HYANG’s Signature “Scent”

How valuing joy and love gives the band’s music its special “fragrance”

Photo credit: Instagram

Please introduce yourselves!
Hello, we are HYANG, a band whose name means “scent” in Korean, inspired by the idea of finding hidden fragrances in music. We are a trio: Joo Hwang-gyu on vocals, Lee Sang-hyun on drums, and Lee Jong-hyun on bass.

For those who have not heard your music before, how would you describe it to them? How would you finish the sentence “HYANG is ___” or “HYANG’s music is ___”?
“HYANG is something that will become a new memory for you,” or “HYANG’s music is not something to be consumed, but something that stays with you.”

Can you talk more about your “finding scents in music” theme?
Just like a scent that is invisible but evokes memories and emotions, we hope our music can bring out feelings people have forgotten or hidden. We want our songs to become a comforting fragrance that reminds people of good memories and moments of laughter.

What is the story behind how you first became a band?
At first, we gathered as session musicians to prepare for Joo Hwang-gyu’s solo performance, but after our very first rehearsal together, we were drawn to each other’s personalities so much that we decided to form a band that same day.

Did you consider any other specific band names before “HYANG”?
In Korea, there’s a meme where you name your band by combining the color of your pants and the food you’re eating. So “Blue Chicken” was actually one of the early candidates.

What is a song that you associate with a strong and specific memory? 
Our debut single, “Summer,” comes to mind. We shot the music video over two days in scorching 38-degree [Celsius] weather, but in the end, only the joy and excitement of that time remain in our memories.

Please describe your new EP, All We Have Is Not What We Need. 
In a society that often values money, fame, and power over everything else, we wanted to talk about how what truly keeps us going is unconditional love and the sincere connections between people. This EP tells five different stories [about] love’s many faces. While making this record, we constantly explored how to create a wider sense of space in the music and how to connect the five songs like a film soundtrack. We tried to develop a unified sound that still felt true to HYANG and approachable to listeners.

Can you share a behind-the-scenes story from making the new album?
During our recording process once, we visited a vintage shop. The elderly shop owner kept helping us [pick out] clothes and kept repeating the word “fun” over and over. That moment felt so genuine and inspiring to us. It reminded us that no matter what, we should always aim to keep things fun in our music. So “fun” became the word we repeated the most [while making] this project.

What are your short-term and long-term career goals?
In the short term, we hope to complete this year’s festival performances and our solo concert on July 18 successfully. In the long term, our biggest dream is to tour in other Asian countries, the U.S., [and the] U.K., sharing our music with people all around the world.

Lastly, is there anything else you want to say about yourselves or your music?
If even one person reading this interview listens to our songs just once, that alone will make us incredibly happy. We wish everyone good things and peace always. Thank you so much.

Check out HYANG’s newest EP here!

View the Substack version of this piece here!

Answers have been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.