Discovering the Creative Spirit: Hohyun Reflects on His Motivating Path, Unexpected Trials, and Exciting Future Endeavors!
By. Alicia Zamora
Alicia’s Studio Sits Down with Artist Hohyun to Talk about the Challenges He Faces as an Artist, His recent Single “Tomorrow”, and Future Plans.
A Conversation with Hohyun
Alicia: Welcome back to Alicia’s Studio we have our 11th special guest !!
Hohyun: Hi my name is Hohyun and I make music!
Alicia: Starting the interview off, I just wanted to say congrats on your first headlining show !! It was so good !!
Hohyun: Thank you so much!
Alicia: Now diving into the first question. Can you tell me what made you go with the path of music and where it all began?
Hohyun: So music wasn’t my first choice of a career actually. In high school and middle school, I was an avid filmmaker so I would just get my friends together and film videos and edit them together. I really like doing visual effects and that’s a lot of attention to meticulous detail and towards the end of high school, I started getting an interest in Korean R&B.
Hohyun: Before that, I really didn’t listen to that much music so when I started listening to music more I was like “Wow this is really cool stuff, I want to start making stuff like this”. So I started learning how to sing because before that I would not sing at all, not in the shower, not in the car… nowhere. I was super self-conscious about my voice so music helped me find a little bit of that confidence as I became more confident with my voice and started learning the guitar more; by the time I graduated high school, I was full-on writing songs. They weren’t great and none of this will ever get released.
Hohyun: But I was getting started and once I reached college that’s when I actually went for it. I bought my equipment and my mic which I still use to this day and I started putting out songs. But yeah, it was kind of a weird journey from being a filmmaker and being pretty set on going into directing or cinematography or visual effects and then just switching to music. I think it was a new form of expression that I really liked and it was doing numbers at first, just not like crazy numbers, but it was doing something that made me want to continue to do it.
Alicia: So your major was film? And would you say you started taking it seriously after you graduated high school?
Hohyun: I don’t know about it seriously but. I think I got interested in it because after I graduated high school, I went to Korea for the summer and then that’s when I bought my first acoustic guitar that was mine because before I would just have the family one and just borrow that. But I bought my first acoustic guitar and was really interested in writing songs as a hobby. When I put out my first song, I didn’t really think much of it. It was just something I was doing for fun and when I started putting out more songs there was just a little bit of traction so that’s when I was like, “Maybe I could actually continue to do this”.
Alicia: When you first began your journey was there ever a point where you wanted to quit? If so, what motivated you to keep on going?
Hohyun: Yeah I feel like this is a thing that a lot of musicians or artists in general face and for me there were definitely a lot of points where it felt like I wanted to quit. There’s a lot of imposter syndrome and just feeling like you’re not good enough, especially in the music game and there’s just so much saturation in the industry, that it’s hard to feel like anything you have to say matters. So, I think the first time I really felt like “Man this sucks” is when I put out my first EP and this was back in 2019, I think I was only a year into my career.
Hohyun: The first couple of songs I put out did kind of well. They did some numbers here and there, not crazy but I was like “Wow this is really cool” and then when I put out my first EP, it just completely flopped and I was like “dang” this is way below any expectation that I had. But, I think that’s where I learned to kind of manage my expectations and say “Okay, not everything is going to be a success” and it made me fall into a little bit of a slump for a little while. I’m like “Man this is going to be harder than I thought”. But I think that was the first point where I could have given up and been like “This isn’t for me, let me go back to film”. But I decided to keep on going for it. Then you know there’s just waves of success. Like here and there a song will do well.
Hohyun: I think the biggest low point for me was in July of 2022. That’s where I wrote my song ‘Meant To Be’ and I was just feeling like nothing mattered and that my career was going anywhere. At that point, I had released Sunset Boulevard and it wasn’t doing anything. It was my favorite song up to that point and I was really proud of it. I was promoting it for months and months and it was like six months in and it wasn’t really doing much. So I was like “Man if this song isn’t going to do it, then what will”?. But something… I don’t know what but there’s always something within me that keeps pushing myself to keep going and not give up. I don’t know what it is because I think I’m just stubborn. I’m like this far and I can’t just give up, there’s too much on the line for me. I don’t have a backup plan. So, I was like I don’t really have a choice so I’m just going to keep going for it.
Hohyun: Eventually that song, Sunset Boulevard, did kind of take off a little bit but it took an entire year before it did anything. So, I think that taught me that if I really believe in something, as long as I keep pushing it out, some people will see value in it. Since then, I’ve been like even if this sucks right now, at least I know in my belief that, if I believe in it then it’s good.
Alicia: Yeah that’s a good mindset to keep because the music industry is really… well it’s hard you know.
Hohyun: Yeah, any entertainment industry really, it’s up and down and the sense of self is just really warped all the time and I think it’s really easy for artists to get lost in all of that so it’s good to just stay grounded a little bit.
Alicia: Listening to your music I hear a lot of personal stories and can hear the emotions that are put into it. Is music something that helps you mentally?
Hohyun: Yeah, for sure. For me, music is kind of a tool for expression as was film. For me, film was more specifically storytelling visually, the stuff that I was feeling. But I think music was an interesting form for me to try out because it’s more vulnerable than filmmaking, in my opinion. They’re my own personal thoughts and opinions. Some people, they kind of write stories from different perspectives but me specifically, I kind of only write when I’m feeling a certain way. Like when I’m in a certain mood or I feel like I have to get something out and I don’t have anyone to talk to, I’ll just sit down with my guitar and start writing. That’s kind of how the process of my songwriting usually starts.
Alicia: Okay so you’d say that when you write it’s based on personal experiences?
Hohyun: I’d say pretty much 100% I write in my music is from personal experiences.
Alicia: Going into your most recent release “Drama” what is the story behind it? Like creating it and how long did it take you?
Hohyun: So that one was interesting actually. It was never supposed to be an album. I was the type of artist where I felt like I wasn’t ready for a full-length album and I almost still don’t but when I was writing ‘Drama’, this song itself, something about it felt grander than what it was. I think when I got to Korea… because I visited for a few months. I was working on the song and a couple of others, and I was like “This could be an EP, this could be a little project” because they all kind of fit in this theme. Then I started looking at the rest of my discography and everything that I had been releasing for the past year up until that point was kind of all written around like a similar feeling theme.
Hohyun: So, I figured let me see if I can piece these together into a story and so when I started taking songs and putting them in order, I was able to craft a sort of narrative and then I realized I had basically seven or eight at that point. So I wrote a couple more to really flesh it out and kind of connect the story beats together. Then it kind of just became an album and I feel like this entire experience was really spontaneous and it kind of wheeled itself together. There were so many things that came together on their own, like the music videos and the live performances that I did in Korea. There were a lot of things that just fell into place and I was really surprised by how the whole project came together.
Alicia: Were there any songs that didn’t make it onto the album?
Hohyun: There were a couple of songs. They haven’t been released yet but I don’t know if they ever will be. But there was definitely one or two that were on the cutting block that were almost there, but they just didn’t quite fit.
Alicia: Oo okay and Which of your songs off this new album best describes you as an artist?
Hohyun: I would probably say ‘Drama’. I feel like even though it’s not as much of a conventional song in terms of genre-wise, it’s not a pop song or not really an R&B ballad but I think the emotions that I put into it and the feelings that come out are what kind of defines me as an artist. It’s very cinematic and emotional, it’s got these strings that really come in and out. I think what I’m trying to say is what resonates with me a lot.
Alicia: With this new release, did you have any difficulties recording or creating the tracks? If so out of all sixteen tracks which would you say were the most difficult?
Hohyun: Yeah a lot of them were pretty easy, actually. It was a very intuitive process for an album and a lot of the songs just kind of wrote themselves. But I’d say the toughest one to write… I remember being in Korea trying to write ‘Without You’. It’s like this kind of bossa nova song. Patrick is on it, he’s a great producer. He had made this instrumental for me and so I had written a bunch of really cool melodies over it, some harmonies, and I think it was one of the last songs to finish because I just couldn’t figure out the lyrics. It was so difficult to get what I was trying to say to fit with my melodies.
Hohyun: For my songwriting process, at least I do melodies first and I do the deliveries and I’m from there I’m locked into certain syllables sometimes and so to try to fit really cool lyrics into it was really challenging. I was kind of going back and forth with it for weeks until I finally was able to figure something out for that.
Alicia: Okay and How long does it usually take you to write a song?
Hohyun: It can take anywhere from a day to months. It really depends on the song. Like for songs like ‘Without You,’ that one took a while to really get the lyrics in there and then for some songs it’s the production that takes a long time for me where it doesn’t feel ready but I’m just like “I need to take time”. Then I come back to it and add more stuff so I mean some songs like ‘I Can’t Escape the Rain’ that were done in like a week in terms of production and writing. The rest was just me procrastinating the mixing of it but there’s other songs that just take way too long so it really depends on the song.
Alicia: What genre would you say you're aiming for when creating music?
Hohyun: It’s hard to say because I really started off in this kind of Jazzy K-R&B field and as I progressed in my artistry, I kept the R&B roots. But I ventured out more into pop, some folk, and some ballad type of stuff. But I’d say the primary genre is R&B or Neo Soul and then I’ve got elements of jazz, pop, or folk.
Alicia: Regarding goals as an artist, what would you say your goals are for this year and the future?
Hohyun: For this year, I’m trying to play at least one more show because I just did my first headline here but I kind of want to do one in Houston where I went to high school and stuff. I have a bunch of friends over there so I kind of want to do one there at the end of the year or something, hopefully if I can! For next year, you know if I could do a tour that’d be great.
Alicia: That’d be so cool! As an artist, what would you say has been your greatest accomplishment so far?
Hohyun: I think my greatest accomplishment has just been putting myself out there and really being true to myself. I feel like that’s really important as an artist, especially these days. There’s a lot of fake stuff out there and I feel like I’m really proud of myself for being as authentic to myself as I can, even if it’s really difficult sometimes. Being vulnerable in the ways that I was in the album it was kind of scary for me to be like “Can I say this stuff?” Like can I really put this out for people to listen to? Yeah, I think just being completely authentic is something that I’m really proud of.
Alicia: Yeah, staying authentic is important!
Alicia: You did bring up that you wanted to do a possible show in Houston and then do a possible tour next year. I was going to ask after your headlining performance on June 18th, do you see yourself doing any more showcases in LA or in the surrounding areas?
Hohyun: Yeah I mean if there is a tour, I’ll probably do a date here as well, as another LA show, and then do other cities. But yeah I definitely want to have another one here in LA if I can.
Alicia: As an artist, what would you say has been your biggest challenge?
Hohyun: I think my biggest challenge has been finding my own sound because when you're just starting out, you have these influences and you want to be like them so you kind of make stuff that sounds like them. For me, Zion T was probably my biggest influence as a budding artist and I kind of made a lot of stuff that kind of sounded like his stuff. Going from there, I think every artist has to struggle past this point to really come into their own and it’s a rough process because you’re like this is all I know and this is what I identify myself as but then you kind of have to abandon some of that and then try something new and that’s kind of scary sometimes. But once you try that and you kind of venture out into your own things, you realize you have your own stuff to say and I can explore myself.
Alicia: As an artist, what would you like people to think when they hear the name “Hohyun”?
Hohyun: When they hear my name I kind of want to be perceived as a very versatile artist. I feel like music is just a small part of what I consider my artistry. Filmmaking has been a big part of my life and I feel like it still is because I still direct a lot of my own music videos and even if there’s a bigger crew, like for the drama music video, I was very heavily involved in it.
Hohyun: I enjoy the filmmaking process and the visual aspects are just as much part of the expression as music is and I very much enjoy acting as well. I'm quietly pursuing that on the side right now and so there are just a lot of avenues I feel like I can express myself in. I feel like that’s my main passion, expression and if I can really convey myself to my audience, I feel like that’s the ultimate goal. Yeah, so I think if somebody hears my name, whether it’s my artist name or my real name, I want people to think that guy is a true artist.
Alicia: Oo okay I get it! For future work, is there any artist you would like to collaborate with or have on one of your next projects?
Hohyun: Well I mean… There’s not anyone specifically that I want on my next project but I’d say if there’s anyone I could collaborate with that’s kind of on my bucket list, I’d say realistically it’d be really cool to collaborate with somebody like Sam Kim. He’s been one of the artists that I’ve always looked up to and I feel like he’s kind of in my realm. He does R&B and he just seems like a chill guy and I would love to work with him someday.
Alicia: Oo cool cool! I know you mentioned that you do film on the side. Do you have any hobbies or interests outside of that?
Hohyun: Yeah, I mean I used to consider film and music my hobbies, but since they’re technically my career now, I was super into origami as a kid. I was like eleven or twelve folding things like crazy. I don’t know if anyone out there is into origami but there’s this thing called a magic ball and it's this super intricate thing to have to fold a thousand times over and then it creates this ball that you can kind of squish and it looks super cool but it's way harder to make.
Hohyun: I’ll digress but like yeah, I kind of got back into origami recently because I need something else to put my creative energy into that is my work because I find myself feeling overworked sometimes. So I’m like okay I need to go back to origami.
Alicia: You must have a lot of patience because origami takes a long time right?
Hohyun: Yeah it’s just like music and film. There’s a lot of patience involved and very intense meticulous detail work and I think that’s why I kind of like it because you kind of turn your brain off and then you just go into it. It’s kind of therapeutic in some way.
Alicia: What's the best advice you can give someone trying to go down the path of being an artist?
Hohyun: I’d say if you're going down the path of being an artist, you have to be 100% yourself and you have to be very passionate. I feel like that’s something that I feel like a lot of artists lack which is true passion for something. I feel like regardless of your skill or talent or however good you think you are, if you’ve got the passion for it then you can go for it. I think that’s what holds a lot of people back because I’ve seen people with immense talent but they don't feel motivated to go for it. But then I’ve seen people who feel like they’re not the greatest singer or whatever but they just have the passion for it and I see them thrive. So I think it’s not a matter of like “Are you really good at this?” But it’s like are you willing to work at it to become really great?
Alicia: No yeah definitely. If you could tell your younger self something right now what would it be?
Hohyun: I would say just be patient. There are a lot of things that my younger self wanted and I think patience is key! But I think it’s good to just enjoy the process and enjoy living life.
Alicia: This wasn’t on here but I wanted to ask when you get writer's block how do you get out of it?
Hohyun: I mean writer’s block is a weird thing for me because I’m not the type of guy who goes into sessions every day of the week. So I think that’s where you experience writer's block iswhere you go in for something and you’re like I need to write something but I can’t. But for me, I don’t do that. I only write whenever I’m feeling something and so there kind of isn’t that writer's block because I only write when I have something to say. So when I do have something to say it all just kind of flows. There are a lot of breaks in between my writing sessions so for me there’s no real writer's block. I’ll just go and I’ll step away and go do something else, live life, and then when I’m feeling a certain type of way then I’ll just start writing again.
Hohyun: So I guess… I guess yeah, I don’t really have writer's block but if someone did have writer's block I would say just step away and go do something else and it'll just come.
Alicia: Going back to your headlining performance how did you feel after the show and what emotions were you feeling when you saw people singing along to your songs?
Hohyun: After the show, I was just feeling like… It was kind of like my adrenaline was on high. I was just screaming and jumping on stage and after performing drama, I was pretty emotional. I was just ready to go over to the merch booth and just meet everyone. I think it was really cool, getting to meet the people who were in the crowd and singing my songs. I think that was a really great experience. Honestly, right before going on stage, I was super anxious and nervous and I was like “Man I don’t know if I can go up there and give a performance right now”. But when I got up there, everything just kind of went away and I got really into it and surprised myself. But yeah, it was a great experience.
Alicia: The merch idea, how did you come up with that?
Hohyun: It’s funny because I wear this red hoodie like way too often. My friends are always like “Dude do you have any other hoodies?” and I’m like I do but you just happen to catch me wearing this one on a day when I want to be comfortable. I usually wear it when I’m at home recording a video or whatever because it’s just comfortable. But I thought it’d be funny if for my merch just made a red hoodie with my logo on it so that we can all wear red hoodies. It could be like a uniform and turn it into my brand, I guess just because I wear it so often.
Alicia: That’s cute
Alicia: Do you have any upcoming projects or anything that you’re working on that’s coming out anytime soon?
Hohyun: Yeah I just released a single that’s going to be part of a deluxe version of the album. So there’s going to be three or four new songs including the new single called ‘Today’ and it’s going to be called ‘Drama Epilogue’. It’s going to be like an epilogue of the story of drama. It’s got a couple of songs that are a little bit more low-key and they’re kind of just in the theme of drama.
Alicia: Okay and then ending the interview off, I want to say thank you so much for this opportunity!
Hohyun: Thank you for having me!
Alicia: You can feel free to promote anything or say whatever you’d like
Hohyun: I feel like I already promoted everything I need to promote. There’s the new deluxe album coming out and I’m hoping to get that out by the end of the year. That’s the plan. But, yeah I’ll have some merch dropping soon. All the stuff that you bought at the show will be available online!!