Upcoming artist ‘homezone’ holds an exclusive interview on his career so far and love for his fans

Homezone is a South Korean Singer Songwriter who is currently signed and managed by ATCM Official debuting back in August of 2019 with the popular and fan favourite digital single [ Hymn To The Equinox ], he is most known to his fans for his numerous KOMC producing and writing credits which he has taken part in for other artists, and is often recognized within the South Korean Indie and r&b scene for some of his most popular tracks: Answer, Like We Turn the Page, You are My Night, Winded, Picture, April Sadness, Warm (Remastered VER) and Enough.  Recently in the articles [ Artist Insight: Find Out About the Korean Artist homezone ] and [ Singer Songwriter homezone releases ‘Circle’ EP ], we discussed the artists discography, facts about the artist and learning about his series [ Homecafe Edition ] where the artist would perform tracks, introduce himself to customers and fans, serve coffee and create memorable moments with the public during this promotion in the span of three days. 

The artist is known for his musical influences and incorporating elements from various music genres; pop, alternative pop, r&b, soul and indie. The singer wants to comfort the listener and the public with his music, giving them a sense of encouragement or happiness when going through their own hardships, hoping to become a ‘home’ for listeners. 

Originally making music underneath his real name and brief stage name, the meaning behind his new name ‘homezone’ was scene with positive reaction and support from fans as the artist would go through his career. 

In commemoration and to promote his latest single [ Enough ], I had a chance to chat with the singer about his latest release, who he looks to for encouragement, his favourite artists and artists he would love to work with in the future and more. Continue reading to learn about what he wants to share with Kpopmap Readers and new fans! 

1. First of all, thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to review this interview, Can you start with a brief introduction, a selfie and share one thing about yourself with our readers? 

homezone: “Hi Kpopmap and all my fans reading this interview! Its a honor to share my stories with you all. I’m “homezone” and as you could imply a little from my name, I’m a singer-song writer trying to make music that makes listeners feel like they’re at home, the one place in which you are true to your own emotions. Took the selfie while I was answering the questions and I hope you like it!” 

2. Looking back at where you started as a child, was music something you have always wanted to do? Did you have any other dreams or something you wanted to yourself 10 years from now? 

“I wasn’t always the same guy people see and think of now. I once was that kind of kid who would sit at the very corner of the classroom. giving zero impression to anybody. But I was very interested in all kinds of languages (English, the most) so I once dreamed of becoming a teacher.

Music wasn’t always a dream of mine, but it was always with me for sure. When I was young, my mom and I would spend hours singing in Karaoke. Listened to tons of music with my MP3 player no matter what genre they were, and I still don’t know how but I ended up becoming a vocal/ guitarist in my high school band. Later when I got a little older, I started making covers in YouTube and Soundcloud, then I began to make my own music eventually. Yeah I know it’s a little complicated and I still have hard time explaining how I ended up here haha. But one thing for sure, music has always been there in my life. Like it was natural. Despite the fact that I get to sing and talk in front of many people, I am still very introverted. So if I would go back to 10 years before and say something to myself, that would be “take more risks and make mistakes, it doesn’t hurt much and people really don’t care a lot about what you do.”

3. At Kpopmap we love song recommendations and conversations about music! Is there a singing style or genre that you would like to embrace/ challenge yourself with in the future or a genre you enjoy? Can you give me a hint on what that song is/ could be? 

“I do love all kinds of music, but I recently fell in love with jazz and those old R&B music. So I definitely try making something of those genres when I can. Listen to “Laufey” if you haven’t heard of her yet. She is such an amazing jazz singer-song writer.”

4. When examining your career so far, the songs and music of ‘Answer’, ‘Seasons’, ‘Like Turning the Page’, ‘Winded’ and ‘I Blue You’ stand out the most. The beats and story telling are really unique and the fans seem to be really enjoying it. Are there any songs you would like to recommend to new listeners and our readers, or types of songs you would like to try in the future? Is there maybe an artist you would like to feature in your song?

“As I said in the question right before this one, I wanna try jazz someday, but I believe there’s more to music than how much I know of right now. So I can’t really tell you the exact type of music that I will make, but on the other hand, that also means that my craving for music has only reached to its “entree soup” (if I’m using the correct metaphor…) AND there are tons of artists I wanna work with, not just in South Korea. Keshi, Crush, Zion.T, Lany, Grentperez and so many more… Gosh there are just too many great artists with beautiful voices!”

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘇𝗼𝗻𝗲 (홈존) (@whereisyourhomezone)

Artist: homezone. 

5. If you had to choose your top three, what are your goals for 2024?

“Stay healthy, sleep much when you can, and love the people who love you.” 

6. Every music release requires a lot more work that most fans and listeners are unaware of including producing, composing, arranging melodies and lyrics, finding the right theme and meaning behind what you want to show in your music video, visualizing the type of content. Can you explain to your fans at all what topic or song genre you choose to begin your creative process? 

“You know MBTI is a thing these days, so before answering the question, let me tell you that I’m INFP. as a capital INFP person, I do daydream a lot. I also often think about stupid things that don’t make sense. This might sound a little cliche or… stupid, but this is how I start writing music. In the middle of my daily “daydreaming” routine, I come up with ideas and topics for my music, one of them being “Like We Turn the Pages.” I was at a cafe writing stuff. There were some people at the cafe reading books, and for no reason they really came to my sight. Reading all the letters, going through all those indentions like a maze, all these just to get to another page, these all looked like a life to me. Reading is hard (it really is) and so is life, but when you get to the next step and furthermore, consider it light, weight-less just like you turn those pages.”

7. Do you have any more projects for your fans to look forward to or are you taking some time off between releasing music and focusing on your health at the moment?

“I’ll say I’m doing both. Even at this very moment, there are so many plans that I have not told my fans yet. But I’ve also felt that I do need to take care of myself. So stay healthy until we meet next time! :)”

8. Looking back at where you started compared to now are there any changes you noticed in the way you approach marketing or music? Is there anything you would like to say to yourself in the past?

Honestly speaking, back in the days I used to make music that only I liked and enjoyed, locking myself up in my taste and favors. But some time later, I realized it was my fans and the listeners out there that hear my stories and keep me going. My feelings for you can’t be put in words, but thank you so much for letting me be your “home zone.”

9. Can you tell us about your last release as well as a final message for your KpopMap readers? 

“Your friendly neighborhood homezone has come back with the new song “Enough.” INFP daydreaming sensors triggered once again, I wrote this song wondering what if this is the last piece of music I could ever make. Little sad you might think, but there’s more than what I mentioned so go check it out! And see you real soon!” 

10. Lastly thank you very much for your consideration with interviewing with us, is there anything you’d like to promote to our readers or share on social media? 

I’ve read the earlier post about me and I really thank you for that. BUT, keeping my YouTube channel name as my real Korean one was a HUGE mistake I never intended!! Hahaha. It was something that I forgot to do so long ago and thank you Kpopmap for saving my life… Anyways! you can call me “homezone” and you could always find me in my YouTube, Instagram and Tik Tok! I post lots of random stuffs so… let’s stay connected! :))

Kpopmap readers can check out homezone on YouTube, Instagram, Twitter (X), Melon, Spotify, Genie and Apple Music as well as checking out some of the artists latest releases below!