ComingSoon Lead Writer Varsha Narayanan spoke to Catch The Young about their music style and their newly released second mini-album, Catch The Young: Fragments of Odyssey.
Catch The Young debuted in November 2023 and quickly gained recognition for their music style, lyrics, and compositions. The band, comprising five members, Sani (leader), Kihoon, Namhyun, Junyong, and Jungmo, released their second mini-album, Catch The Young: Fragments of Odyssey, on April 3, 2024. This is the continuation of the group’s debut mini-album, Catch The Young: Fragments of Youth, released four months ago.
Catch The Young: Fragments of Odyssey showcases the band’s message to compare life to an adventure and the emotions and experiences one learns along the way. The tracklist comprises seven songs, including their title track, “Voyager.”
The song expresses the group’s harmony despite each member’s takes on life. Other songs include “Sentimental Journey,” “The Legend,” “Always, Forever,” “About Us,” and “Stay By My Side.” Meanwhile, another song in the tracklist, “Light on Me (1101)”, is the band’s first fan song.
Photo Credit: Evermore Entertainment
Varsha Narayanan: You have established yourself as an alternative pop-rock band and describe your music as Youth Pop-Rock. Can you elaborate on the inspiration behind this concept and how it shapes your artistic vision?
JUNGMO: The base of our music style is classic traditional alternative pop-rock musical elements. On top of that, we added the emotions and the vibe that only Catch The Young can create with the keyword “Youth.” Not only are we focusing on musical elements and creating good music, but we also want to add visual and performative elements to it. We intend it to be pleasing to both ears and the eyes. This is always something we want to create, evolve, and pursue as a band.
Varsha Narayanan: Let’s delve into your upcoming second mini-album, Catch the Young: Fragments of Odyssey. Could you enlighten us on the inspiration behind the album’s title? Furthermore, what’s the message you’d like to convey with this album?
NAMHYUN: Our second mini-album, Fragments of Odyssey, is the continuation of our debut mini-album, Fragments of Youth. Even though it is a continuation of the story and the universe, we wanted to show some new charms and new sounds of our band. For the debut album, we showed more of a refreshing side and conveyed the young energy as a group. But for the second mini-album, we are talking more about emotions that are deep inside those fragments. We are conveying sensitive and sentimental emotions through the second one.
Varsha Narayanan: Why did you choose “Voyager” as your title track for this album? What message does it convey?
KIHOON: The beginning of “Voyager” is quite funny. I remember being in the practice room with Sani and Jungmo. We were warming up when I ended up making a random riff on my guitar, and I really liked it. Eventually, we added more elements to it and started jamming together, creating the whole first verse. To ensure we remember this, we turned on the phone recorder and started playing it. After developing a little bit further, we decided to get it to the recording booth and finish the guide recording.
We came out of the practice room, and the weather was amazing. The whole atmosphere seemed fitting. While we started quite lightly, we ended up making a whole song out of it. The whole experience of the weather and recording together remains a very special memory for me. I think the making of the whole song was very special.
SANI: For the first album of Catch The Young, we wanted to convey the message of youth. For the second, it’s more about the journey. If you listen to the lyrics of “Voyager,” it’s asking questions from the narrator to the other person. But it can also be seen as the narrator asking the question to oneself. The song asks messages like, “What am I doing? “Am I walking on the right road,” “Am I making the right choices?” At the end of the day, you realize nothing is wrong. Whatever you choose is right and is on the correct track, no matter what.
If you take a look at the musical elements of the song, you will notice that all the instruments have their individuality. If you listen separately, it almost sounds like they are individual solos. But it harmoniously blends into one song as well. It holds a similar meaning in life. Even if we all have different thoughts, we can come together and create something beautiful from it. It’s okay to have different ideas and thoughts as long as we’re working together to create a beautiful harmony.
Varsha Narayanan: The set list for this album looks quite enticing. How did you go about selecting the songs for the album?
SANI: There are a lot of songs that didn’t make this album. We created some of the songs in this album four years ago, while others were created less than three months ago. The selection process usually follows our concept.
We are doing music that fits the term Youth Pop-Rock. So, the main priority while selecting songs for each album is to make sure it goes well with the concept and our identity. For this album, we were able to include songs from different genres while still maintaining our identity. We think the audience would really enjoy it.
Varsha Narayanan: Could you walk us through the creative process involved in crafting your second mini-album?
SANI: The main difference between the first and the second mini-album is the fact that we were involved much more with the second. We worked on all of the aspects, including composing, lyrics, and arrangement. There were a lot of revisions, recordings, and changes as we were creating our songs. We also wanted to include our color and identity in it and were able to successfully do it, raising the quality of the new album. We hope you look forward to listening to it. As a group, we hope the audience will notice how much effort went into it.
KIHOON: Something I remember from our recordings is that for every recording we did together, we communicated a lot amongst ourselves. I think as a band, we should always aim for perfection when we are working on our music. This is why there were a lot of revisions and recordings as well. We had to go through various challenges and changes while working to perfect those. But as much as we talked and pushed ourselves through, I think we were able to create a great piece of work.
NAMHYUN: During the recording, we looked at different sources. We weren’t working with one genre and one musical element. The members would mix in different effects, helping us create different textures for the music. We experimented a lot, which led to multiple revisions. But it was all worth it because we were able to create an album we are really proud of.
Varsha Narayanan: What were some of the highlights/fun parts and challenges you faced while creating the album?
JUNYONG: I remember a fun moment. When we were recording the title track, “Voyager,” there was a part when all of us had to go into the recording booth together and sing. We shared one headphone and a mic. We would look into each other’s eyes to really match the timing and the tone of it. If anyone made mistakes, we would jokingly share our takes, having a lot of fun with it.
KIHOON: As for the challenges, we went through so many revisions that it was blurring to know which version was better. That judgment could be a little difficult to make. As for the instruments, we each had a different style that we preferred. So sometimes, we would debate about what would fit best for each track. Although we had different opinions, that’s one of the charms of being in a band together.
NAMHYUN: As a vocalist, your condition can vary a lot each day. Sometimes, there were a lot of regrets when the result didn’t turn out as great as the previous day. Other times, we felt joyous when we were able to put our best selves into recordings as compared to other days. That’s also another charm of being a vocalist and in a band.
Varsha Narayanan: What are your immediate goals with the album and this year? What would your message for your fans be?
SANI: We do have some goals for the year. First of all, we want to hold a concert in a big venue with at least 1000 seats available. As for this album’s goals and with the title track “Voyager,” I think it will be really fun to participate in different festivals, including rock and jazz music festivals that are coming up soon.
KIHOON: For a message to our fans – We know you’ve been loving and supporting us until now, and we hope you’ll continue to do so even in the future. We’re forever grateful for all your love and support. And for those who are just discovering Catch The Young, it’s never too late! We’re always welcoming you. So please enjoy the party and have a lot of fun with us.
NAMHYUN: We are always going to be the band that is running at our own pace and creating our own music. So we can all have fun together. Please discover more charms of Catch The Young, and I hope you start stanning us!
You can listen to Catch The Young’s second mini-album, Catch The Young: Fragments of Odyssey, on YouTube, Spotify, and more streaming platforms. You can also follow the group on Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram.
