WOODZ Opens Up About Mental Health and Developing His Identity As a Soloist

At the height of the roaring Hallyu wave surrounded by much media blitz across the globe, Korean R&B artist WOODZ sticks to his course; solidifying his sound and developing his artistry now as a flourishing soloist.

As far as pop trajectories go, WOODZ—real name Cho Seungyoun—has definitely been on a rollercoaster ride. Starting out fairly young in such a cutthroat industry like K-pop, there left very little time for thought and exploration; a phase generally normal in one’s teenage years. He knew he had a penchant to make music; training intensely to be a performer under an entertainment agency and thereafter debuted in a five-piece Korean-Chinese boy group called UNIQ. “After my debut, the desire and longing to sing my own songs kept growing inside me,” tells WOODZ, recalling a point in his early career when he realized an inclination to create on his own. “From then, I had that greed to make songs that people would enjoy.”

“South Korea is a competitive society, so what other people did came as a great spur to me. But I’m focusing on myself, doing my work by asking myself what I really want.”

South Korea’s competitiveness is an aspect not lost on WOODZ. He acknowledges growing up in an environment with an essentially extreme nature, thus it must not have been a complete bewilderment to come into a realm that involves constant comparison and no guarantee to make it; despite leaving home to move in to a big city at such a tender age. “South Korea is a competitive society, so what other people did came as a great spur to me. But I'm focusing on myself, doing my work by asking myself what I really want. My artistry isn’t influenced by other cultures nor elements; I just concentrate on the things that I like.” he expresses, putting the negative facets aside to focus on what truly matters, his eyes engaged on the prize. “To be honest, I blamed myself a lot. Then as I overcame this, I found myself more developed.” 

From UNIQ’s Seungyoun followed Luizy, a solo project birthed in 2016 that allowed him to explore a more varied sound from the electronic dance stylings of UNIQ and step out of his comfort zone to work alongside an array of artists. This exploit subsequently evolved into a more realized identity as WOODZ, hitting refresh with his official name change in 2018 and creating slower, atmospheric tunes in his dulcet delivery, in contrast to Luizy’s poppier, upbeat approach. “The difference between my work as Luizy and now as WOODZ is the matter of maturity”. He continues, “Luizy’s music was comparatively young while WOODZ is more mature. That's because I thought a lot more before [deciding on] my name.”

“I always want to express what I feel. I always want to deliver different messages through my experiences and emotions. By listening to my music, I wish people would feel comforted or even loved and be a part of them.”

The disparity of Luizy and WOODZ made itself more evident when he followed his debut single “Pools”, a jubilant love song with “Different”, an anthem about coming to terms with a break-up paired with a honeyed melody. Breaking further away from the pattern of gleeful love, WOODZ truly displayed a more grown, evolved side in “Meaningless”, tackling an existential theme that deals with his own mental state at its lowest. As an artist living in a society that considers the discussion of mental health taboo, WOODZ’s honesty is refreshing as he openly tells us the vision behind the track and eventually finding the light at the end of the tunnel. “Meaningless is like my diary. I once thought about committing suicide when my depression was really bad. In the lyrics, I used the notes that I wrote down when I wasn't able to find any reason for my life and tried to put stories in the track,” he reveals. “This song is related to the weather and my emotion—the sound of rain coming out at the bridge part and I wanted to put the sound of rain stopping at the end, which indicates that things are getting better.”

On his succeeding year as WOODZ, he meets change with a warm welcome; traversing to new grounds and delving deeper to cement his signature climatic sound with a progressive frame of mind. We sat down with the R&B crooner to discuss his genesis, the transition to working solo, and finding inspiration from strange places.

You originally started out in a group. In a set-up like that in music, it’s all about the team dynamics. What was the transition like from working with a group to working solo as WOODZ? What was the first step when you decided to create on your own?

Working as a solo [artist] burdens me a bit more because I have to handle everything alone, which I used to do with other members. I worked hard to make my songs express my color more distinctly. For my first step, I considered how I should brand and differentiate my name with others and what kind of artist I should be to prove myself to the public.

Tell us how your musical style developed. Since you originated from a more pop/electronic background, surely people were surprised that you took on a slower approach even compared to your previous solo music as Luizy. How did you find this R&B sound that you’re doing now? Were you always inclined with this genre from the beginning?

I’m not picky about the genre, I mostly do R&B but when it comes to producing. I experience various kinds of genres and do what I want at that time and express my own [style] in each and every different one. From the moment I got into music, I had interest in urban music and started to really enjoy it. I wasn't fond of it from the beginning; I grew up listening to Korean ballad but I started to appreciate [various styles of music] at some point.

Describe your creative process. How do your songs take form? Is there a special, specific method when it comes to creating a WOODZ track or are you more open to experimenting with new things?

I take down notes of verbal expressions and save melodies and there are times that they become keywords for me. I just write down and keep things that come to mind that I wish to express and use it when I'm in need of them. How my songs take form varies—there are cases that I work with a co-producer starting from sketches to sounds and sometimes I decide the colors of the song from the beginning and my co-producer gives me what he has. He values his time alone and so do I.

There are songs that form smoothly when we're together while on the other hand, there are songs that form smoothly when we combine our individual works as we erase unnecessary parts and fill up deficient parts.

Other than the song’s themes, you also took on a darker direction for your visuals in “Meaningless”. How do you decide on each visual to accompany the music? And how big of a role do you take when conceptualizing them?

I really thought extensively on whether I should take this darker direction or not. I care about the visuals, just like the fact that diverse elements create a better synergy effect than just one element itself; I think about every little thing and proceed by listening and discussing the music with [my team]. This took about half of the whole—there are times that I go, ‘I'll make this with this kind of song’ from the beginning or even before beginning, and sometimes I prioritize conceptualizing first and then start making songs.

What do you consider to be the most crucial element that makes your musical style truly your own? And with many artists being in R&B and hip-hop, how do you innovate the WOODZ sound and separate it from others who are singing the same genre?

To be honest, I couldn't find the answer until now. I don’t know well about myself humanly [enough], so it’s hard to conclude that a song is truly mine. From time to time, invisible things express me. Of course it would be a lie if I say that I don’t care about separating myself from others but I just try hard to express and show my true self.

You’re quite fashionable yourself. As someone who has worked with a lot of stylists over the years, how did your fashion sense develop? Does your style play a part in your artistry?

I try to put on the clothes that stylists like and I get interested in those styles naturally. It does matter to some extent. I think, ‘I want to dress up like this for this kind of song’ or ‘I wish I'd be shown this way, so how should I look for this type of track?’

What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

The best advice I've ever received is, "Do not hurry, you're already doing well.”

What is the message you want to express with your music? What is your goal as an artist?

I always want to express what I feel. I always want to deliver different messages through my experiences and emotions. By listening to my music, I wish people would feel comforted or even loved and be a part of them. I want to create songs that would make them feel that we're together.

Finally, what’s next for WOODZ? What are you working on next and what are your plans for the future?

There are lots of things that are yet in plan. Instead of telling people in advance, I'm planning to release them step by step when it's time in order to make it more interesting and enjoyable. There are a lot of things I can promise and I'll bring in better songs so please look forward to it.