How would you describe your musical environment? 

I wanted to talk about social things, relationships as I said above. All

the songs that I made is about things between someone and me. Someday,

I used to feel that I meet someone like a mirror that shows me as it is. we

loved each other, and I believed it’s ‘true love’. However, the relationship

ends one day, then I wondered if I have to believe it was not the true love.

Let’s talk about the title of the EP. It’s also the title of the track in the album.

Some of the lines is ‘Even though we are not the same, let’s make our

beautiful memories. (In Korean)’. That’s the point that penetrates the

message of the entire album. Some people believe true love, like Tom

Hansen in ‘500 Days of Summer’. But, he also, at the end of the movie,

meets another love named ‘anthem’. Likewise, I found out that to end one

day means to start another day one, and both the ending and the beginning

is precious to me. So, I said ‘We’re ok. Let’s continue to love from now on.’

through the album.

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5. You recently released a song ‘Polaroïd’, what is it all about? 

Someday I took out an instant photo that I took one day, and it made

me sad because the color is almost faded. I could not manage it well. It got

me thinking that I deal with my memories like the faded photo. So, I wrote

the song about beautiful memories and my promise that I don’t forget them.

6. In order to discover your musical universe, if you could suggest us three of your songs, which ones would it be?

“Hug”, “Fadeout”, and “Even though we are not the same.”

-“Hug” is the first work that I wrote and sang at the same time. It has just a

short line, but it made me realize that I can get some people to understand

what I think and feel through music.

-“Fadeout” has a simple arrangement. That shows that I love minimalism. I

often try just to find a single sound that reveals the topic. That’s the track

and it has very simple chords and lines.

-The last one is that I explained above! :) it’s my universe itself! Thank you

for letting me explain my story and music!