Exclusive: KPopAngel Sits Down With V01D To Discuss Their New Mini Album, Debut Life, And Plans For The Future

The band, made up of Song Uchan × Artist bio Song Uchan Real name: Song U-chanPosition: DrummerNationality: South KoreanBirthday: 1995-01-09 Song Uchan is the drummer of V01D under IX Entertainment. Focused, dedicated, and strongly committed to music and performance. Tap again to view profile → Close , Jo Juyeon × Artist bio Jo Juyeon Real name: Jo Ju-yeonPosition: Main VocalistNationality: South KoreanBirthday: 2000-05-08 Jo Juyeon is the main vocalist of V01D under IX Entertainment. Warm and expressive, with a strong interest in connecting with audiences through music and performance. Tap again to view profile → Close , Kevin Park × Artist bio Kevin Park Real name: Kevin ParkPosition: Keyboardist, VocalistNationality: Korean-AmericanBirthday: 2001-06-21Birthplace: United States Kevin Park is the keyboardist and vocalist of V01D under IX Entertainment. Expressive, creative, humorous, and energetic, with a broad curiosity about different styles of music. Tap again to view profile → Close , Jung Jiseob × Artist bio Jung Jiseob Real name: Jung Ji-seobPosition: Guitarist, VocalistNationality: South KoreanBirthday: 2001-11-11 Jung Jiseob is the guitarist and vocalist of V01D under IX Entertainment. He can project a cool image on stage while showing a warmer and more playful personality away from performances. Tap again to view profile → Close , and Shinnosuke × Artist bio Shinnosuke Real name: ShinnosukePosition: Bassist, MaknaeNationality: JapaneseBirthday: 2005-10-24 Shinnosuke is the Japanese bassist and youngest member of V01D under IX Entertainment. Dedicated, creative, and strongly focused on developing his musicianship. Tap again to view profile → Close , debuted in March of this year with 01, their first mini album. This album blends deep, meaningful lyrics with punk-rock instrumentals. The album went on to peak at #10 on the Hanteo Daily Physical Album Chart. The five members bring a diverse range of backgrounds to V01D, with members hailing from Korea, Japan, and the United States.

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We began our conversation discussing V01D’s identity. Where did the members feel V01D fits in the ever-growing landscape of Korean music? The term “Korean music” encompasses an increasingly broad spectrum, from idol bands to indie acts to heavy metal. I wanted to know what the members hoped would make V01D distinct.

Uchan admitted that the band is still navigating that landscape–and in many ways, still trying to find their identity as a group. Their first mini album had explored a lot of genres already–rock-punk, rock ballad, and modern rock, but the second mini album will explore pop-rock, expanding into Japanese influence, and soft rock.

“We are still expanding our horizons,” Kevin added, expressing the band’s excitement about discovering where that journey will take them.

I wanted to know about the band’s creative process for the new mini album–Jiseob told me that it was very collaborative, with each member adding their style and opinion to the songs. The overarching theme of “youth” made the album feel very evanescent and fleeting. The members, ranging in age from 20 to 30, brought a particularly interesting perspective to that theme. They are in an awkward “in-between” stage of life–not quite adolescents, but still figuring out what adulthood means for them. Kevin shared the detail that each member creates their own demos for songs they are considering adding to an album, which they then all gather around to critique and fine-tune together as a group. Everyone agreed that this way was the most fun and collaborative step in the creative process, allowing them to grow and move forward as a team.

When I revealed that RockRock was my favorite track on 01, Kevin excitedly told me that the song means a lot to the group, as it was the first song the group made together. I wanted to hear more about that, so Jiseob told the story about coming up with the addictive guitar riff to open the track during a practice session. “V01D is gonna do what V01D is gonna do, we don’t want to care about what anyone else thinks. That free spirit, RockRock carries that for sure,” Kevin added. Kevin also revealed that there are many different versions of the song, to which Jiseob suggested it might be fun to release some previous demos of the song as bonus tracks in the future.

Earlier this year in an interview with K Meal, V01D had declared that “we want to be number one, we don’t necessarily mean rankings…we want to keep making music we are proud of, and that our fans can truly enjoy.” I found this quote particularly compelling. As a music enthusiast, I appreciate artists who approach their work with that kind of intention–creating something personal rather than simply chasing whatever happens to be popular. I asked the group to expand on this quote, hoping for some examples of practical ways they are working toward that goal.

“That’s such a great question, because in the industry, especially with the rise of K-Pop over the last few years, the market is very competitive and saturated,” Kevin began to explain. “It can be very hard to find your own voice and identity, to stand out.” He shared that when the five of them came together as strangers, from three different nationalities, different cultural backgrounds, they all had to really dig deep to figure out “who is V01D?”. The group is still learning, still exploring. “It’s not going to come together overnight,” Kevin added. He explained that the results will come from years of challenging themselves artistically and growing together. At the end of the day, it comes from the individual worldview of each member merging with the others. They want to make sure their music remains personal and genuine.

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We then discussed the feelings attached to debuting as a band, and what they felt on releasing their first mini album together. Jiseob couldn’t believe it's already been 6 months since the release of 01. “Ever since the album came out, we’ve been out meeting fans, doing performances and events, trying to share our music with as many people as possible.” The band is currently running a concert series titled Journey. With all that, they were also working on producing the second mini album, which Kevin exclaimed they are very excited about. Kevin went on to marvel how strange time can be–it feels so long yet so short. “We’ve wanted to release new music so badly, and finally it’s here.” Jiseob added that the group has learned a lot, become more of a team, and “practice all day,” to bring joy to fans.

Youthquake is bringing a whole new side of V01D to the world. “We’ve grown a lot in synergy and skill,” Uchan explained. Jiseob agreed, adding that the vibe is a lot more diverse. The first album was very rock-forward, whereas Youthquake will explore a more diverse range of styles.

“What are some things you hope your fans learn and love about your music when they first start discovering your band?” I asked. “Since our name is V01D, we had this vision. ‘Void’ is sort of a dark name, makes you think of emptiness,” Uchan replied. “We want people who listen to our music to realize that whatever ‘void’ they are dealing with, that it can be filled, that they can find comfort and solace. We hope that we can give that to them through our music.” Jiseob added that “our heroes do that for us, so we want to do that for our fans.”

“What are some things you think fans might not realize about debuting as a band in today’s music industry?” I wanted to know. Jiseob remembered how weird it was when they first got together–two foreigners and three natives, different worldviews, essentially five strangers coming together to make music. Kevin admitted there were some fights, a lot of things to work through at first, but finding the common ground and becoming unified was the biggest challenge. “A good challenge for us, helps to make us a team.”

I then wanted to know how to pronounce the fandom name (D10V), which Jiseob told me was “dee-ov”, which is both an acronym for “dream in our void” and the band’s own name backwards.

We then discussed the current projects V01D is working on, as I had seen the release of their concept photos for Youthquake earlier in the day. “Mostly working on the release and promotion of Youthquake, promoting on podcasts, and doing more solo concerts,” Uchan answered. Jiseob informed me they would be performing in clubs in Hongdae too. Kevin revealed they are also working on more music behind the scenes. “Perhaps a more full album next?” he teased. “We also hope to maybe go abroad, maybe next year.” Kevin revealed how much he loves LA, and can’t wait to show the other members around someday. Overall, it sounds like D10V has a lot to look forward to with the band.

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To wrap things up, I asked each member individually what their favorite part of being V01D is. Jiseob jumped right in to answer. “We’ve been gifted a brotherhood, a team. I hope we can work together for a long long time. It’s like having a family, very comforting. We are all very thankful for each other.” As Kevin translated for me, Jiseob added “Don’t cry, Kevin!”

Juyeon’s answer began with expressing his appreciation for the opportunity to express himself honestly, that the members are all close enough in age that they can be friends and comfortable with each other, and can express opinions freely. “We are good at not taking things personally. We can converse very comfortably, and can give each other needed advice.”

Shinnosuke’s answer was simple: he loves living abroad! “I guess he likes being in Korea,” Kevin laughed.

Uchan’s reply was rooted in his love for music. “Whenever I am writing songs, I sometimes get writer’s block, so it’s helpful to have other members who play other instruments, outlooks, and perspectives that I can go to for help.” The diverse perspectives are gold for the creative process, resulting in songs becoming even better than he imagined.

For Kevin, he agreed with all the members. “I never expected that I would be in a band. At first it felt very ‘whoa, I don’t know what I’m doing! I don’t know how to be in a band!’, but now that I’m actually in the band, and I’m working on music collaboratively and exploring myself artistically and individually, I feel like there are so many stories I want to tell and concepts I want to explore, music I want to make. Now that I have the opportunity to do that, and with teammates I admire and respect, it's all the more fun. I am very blessed to be in this position. We’ve only just begun! We have so much time ahead of us! It might sound cliche, but it really is just the beginning, and I am so excited to explore this amazing world we call music. I’m excited for the journey.”

And what a beautiful journey it has been so far! With the release of a successful first mini album, the soon-to-be release of a second mini album, and officially teasing the possibility of a full-length album, there truly is a lot to look forward to.

V01D is truly a unique, charming, and entertaining group of musicians. When I asked where fans could connect with the band, Jiseob sketched out the group’s handle for social media platforms for me on a piece of paper, making sure to emphasize that it is spelled “V-zero-one-D”. This interview was full of camaraderie, laughter, and thoughtful conversations about music, identity, and the future. It was such a pleasure to sit down with the band, to discuss their music and their goals for the future. What an honor it is to say I knew them at this beginning stage of their journey.

D10V can connect with the band via Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and X by searching @V01D_ix on the platforms.