Epidemic Sound is the world’s main soundtracking platform due to our artists. Collectively, we assist everybody from fresh-faced creators to legendary manufacturers discover their voice — that’s value shouting about.
As we speak, we’re heading into the eighth version of Behind the Sound, by which we have a good time the musicians who’re taking Epidemic Sound to the subsequent stage. This month, it’s Korean-American R&B sensation, I’MIN.
Based mostly in New York Metropolis, I’MIN’s music is a testomony to his heritage. Impressed by jetting between the U.S. and Korea, the singer-songwriter’s bilingual lyrics provide listeners a window into his world. It’s a spot with no main language, with out the restraints of style.
Pulling affect from trendy Korean visionaries like Zion.T and Crush alongside U.S. legends like D’Angelo and Maxwell, I’MIN’s music is, properly, I’MIN. It’s Ok-pop, R&B, soul, and the whole lot that falls in between.
Scorching off the heels of his new EP, Unplugged, I’MIN checked in with Epidemic Sound. Maintain studying for his ideas on all issues music, lyrics, and the existential questions you would possibly ask your self at evening.
Your sound blends Korean and American R&B. What does your inventive course of seem like when bridging these two worlds?I’MIN: “I don’t consider it as ‘bridging’ two separate worlds a lot as constructing a brand new considered one of my very own. I take the issues I really like most from every custom — generally it’s a technical element, generally it’s a shade or temper, generally even only a single phrase — and allow them to encourage me. These items come collectively to kind one thing uniquely mine: my very own interpretation of R&B.”You turn between Korean and English seamlessly. Do you’re feeling totally different sides of your self come out in every language when writing?I’MIN: “Completely. Every language carries its personal rhythm, tone, and cultural weight. Even when two phrases translate to the identical that means, their connotations and emotional textures may be worlds aside.“Writing in Korean usually brings out a extra intricate, layered sensibility, whereas English opens house for directness and groove. Collectively, they let me specific sides of myself that one language alone couldn’t seize.”Your songs steadiness easy neo-soul with sharp, trendy R&B edges. How have you learnt when a monitor feels “I’MIN” sufficient to launch?I’MIN: “It’s a intestine feeling greater than the rest. I am going via numerous revisions, and in that course of I construct each love and frustration with the monitor. However as soon as I attain the purpose the place the music feels inevitable — prefer it couldn’t exist another means — that’s after I understand it’s prepared. That’s after I say: ‘That is I’MIN.’”Your melodies usually really feel like they’re floating. Do you sketch them out first, or do they arrive within the second whilst you’re vibing?I’MIN: “More often than not, it’s spontaneous. I’d catch an concept within the second after which refine it lots of of occasions till it feels proper. For me, melodies are about movement — they often come after I let myself go and simply vibe, then evolve via experimentation and persistence.”Rising up between cultures, did you ever really feel such as you needed to “select” a sound, or did the mix occur naturally?I’MIN: “The mix was pure from the start. I used to be by no means interested by copying what was already on the market — sounds, rhythms, patterns. As a substitute, I pulled items from all over the place and adopted what felt genuine to me. After all, there are moments when I’ve to make decisions about what ‘good sound’ means to me, personally. However these decisions are all the time knowledgeable by a large palette of influences.”If somebody described your sound as “Seoul meets New York Metropolis,” what would you need them to listen to?I’MIN: “I’d need them to listen to the meticulous, detail-driven melodies and polish that Seoul is understood for, fused with the uncooked power and experimental spirit of NYC. When these two sensibilities collide, the result’s a synergy that feels each acquainted and contemporary — refined however unafraid.”You’ve stated artists like Maxwell and D’Angelo encourage you. What’s one element from their music you’ve “borrowed” and made your individual?I’MIN: “From D’Angelo, I absorbed the artwork of groove — the best way he bends rhythm into one thing so fluid but grounded. That sense of ‘laid-back’ movement has turn into considered one of my very own strengths as a singer and composer.“From Maxwell, I took the significance of texture: the refined particulars in his vocal supply and manufacturing that make each line really feel alive. These components formed how I method creating my very own sound.”You describe your music as pondering “large existential questions.” What’s one query you end up returning to time and again?I’MIN: “I usually return to the seek for love and happiness — what they actually imply, how they form the best way we see the world, and the way fragile they are often. These questions are deeply private but in addition common, and so they’re the lens via which I write and create.”Your songs usually discover the bittersweet facet of romance. What makes that pressure so inspiring to you?I’MIN: “Romance is a microcosm of life itself: stuffed with contradictions, struggles, and fleeting moments of magnificence. It forces us to construct resilience from ache and gratitude from pleasure. That pressure, that fixed push and pull, is endlessly inspiring to me as a result of it mirrors the complexity of being human.”What’s one monitor of yours you suppose individuals ought to take heed to in the event that they’ve by no means heard I’MIN earlier than?
I’MIN: “Bonafide, from my Unplugged EP. That monitor appears like a milestone — it displays how far I’ve are available creating my sound and hints at the place I’m heading subsequent.”
Do you see songwriting as a diary, or extra of a thought experiment?I’MIN: “It’s each. Each music I’ve written incorporates items of my private story and feelings, but in addition imagined eventualities, questions, and what-ifs. Songwriting is my means of documenting who I’m within the second, whereas additionally exploring the chances of who I could possibly be.”In case your music needed to be performed in a single setting perpetually — a late-night drive, a rooftop celebration, or a bed room — which one would you select?I’MIN: “A late-night drive. There’s nothing like the sensation of the street, the breeze, and the music carrying you ahead. That’s after I really feel most related to sound with out distraction — simply me, the groove, and the second.”You get one probability to play a single I’MIN music to a stranger who doesn’t know R&B. Which monitor do you decide, and why?
I’MIN: “I’d select Recently from Unplugged. It’s probably the most musically intricate monitor I’ve ever made, layered with particulars that reveal themselves on repeat listens. I’d need that stranger to find the richness of R&B via the textures, harmonies, and emotional weight of the music.”
Which three emojis describe your vibe proper now?I’MIN: “ Open to interpretation — however that’s the enjoyable of it.”🕺🥶😤I’MIN’s music is out there on all main streaming platforms. His new EP will launch in November 2025.Take heed to I’MIN’s Epidemic Sound discography under, and preserve an eye fixed out for the subsequent version of Behind the Sound.
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