Colde is a true anomaly in the K-pop sphere. Born Kim Hee-su, the multi-hyphenate has lived many lives from both the artist and industry-shaper side. Debuting in the duo OFFONOFF in 2015, Colde has since created his own label, WAVY—hosting artists like the globally beloved indie band wave to earth—and has bridged artists from three rival powerhouse labels on his own solo records, uniting voices like RM of BTS (HYBE), Baekhyun of EXO (SM), and Lee Chan-hyuk of AKMU (YG) all within the same tracklist. Unlike his name, Colde provides warmth to his listeners on sentimental songs like “W-A-R-R” and “Star,” tracks that have become the soundtrack to many people’s lives.
However, three years after his last EP, Colde is ready to dip his toes into chilling sonic waters, delivering a sharper sound than ever before. Looking back on the youth he has lived through as the artist Colde and as the head of label WAVY, while simultaneously offering an anthem to the youth of today, ICY BABY is Colde’s heartfelt cheer to his listeners.
To properly unpack ICY BABY, Sweety High sat down with Colde for a special look at his 5th EP.
(Photo credit: WAVY)
Sweety High: While the [Love] series captured fragments of love, this album captures the duality of youth: reckless and cold, yet burning with warmth beneath the surface. If ICY BABY is a canvas, it’s painted with very distinct, contrasting textures. When you were structuring the tracklist, how did you design the album so those cold and warm elements balanced each other out?
Colde: How to connect the hot and cold elements in just the right way was something I thought a lot about, and I think you’ll feel it if you listen to the tracks as a full album. The early part is quite ICY. That’s true lyrically, and in the beat styles too, I borrowed from hip-hop, R&B and club tunes in a fitting way to build those results. Then, as you naturally move into the later tracks, you’ll feel more warmth in the musical style. The energy level also becomes quite bold and powerful. I designed the album so the music naturally shifts into a hotter style and closes out that way, so if you listen to it as a whole album, I think you’ll be able to catch this intention of mine and enjoy the music fully.
(Photo credit: WAVY)
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SH: How does “ICY” set the tone for the rest of the EP, and which parts of it best reveal a new side of you artistically?
Colde: “ICY” is like a declaration of intent. I think it’s a song that captures the coldest version of a musical style I’ve loved but haven’t shown very often. The mood is quite dark, too. Maybe because I’ve never really staged this level of darkness before, I think it could be a very intriguing page for the fans.
SH: Choosing DIMO REX for “LIFE IS A MOVIE” feels deeply intentional. Since your collaborator is currently transitioning from idol to artist (Bang Ye-dam, ex-TREASURE at YG), and you also transitioned from YG Entertainment’s sub-label HIGHGRND to creating your own label, WAVY, operating as an artist, producer, and entrepreneur—how did you and DIMO REX pull from your unique experiences to create this surreal-sounding cinematic track?
Colde: The collaboration between DIMO REX and Colde came less from any particular intention and more from my conviction about a result with the highest sensitivity, something very spontaneous. But we clearly do have things in common. The fact that we both took on a challenge, and so our lives were just like the title, like a movie. I think part of the answer is already inside the question. Rather than talking about it at length, I’d like to say: listen to the music and read the lyrics.
SH: Because the three title tracks represent such different moods (“PULL UP,” “LIFE IS A MOVIE” and “SHUT DA FXXKA AND GO”), how are you translating their distinct energies into the visual world of ICY BABY—whether through music videos or artistic direction?
Colde: I think the three songs have very clear characteristics. “SHUT DA FXXKA AND GO,” if you watch the music video, I think everyone will find it fun. Because it’s completely different from anything I’ve shown so far. Set in Bangkok in a run-and-gun style with insane editing, it’ll probably be fantastic. For “PULL UP,” I think you’ll have seen a music video that draws out the very essence of the version of me I’ve always done well. It’s the same musically. It’s a song that holds the story of unstable youth, which is what I do best. “LIFE IS A MOVIE” is still in progress, but I think it’s going to be quite intriguing. I’m still figuring out what kind of picture DIMO REX and I can create, but he’s such an energetic guy that I’m preparing for it with a lot of anticipation.
SH: Out of all the songs on ICY BABY, which one was the most fun to create? Any special behind-the-scenes stories?
Colde: Listen to “BIG TALK.” It’s a truly insane song. If you’ve seen the teaser video, I think you’ll have felt that energy. I gained a lot of energy myself during the recording process, and I was really happy thinking that we’d completed a song that can give so much energy to the fans and listeners. It’s maybe a song that feels like a real escape, and the featuring artists made me see this escape of mine not as an escape but as a vision. I was truly grateful. So it’s a song I really want to recommend to all of you.
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SH: Your tour routing spans everywhere from Latin America to Oceania, and your music clearly reflects that global perspective. Across all those regions, which song’s massive reception caught you completely off guard—and why do you think it translated so universally?
Colde: Rather than pointing to a specific song or region, I’m feeling an energy level from the global fans that’s different from Korea. They’re truly fantastic. They show their passion and their ability to enjoy music without any filter at the venues. I think that’s what makes me even more obsessed with global touring. I come back having gained something, an energy. It makes me miss them. It makes me love them.
(Photo credit: WAVY)
SH: What do you think are the most intense issues plaguing the global youth today, and how might your music help them navigate them?
Colde: I think it’s giving up. I’ve wanted to give up many times myself. But I wanted to say that I didn’t overcome those hard times because I was incredibly clever during the periods when I wanted to quit. I just shut up and tried. I was afraid, but I just did it anyway. The company might have gone under, but I believed in my artists. If there’s a point in the story I wanted to tell that could give inspiration to today’s youth, I think this might be it. “SHUT DA FXXKA AND GO”!
You can listen to ICY BABY in full here:
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