Kim Heesu was born on Mai 10th, 1994 in Gwacheon where he also grew up in a rather exhilarating environment. The artist always yearned to create. He wanted to be a “creator”, whether in music or design and he had the chance to have his parents’ full support. In an interview for PREME MAGAZINE from March 2019, he indeed explained that his parent really had faith in him and supported this ambition. More generally, he revealed that he learned a lot from the Korean society itself, as “Korea moves and change rapidly” to quote him. Hence, he thrived from this effervescence of influences.

To go back on the music in itself, Colde explained in an interview from May 2018 for AllKpop that he quite naturally started to compose. At first, he was simply an eager listener, actually to the extent that he started to collect CDs and LPs. Then he progressively started to sing along the songs and finally came to create his own universe.

OFFONOFF: Debut alongside the producer 0Channel

And if there is a meeting which must have been decisive for the artist this is definitely the one with Seo Jiho also known as 0Channel. If we don’t know much about what lead them to collaborate together, it’s nonetheless through their duo OFFONOFF that Colde first got himself known by the public. I’ll only briefly go back on OFFONOFF history since they have their own article, don’t hesitate to read it here.

Colde and 0Channel debuted together on SoundCloud in August 2015 with the project mood. followed by a series of singles. Thanks to those releases, they drew the attention of the label HIGHGRND, YG’s sublabel led by Tablo, Epik High’s Leader. But they also caught Dean’s attention who noticed them on the music streaming platform and offered them to join the CLUBESK*MO.

Those events happened in 2016 and contributed to the outcome that boy. is. boy. is the duo’s first real album and has been released in July 2017. Tablo, Dean, MISO, or Punchnello and Rad Museum are also present on some tracks.

From that moment and thanks to tracks like Cigarette, gold, good2me, Dance or Photograph, the two artists started to gain visibility with even high recognition such as the Korean Hip-Hop Awards 2018’s title of R&B Track of the Year.

Colde had now new possibilities and started to diversify his discography by collaborating with other artists.

The first collaboration was none other than Code Kunst’s Outro White AnxiEty from his album MUGGLES’ MANSION released on February 28th, 2017.

The other collaborations he released in 2017 were exclusively with the CLUBESK*MO’s members. The first was IGLOO from Millic’s album VIDA released on July 10th, 2017. You can hear all the collective’s singers/rappers on this track.

Then, on October 26th that same year Rad Museum invited him for the track Cloud from his album Scene also featured by MISO and Punchnello.

Finally, on November 28th, 2017, Colde sang for 2xxx!’s album Life, in his track Island (rough).

2018: Solo career and creation of the collective WAVY

If those first three years have been already pretty busy for the artist, let’s just say that 2018 has clearly been a pivotal year.

First, Colde started to do collaborations with artists who weren’t part of the CLUBESK*MO. On March 23rd on the track Comma, for the producer Woogie for his EP REWIND MY TAPE Part 1. SHIN HYE GYEONG is also present on the track. The following day, so on March 24th, Swings released his album Upgrade III accompanied by Colde on the track Visit You.  

But 2018 is above all the year where Colde really debuted as a solo artist.

A few days later, after Comma and Visit you, on March 28th, Colde indeed released Your Dog Loves You, his first solo track featured by  Crush, his friend from the CLUBESK*MO. The MV is released on April 27th.

On April 3rd, he was also on the album Do worry Be happy from Primary & Anda (프라이머리 & 안다) for The open boat, a track with a retro/electro vibe.

Solo debut, but also the creation of a new collective: WAVY

From April 14th to 16th, each day Colde revealed a short video extract on Instagram, with simply wavy written on the footage and a link to the Instagram account @wavyseoul as a description. It’s also worth noting that the musical background on the video from the 16th is actually the beat used in the song Yayaya, released later on his album Wave.  

This Instagram account is none other than WAVY’s one. With this project, not only did Colde surprised everyone but for a long time, he also raised a few questions! 

If now that this article has been released, WAVY is now officially presented as an artist collective/label, it’s only around June 2019, with Jiwoo’s introduction as a new artist of the collective, that the intent behind WAVY became clearer. The limit with the label is still quite fuzzy yet, especially that since WAVY’s creation, Colde, and Jiwoo’s releases have been credited under the name of the collective.

On 16 April, Colde also shared a DNA cover, title track from BTS’ Love Yourself 承 Her album. This cover marked the beginning of a long term collaboration with the musical producer Stally.

In May, He is invited by Elo on his album Gradation Vol. 1 for the track Melt.

Then, on 10 June he collaborated with Code Kunst and Tablo for the single rain bird, both a nocturnal and melancholic song.

With Cult Of Ya, they also organized a Pop Up Store that month, the occasion to perform in London and Paris.

Besides the MV adaptation of the track homeless door produced with Rad Museum for OFFONOFF’s album boy. Until September and the release of his first solo album Wave, things stayed pretty calm for Colde.

Wave, a Creative Assertion

Wave is officially released on September 13th and counts 8 tracks including Yayaya featured by Omega Sapien, member of the Balming Tiger collective, and String with SunWoo JungAh (SWJA).

As for the MVs, Colde used Freedom, directed by Kim Bongmin, as an album teaser. He released the MV one day before Wave’s release. Sunflower’s MV directed by Yeom Woojin is released with the album while Move is released one month after, that is to say on October 12th. This last MV is a collaboration of the filmmakers Yeom Woojin and Kim Jiyeon. It’s worth noting that Colde already worked with those three video directors under OFFONOFF for some MV’s of the album boy.

Wishing to explore other sonorities, with Wave, Colde went for an artistic direction different from what he is used with OFFONOFF (Ed: But I will go back on this point later on this article). In this way, the artist chose to collaborate with different music producers. Sunflower has been produced by haventseenyou and hoiwave and can pretty remind of Kali Uchis’ track After The Storm featured by Tyler, The Creator, and Bootsy Collins because of this common retro/groovy side.

Move and Yayaya are probably part of the album’s tracks with the strongest rhythms and have both been produced by IOAH. Differently from Sunflower, Move is nonetheless just as Groovy with a rather strong rhythmic (and especially what seems to be a snare drum’s sample). Yayaya is on a more Bouncy vibe. The beat is warmer and it seems that IOAH has used a sample of an electronic metronome, or a similar sound, for the rhythmic while the synth brings this special vibe to the whole track. 

For String, APRO produced a rather refined beat, which can remind of a ballade.

Finally, the other tracks of the album, that is to say, Freedom, SPACE, Lovestruck, and Please Love Me, have been produced by Stally. It seems that the producer has quite a thing for the acoustic by the way. Your Dog Loves You was already on this register and that’s also true for Freedom, Please Love Me but also on the background of Lovestruck.

And that’s purely an interpretation of mine here, but it seems that the movement and the self-assertion are two prevailing themes on this album.

The title can already lead to this conclusion. Wave reminds of the water but also of the movement. But it seems that the choice of both the beats and the lyrics can convey this same impression.

As mentioned earlier, there are mostly lively rhythms on this album, some can be described as groovy, or even bouncy which is quite a change from OFFONOFF’s Lo-Fi/Nocturnal universe. This album is on a warmer/brighter register.

But this side is also present on the texts

The movement is for instance literally present in tracks like Move or Yayaya, and especially in their chorus:

Let’s make your movement and mine different,

Inside your rhythm and mine so we can attract each other

Us two, keep it movin’

Oh yeah Oh yeah yeah

Speak with your body

Move your neck back and forth

Colde – Move | English Translation from the Youtube Channel Club Esk*mo BR

I wanna make you groove

When it gets dark,

The way your body move

Until the morning,

I wanna make you groove

The waves that we’ve created,

The way your body move

Make it possible

Colde – Yayaya | English Translation from the Youtube Channel Club Esk*mo BR

But there is also this idea of creative/artistic assertion in tracks like SPACE or Freedom.

In SPACE there is for instance lyrics which state loud and clear this will to go beyond the current creative limits, like the “Turn off the television fuck you dude I’ll give a new vision”. 

But the most obvious example is clearly Freedom, and it would all the more explain why he chose this track to open the album. At first glance, looking at the translations available on Youtube, the lyrics don’t really make sense right away, we not necessarily understand the point of the song. But that might actually be seen as a creative choice. The title of the track is none other than freedom, and well, the lyrics remind of free discourse. It’s like he would have put his thought into words. And if the lyrics don’t really make sense end-to-end, there is yet this common idea of a desire for freedom, for personal growth, but also this desire to go beyond the social norm, the social convention.

I’m glowing everywhere, aren’t I

This freedom is teaching me

That’s why you can’t stop me

That’s why you never do it

I’m displaying the picture you’re in

Call all your stuck-up kids

And throw a party

After wanting freedom

I’ve done everything for the sake of change

What is it that awaits me at the end of my life?

[…]

Think about it for a second, my picture,

Why is my picture so different from the other kids?

Colde – Freedom | English Translation from the Youtube Channel Club Eskimo BR

That was not all from Colde in 2018 though since on October 8th he was on Loco’s single It Takes Time. He also surprised everyone with an appearance on the famous Youtube Channel Colors.

He’s indeed the second Korean artist after Dean to perform on the artist highlighting platform based on Berlin where, on November 29th, he revealed the track 시 (Shhh) on a beat from APRO.

The studio version of the track is available on December 18th on the double single Poem where he also unveiled the track Wall.

2019: New collaborations, Love Part 1, and new International Concert Dates.

In 2019, Colde started the year on January 24th with Loss promoted by the SM Entertainment agency as part of SM Station Season 3, a project in which they showcase as much the artists from their agency as guests like Colde.

If February was a pretty calm month for the artist, March was on the contrary really eventful.

As for the collaborations, he contributed to two projects. On March 10th with nov for the track Golden Hour from her album 봄. This song can be described as City Pop, especially for its rather idle and light retro vibe. On March 19th was then released Heize’s album She’s Fine, where he accompanied the singer on the track So, it ends? A live clip is released a few days later, that is to say on March 28th.  

The artist kept on gaining visibility to the point that he has been chosen by the platform HYPEBEAST Korea for a promotion partnership with Louis Vuitton. The video is released on March 22nd, and along Colde we can also see the rapper Dok2 and the singer Crush, as well as the actress/mannequin/Girls’ Generation’s singer Jessica Jung and the actress/mannequin Kim Yongji for a video extract advertising the Bluetooth earbuds Horizon and the connected watches Tambour Horizon collections.

A gain of visibility which has also been proved by his participation in the SXSW festival taking place from March 8th to 17th. South by Southwest is quite a major event, an annual conglomerate of film, interactive media, music festivals, and conferences which has been held each year since 1987 in Austin. That year, the festival line-up included artists like Khalid, Billie Eilish, Open Mike Eagle, Phony Ppl, or Pink Sweat$, but also CHUNG HA, the group iKON, Jvcki Wai and the MKIT RAIN.

Finally, on March 25th, Colde released a new cover, this time of 빛과 소금 (Kyunghoon Han)’s 내 곁에서 떠나가지 말아요 translated in Please don’t leave me, my love. The arrangement has been made by haventseenyou.

A month went by and finally, after several weeks of teasing on the social networks, Colde released a new project on May 31st; the EP Album [LOVE] Part 1. The theme of the EP is in keeping with the one of the first edition of his Wavezine project, a sort of reflection about love, its different facets. 

With Love is a flower, the artist/protagonist questions this notion on a rather melancholic vibe

Where’s the love ?

How to love ?

What think of love?

Yeah need your love

Colde – Love is a flower

As the title shows it, I fxxking love you is literally written like a declaration of love.

I do not remember any other words

I love you (x2)

I love you so much

I made this stupid song

There is no way to express it

I want to scream like this

I want to show my heart out

Colde – I fxxking love you (사랑해) | English Translation from the Youtube Channel DT Macr

In another register, WA-R-R is tackling the topic of a pure passion (or a toxic relationship with emotional dependency, but that’s a question of point of view…)

Sometimes you’re too harsh

At times you heartlessly toss me to the side

And punish me with anxiety

Then I become a lost puppy

Walking with my head held low

I just want to be hold in your arms

Stabbed by your sharpened words

I bleed

You don’t even worry

Instead you teach me to heal by myself

But sometimes confusingly you give me loving attention

Then I don’t know what to do

I crumble

I fall apart

My heart crumbles

Don’t do this to me baby, a day without you

I don’t want to imagine

I can’t do anything, I’ll become a fool

I clearly said

The day I confessed my love for you

Whatever we may face that we won’t falter

But like riding a wave

You stir up my heart

Give me a life jacket so I don’t drawn

Love tests me

Checks the overdue homework

When I can’t solve it

Just help me out

When you find the answer

Give me bright smile

So I can’t think straight

Colde – WA-R-R | English Translation from the Youtube Channel Miss Right

Talking about love means also talking about tenderness, and this aspect is also present in Scent, where the physical and sensitive dimensions are especially exacerbated.

But also on Endless love for instance which kind of translates a feeling of fulfillment, of contentment with maybe a bit of a languishing vibe. This track is both short and fresh, with an asserted visual side, especially because of the work on the beat with sounds reminding of the daily life.

To go back on the atmospheres, acoustic vibes are prevailing on Love Part 1 and Stally is by the way present on a good part of the project (I fxxking love you – with KARL -, Scent, You don’t need my love). Love is a flower has been produced by Milena and haventseenyou, haventseenyou who also did the arrangement for내 곁에서 떠나가지 말아요 (Please don’t leave me, my love). Love makes me jealous and its dreamy/aerial vibe has been made by hansen.

Hoiwave, who also contributed to Wave, made the beat for Endless Love along with Milena.

Finally, the beat for WA-R-R has been composed by Noden.

June has been cadenced by several events. As for WAVY, new artists are going to join the collective. The singer/composer Jiwoo who is also a member of the collective WYBH founded by Giriboy but under the name Hayake that he exclusively uses for his DJ, producer, and rapper activities. But also the graphic designer honno who made the cover of the album [LOVE] part 1, but also those of the single Your Dog Loves You, or Epik High’s album Sleepless in __________, Code Kunst’s MUGGLES’ MANSION and some for Balming Tiger.

On June 22nd, the artist also performed in Paris (videos of the concert here)

But it seems that Colde is also starting to compose for other artists. On July 10th, Baekhyun from the group EXO released his album City Lights and it’s none other than Colde who wrote the lyrics for the track Diamond.

A desire to explore new musical horizons

Colde’s solo debuts might have been pretty confusing for some people and many feared an end of his collaboration with 0Channel.

However the artist is really clear on this topic and this is something he recently reaffirmed in his interview for PREME MAGAZINE. His solo releases don’t mean the OFFONOFF’s end at all.

In an interview from March 2019, the artist explained that he is always thinking of OFFONOFF, that that’s inseparable from him but that after three years of creation with 0Channel, the two artists needed to do their own creative experiences, to develop their own colors.

“I’m currently focused on my solo career, but I always think of OFFONOFF. It’s inseparable from me. If the past 3 years have been gravitating toward OFFONOFF, we are now spending our time individually, building up different experiences”.

Colde for PREME MAGAZINE

If you have listened to Punchnello’s album ordinary. you could have only notice that the vibes are pretty worlds apart from what we’re used to with OFFONOFF. The whole album has yet been composed by 0Channel.

Hence, that’s in tune with another topic that Colde tackled in this interview. For him, “everyone is multifaceted” and he, as an individual and an artist, doesn’t limit himself to a unique shade.

“I’m one shade as a part of OFFONOFF, and a different shade as a solo artist”

Colde for PREME MAGAZINE

In this way, that’s not surprising to learn that the artist draws his inspiration from both vast and varied sources. In his interview for PREME MAGAZINE, he added that he got inspirations from movies, interesting stories from conversations or simply from random ideas that come into his mind.

In keeping with OFFONOFF’s music, the visual dimension is prevailing in Colde’s creation. In an interview from Mai 2018 for Allkpop, he thus explained that he tends to have a detailed image or scene in his mind when he writes his lyrics.

More generally, more than visual, Colde’s music can be described as sensible too. There is a prevailing sensible side in his music and his stage name is also correlated to this.

Several times he explained that he chose the stage name Colde for the impression the word conveys. For him certain words give certain impressions, they have a peculiar effect on us and he likes that.

Hence, Colde is a direct reference to the English word Cold. In an interview for Breakers, he explained that even though his voice is rather cold, he wants his music to be warm and comforting. His stage name would come from this desire.

Just as the artist’s personality who for a long time gave a rather reserved image, natural and minimalism are qualities he wants to convey in his art.

However, Colde also mentioned musical influences. He for instance referred to artists like Chet Baker, Daft Punk, Childish Gambino, Kanye West, Nirvana, but also Kendrick Lamar and Pharrell Williams. He would like to collaborate with the latest by the way.

Speaking of collaborations, he for example conveyed his desire to work with artists like IU, the group The Black Skirts, and more recently the English female rapper IAMDDB or the US artists Goldlink and Frank Ocean.

This effervescence of influences and inspirations is also true when it comes to his interests. He likes both cooking, conversing, reading, obviously movies, but also fashion and vintage.

Fashion is in fact more than a simple interest though. To quote him, he believes that fashion is “one of the most fundamental ways of expressing oneself”.

And if Colde’s love for music wasn’t already obvious, let’s just conclude this article on his own words:

“I started music to be happy and it makes me happier every day. I want to share it with other people”

Colde for PREME MAGAZINE

Articles:

AllKpop

https://www.allkpop.com/article/2018/05/artist-to-watch-offonoffs-colde-talks-about-his-first-broadcast-appearance-on-breakers-unique-stage-name-and-more

PREME MAGAZINE

https://www.preme.xyz/online-magazine

Videos:

Mnet Official | BREAKERS