[Interview] OSEN Interview with Yves (250807)

(Reporter Yoo Su-yeon)

We recently had an interview with singer Yves in a cafe located in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, to commemorate the release of her third mini EP, “Soft Error”.

Yves, formerly a member of the group LOONA, responded to the question, “Did you get support from your members?” by saying, “I’d say that I keep in touch with Chuu the most. Jiwoo (Chuu) has heard the title track since it was in its draft stage.”

She revealed, “When the song was released, she told me, ‘Unnie, your song has gotten even better,’ and cheered me on. When we met, she even danced along to the song. That kind of attention to detail is such a meaningful form of support.”

When asked, “What do you two do when you meet up?” Yves expressed her affection, saying, “We cook food and constantly eat, play music and sing together. Since we’re both adults, we also enjoy a glass of whiskey. Jiwoo has a broad musical spectrum too, so we like similar songs. We even like the same kinds of videos, so time flies when we talk.”

She also drew attention as she spoke about the LOONA members’ solo careers, saying, “Back then, twelve of us wore the same clothes and danced the same choreography, so even we didn’t fully understand our own charms. But now, each of us is doing so well in our own field, and every time I monitor them, I discover new charms I hadn’t noticed before. It makes me realize, ‘My members are really amazing, these amazing members were my members,’ and it makes me happy.”

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In a recent interview at a cafe in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, Yves spoke about her feelings after releasing her third mini EP “Soft Error”, “Starting as a solo artist came with many challenges and a lot of worries. I wanted to show those things without hiding or adding or subtracting anything. I wanted to tell my own story.”

She then confessed, “This album is full of emotions, and the emotion I felt the strongest while going solo was, ‘I don’t know which direction to take.’ When choosing a company, people would say things like, ‘You’ll only succeed if you do it this way,’ ‘You need to go in this direction,’ or ‘You should stay in a group.’ Even regarding genres, I heard things like, ‘This is too niche,’ or ‘You should go more mainstream.’”

In particular, she revealed, “When I looked in the YouTube comments, there were many saying, ‘She should go back to being in a group.’ I think I was really confused as all the outside voices clashed with my own thoughts.”

However, Yves now says she’s come to “accept” that confusion and has begun to embrace her own path. “I’ve accepted that confusion, and now I think it’s really fun to walk a path that’s not predetermined. I’m enjoying the process,” she added.

She also conveyed her own direction, saying, “I think I’m someone who chases what I want to do. It makes me happy when people love my music, but I also think it's fun for listeners to experience music they haven’t encountered before through Yves as a medium. I think that’s what I want.”

Yves is set to release her third EP “Soft Error” on various music platforms at noon on the 7th. “Soft Error” means the state of appearing fine on the outside, but being broken inside. Across six tracks, including the double title tracks “White cat” and “Soap (feat. PinkPantheress)”, Yves expresses a wide range of emotions.

Through “Soft Error”, Yves explores various genres, showcasing her broad musical spectrum. The double title track “White cat” is based on electronic pop and portrays drifting emotions, while “Soap (feat. PinkPantheress)” is centred on a Miami bass drum line and reflects faded emotional traces.

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When asked about the behind-the-scenes of her collaboration with PinkPantheress, who is gaining explosive support from Gen Z, Yves shared in a recent interview at a cafe in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, “I started my debut with the house genre, and she was already famous in that scene, so I got a lot of inspiration from her.”

She continued, “I had vaguely thought it would be great to work with her someday. Then, fans kept telling her, ‘Please collaborate with Yves,’ and that’s how she came to know about me. We connected after that, so in a way, it’s thanks to the fans that this collaboration happened.”

Another featured artist on the album is Mexican indie-pop rising star Bratty. When asked how these global collaborations came about, Yves explained, “I wanted to bring more diversity to the album. When I made my comeback, I really hoped the featured artists would be unexpected for fans. While filling the entire album with my own voice would’ve been nice as well, I wanted to harmonize with a variety of people, so that’s why I chose to collaborate.”

In particular, when asked about “what kind of response she’s most looking forward to during this promotion cycle”, Yves said, “The featured artists are already very well-known. I hope the fans love it. I also hope the fans of those featured artists enjoy it too. Just like how my fans connected me with PinkPantheress, I hope this leads to more opportunities to work with other amazing artists in the future.”

Sources: [1], [2], [3]