P1Harmony Exude Newfound Confidence in New Mini-Album DUH!

by Tayah Fox

 

Following the conclusion of their P1ustage H: UTOP1A world tour, P1Harmony has burst back onto the scene with a bold new sound, look and feel. The group's eighth mini-album, DUH!, features six new songs, three of which the group composed themselves, unlocking a new era of P1Harmony. In this new chapter, the six-member group is bold in experimenting with different genres and sonic styles.

Thanks to a newfound confidence, the title track "DUH!" exudes a nonchalant cool vibe with punchy rap verses and a '90s hip-hop sound. Along with the gritty boom-bap title track, DUH! is a true blast from the past as the group continues to reinvent the nostalgic sounds and step into new musical territory. "Pretty Boy" succeeds "DUH!," increasing their levels of self-assurance with lyrics declaring their pretty boy status. Its staggered percussive rhythm and use of reggaeton allow the group to create a groovy yet charming vibe.

(Image courtesy of FNC)

Subsequently, the classic fusion of '90s hip-hop and R&B joins the party with the song "Murmur." On this track, P1Harmony stands triumphant against haters, proclaiming their inability to be messed with. The band then switches gears and ventures into EDM dance-pop territory with "Flashy," a tune led by an intense electric guitar accompanied by lyrics subtly flexing the group's extravagant nature.

Once "Flashy" ends, the booming bass and prominent saxophone of "Over and Over" begin. In this bouncy hip-hop song, P1Harmony motivates listeners to stand up when facing hardships and to never shrink back when times get tough. Finally, we reach the last song of this surefooted mini-album, "Work." Co-produced by the group's youngest member, JONGSEOB, "Work" is a hyper-pop piece full of boastful verses and electronic elements. Throughout this album, P1Harmony explodes with an abundance of self-belief, not only in their skills but in themselves. Sweety High caught up with the group to discuss their new era, the creation of this album and more. Read the interview below!

Sweety High: What made you want to dive into all these retro sounds for this album?

INTAK: We've never been very scared to try and experiment with new sounds, so that's always something that's on our list when we're creating new albums and new things sonically; especially this time, trying old school hip-hop, boom-bap sounds is something very different for us experimenting with that was very fun.

 

SH: What was the hardest part about making retro-inspired music still feel modern and unique to your style?

KEEHO: With this song ["DUH!"], I think it was, like you said, very difficult to take a genre that was already pre-existing and also so well known, and look at it from a different perspective and create a different world for it that is very P1Harmony. That's why I feel like, in the visual aspects— the music video, the concepts, the outfits and everything else, we brought this old school hip-hop vibe into something that's more P1harmony like, so definitely the visual aspects helped a lot in bringing that to life.

 

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SH: If you had to pick one track from this album as the theme song of your life right now, which would it be and why?

KEEHO: For me it would be "Work," I love those kinds of beats and I've been wanting to get into DJing for a long time and I think, sounds like house music, Brazilian funk and New Jersey—all these kinds of different electronic and fun sounds are adjacent to what work is.

JIUNG: I would say the title track "DUH," because "DUH" has a message of "we know we're cool, Duh" and I'm trying to think like that. I really want to learn that confidence and be able to love myself, and be able to put myself out there more confidently.

JONGSEOB: I would say "Work" because I composed that song, and we always work very hard, each album is very challenging with new genres and music, so I feel like this song expresses myself the best.

THEO: To be honest, I can't find a song that represents me at the moment.

SOUL: "DUH," because I love "DUH"

INTAK: "Pretty Boy" because I really love that genre these days.

 

SH: Can you share a memorable moment you experienced while working on this album?

JONGSEOB: When I composed "Work," during our European tour, I texted KEEHO, and he came to help me work on the lyrics. It was a very fun process.

INTAK: Also, during the European tour, I ended up writing lyrics on the plane, and I was thinking about what to write, and I saw the alcohol being served on the plane and became inspired by my surroundings.

 

SH: It's been a while since your last comeback. How do you feel you have grown artistically?

KEEHO: I think there's a lot more confidence, and this is the first time our album has three songs that we created ourselves: "Pretty Boy," "Work" and "Flashy." It was nerve-racking, but it was also time for us to have confidence in what sounds we wanted on our album. Now we have this confidence and want to express it in this album.

 

SH: In terms of writing and composing, were there any new approaches you explored for this album?

KEEHO: We did song camps! We worked with a lot of amazing songwriters. We would be there for about three hours, push out a song, listen to it and then revise it. We would take the songs on tour and revise them on tour as well, so it was a new approach because before we would create songs all by ourselves but working with songwriters was a fun new experience.

(Image courtesy of FNC)

 

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SH: How would you describe this era of P1Harmony in three words?

KEEHO: I'm going to say "Pink."

THEO: Duh.

INTAK: Confidence!

 

SH: If there's one thing you want fans to remember from this album, what would it be?

KEEHO: I think the most important thing about albums and promotion periods is just creating memories. We work really hard on an album, and the reason why we work so hard is to create new memories with our fans and be able to release new music and experience this music together. Years from now, I wish they would look back and say, "Duh was such a fun era, " and I wish they would, you know, always keep those memories dear to their hearts.

 

SH: What are you hoping to accomplish with this comeback?

SOUL: I want everyone to think that we're very cool artists, someone people can look up to.

 

SH: Is there anything else you'd like to share with your fans?

THEO: It's been eight months of creating this album, we took a lot of time creating it to make it a good album, so we hope our P1ECES enjoy this album and just experience this album and the new era with us.

(Image courtesy of FNC)

 

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