EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Catch The Young On Their Debut

Attention, all K-band fans! We at THP have a new group you’ll want to put on your radar: Catch The Young! This five-piece alternative pop-rock band just debuted last month, and we got the honor of interviewing them. (Somebody pinch us, please!)

Catch The Young’s debut EP, Catch The Young : Fragments of Youth, features seven tracks, most of which the members of Catch The Young wrote and composed themselves. We stan talent in this house!

We know you’re itching to learn more about Catch The Young, so we’ll let them speak for themselves. Let’s get into our exclusive interview with these boys as they talk about their debut, youth, and music!

Welcome to The Honey POP! And congratulations on your incredible debut! What are three things you want new fans to know about Catch The Young?
Jungmo: While our names and things are important as well, there is something else that we want you all to really know.
Kihoon: It’s the fact that Catch The Young is a team that sings about youth and energy, and we all sing while we all play instruments. 
Sani: Furthermore, we create our own music, and we promise we will release a lot more continuously. So, please look forward to our new music.

Debuting

How did you all feel in the days leading up to your debut and the days since then?
Sani: I was anticipating this moment for such a long time, and it feels sort of unreal to me and makes me a little nervous. However, we have practiced for a long time. We also believe that we must do our best, so we will continue to work harder and show how we have improved.
Namhyun: Firstly, I want to thank our members who went through a long trainee period with me. I’d like to continue enjoying our work and show only the good side of us.
Junyong: Because I was the last one to join the band, I thank our members for enduring the hard times. I promise to follow them and learn from them. I will also work hard to enjoy our stage as a team.
Kihoon: Because I was a trainee for a long time, I am both excited and nervous at the same time. I would like to thank our management and members for trusting me and enduring the hard times with me. I will continue to work hard to share youthful energy with many people, just like our band name, Catch The Young, suggests.
Jungmo: I am grateful for our members and many people in our management who have made it possible for us to debut. We’ve gone through numerous obstacles and challenges together to be here. We will work hard to show you the good side and all the things that we have prepared for.

What was your favorite part about working on your first mini-album? What parts were more difficult?
Kihoon: I really enjoyed the fact that we wanted to put all of our opinions and content in this album since we were in charge of it. The difficult part was that we had to be perfect because we were responsible for what we had created.
Sani: I also liked that all of our members were able to participate in the production process, and also found it difficult to revise the songs numerous times. Because there isn’t such a thing as perfect, but we tried our best to reach it. Excluding ‘YOUTH!!!,’ most of the songs were written in the past and underwent a lot of revisions to improve their quality. The process of improving the quality of the song may include changes to composition or rearrangement. However, because we are a band group, we focused on the harmonies of our instruments and the songs, which was the difficult part. Since there is no right or wrong in songwriting, we had different opinions, combined them, tried changing our gears, and tuned the sound to what we wanted.
Jungmo: I liked the entire process – from production to recording. However, that process was difficult because we did not skip a single step to achieve a perfect sound.
Namhyun: Since other members mentioned the production process, I will share a personal story. When I was recording the vocals for ‘If You Love Me,’ I listened to an actual story of the director in the studio, imagined the story, and expressed my emotions as I sang. I was satisfied with how the song turned out. On the other hand, I found it difficult to match the vibe of ‘First Crush’ while recording the vocals.
Junyong: To tell you my personal experience, I loved participating in the production, but found it difficult to research what voice suits my piano.

Which song do you relate to the most and why?
Sani: I would say ‘Cactus Boy’ is the most relatable song to me since it is based on my own experiences.
Junyong: For me, it’s ‘My Own Way.’ The title, lyrics, and everything correspond with my values in life. I pave my own path.

Youth

‘Youth!!!’ is quickly becoming our new favorite song to play every morning. What songs do you listen to when you need motivation to keep going?
Sani: We’ve been listening to the songs from our debut album recently. On the one hand, it prompts us to recall various memories, but on the other, it also inspires us to try something else next time. It also motivates us to improve our skills. I wouldn’t say I am not satisfied, but I’m rather anticipating the next album and the opportunity to show the improved versions of ourselves.

We think you guys captured the feeling of youth in all your songs beautifully. If you could visit the past, what would you say to your younger selves?
Jungmo: I want to tell myself to have a little more courage. It is not because I had a specific experience, but I know things will get better as I get older. Knowing this, I would like to tell myself to have the courage and strength to endure things that shall pass.

What kind of songs did you listen to when you were younger? Do you wish to create and perform the same type of music?
Sani: I discovered a Japanese rock band, ONE OK ROCK, when I was 14 years old. They became my first love as soon as I saw them performing. After I started playing instruments, I fell in love with Red Hot Chili Peppers and THE CHARM PARK. I really like them all and respect them, and they’ve had quite an influence on me.
Namhyun: The reason I started singing was due to Park Hyo-shin and his songs. His songs comforted me and I started thinking that I wanted to give this comfort to other people by singing. I still think of this when I sing.
Kihoon: I enjoyed watching shows revolving around music when I was young and from then on I started to get interested in band music. After that, I started listening to music more and then started playing instruments. At that time I fell in love with John Mayer. My current role model is Richie Kotzen, and he motivates me to play better.

Their Music

When did you know you wanted to be in a band?
Junyong: Sani, Kihoon, and Jungmo all play musical instruments, so they naturally listened to a lot of band music and liked it. However, Namhyun and I started liking band music after meeting Catch the Young. I played in a musical and I also was an idol trainee, but now I love band music and I love that I’m able to share exciting energy with the audience while we are performing on stage. So, I believe I made a great choice when I decided to join a band.

We see that you wrote and composed many of the songs in your debut EP. What does your songwriting process look like? Which instrument do you usually start with?
Kihoon: As soon as I get inspired, I start playing guitar and try to produce music. I do not necessarily prepare myself to compose a song but rather dive into playing guitar and creating melodies when I get inspired. After that, I bring it to members and people around me and we reshape them. We play together and continuously revise the song.
Sani: I usually start by humming melodies while playing the piano and guitar. Then, when I get a good melody or riff, I start composing the general vibe of the song in my head. After finishing the sketch, I make a rhythm using a drum or bass and make a demo. I write lyrics at the end most of the time.

‘Cactus Boy’ is one of our favorite songs from your mini-album, and the music video is fantastic! The song made us really emotional, so we’d like to know if you’ve ever made yourself emotional when writing lyrics. If so, what were the lyrics about?
Namhyun: ‘Cactus Boy’ is also my favorite song. While I relate to other songs, this is the song that I can fully immerse myself in. While it’s the only rock ballad on this album, it’s also a song that I can really immerse myself into because of the melody and the instrumentals. So, I get sentimental every time I sing it. I also get emotional every time I hear Kihoon’s guitar solo.
Sani: I relate to “Cactus Boy” the most. It’s probably because this song is largely based on my own experience.

What concepts or genres do you want to try? Are there any other instruments you’d like to incorporate into your songs?
Jungmo: I’d like to try anything that would look cool. Rather than thinking about a concept we can do, I think more about what energy we can convey. I believe that is the characteristic and strength of our team. The fact that we can sing any song and express it in our own way.
Sani: Although I can play many instruments, I haven’t learned the wind instruments yet. So I would like to learn something like a trumpet and use it for our next album. I wonder how we can integrate other instruments like the trumpet into our songs.

As a group, what goals or plans do you have for 2024?
Catch The Young: We would love to receive the “Rookie of the Year” award. Also, we’d like to perform for many more people. Although we are not sure whether it would be in Asia or somewhere else, we hope to bring our music to people outside of Korea and show what kind of music Catch The Young plays.

You can listen to Catch The Young’s debut EP here!

We had so much fun chatting with Catch The Young on all things debuting and music! What do you think of this K-band so far? We want to know your thoughts on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram!

Want to read more exclusive interviews? We got you!

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT CATCH THE YOUNG:
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