For Splayit, youth isn’t just a theme—it’s something they’re actively living through together. As the five-member band begins their journey with SPLAY: CHAPTER 01, they’re stepping into a new chapter filled with new experiences, new memories and the excitement of discovering where music can take them.
While SPLAY: CHAPTER 01 marks the beginning of Splayit’s journey, it also captures the feelings and experiences that come with being young and chasing something together. Across three songs, the group gets to show different sides of themselves while creating something they’ll be able to look back on years from now.
We had the opportunity to chat with Splayit to talk about their debut, finding their identity as a band, the different instruments that come together in their music and what it means to create songs during a time they know will one day become memories. Read our full interview with Splayit below.
(Photo credit: LM ENTERTAINMENT, Kakao Entertainment)
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Sweety High: For anyone just discovering Splayit, can each of you introduce yourselves and tell us one thing about yourselves that you think people should know?
YOON CHAN: Hi, I’m YOON CHAN. I’m the vocalist and the leader of this group. I guess my strength is that I have a very refreshing voice. But I’m also able to cover various different genres as a vocalist.
KYUNG UK: Hi, I’m KYUNG UK. I’m the keyboardist and also the sub-vocalist of this group. I may look shy, and I sometimes get nervous off stage, but as soon as I get on stage, I’m able to just have a blast.
EUN BIN: Hi, I’m EUN BIN. I’m the drummer of this group. And my strength is that I have the strongest energy on stage.
AYDN: Hi, I’m AYDN. I’m the guitarist of the group. My biggest charm is the bright energy that I bring on stage. And I guess one of the strongest features of my face is my sharp nose.
EUN CHAN: Hi, I’m EUN CHAN. I’m the bassist of Splaylit. I’m the youngest, maknae, of the group. So I can bring out the cute charms on stage.
SH: All five of you play different instruments—what’s something you’ve learned to appreciate about an instrument you didn’t play yourself?
YOON CHAN: I’ve played guitar before, but I have never played a keyboard. I’ve learned that you can express different kinds of emotions through the keyboard and its sound, so I’d love to be able to learn how to play one day.
KYUNG UK: I’ve learned to play different instruments before. But as I watched EUN BIN play the drums, I realized that the drum is a great instrument for expressing different moods and vibes, depending on how the drummer feels that day. I’ve also realized how important the drum is in a band. One day, I would love to be able to learn how to play it.
EUN BIN: For me, it’s the keyboard. As a drummer, I lead the rhythm of the song, and I’m usually at the center of making sure that we’re on the right beat. But since I don’t have the opportunity to play the melody of any songs, I would love to have that opportunity.
AYDN: It’s the keyboard for me as well. I learned how to play different string instruments, but never a keyboard. I’ve seen KYUNG UK play different instrument sounds through the synthesizer with the keyboard, and I thought it was really fun how he can also play drums with the keyboard. Sometimes I felt a bit jealous, and I would love to learn how to play it too.
EUN CHAN: It’s electric guitar. I love how its sound totally takes over the stage and dominates it. I would love to learn how to do that.
SH: There are three songs on SPLAY: CHAPTER 01, but they each have a slightly different feeling. Which song feels the most like SPLAYIT to you right now?
YOON CHAN: I think it’s “Domino.” The lyrics are very fitting for where we are right now, and I think it’s also a great song that combines all of our different charms together. It’s almost picturesque how the different sounds came together to make this beautiful song.
KYUNG UK: It’s “Last bus.” It’s a song about youth, how we want to enjoy the moment of youth, and how we don’t really want to let go of this moment. I think years later, we’ll be able to look back on this moment and reminisce as we listen to this song.
EUN BIN: It’s “Domino.” I think it has a great vibe that suits us, and it’s just the perfect song from the start to the end.
AYDN: It’s “Last bus.” The lyrics are all about youth and the days of youth, and I think it captures that essence well. As for the musical instruments, it’s also a great song that shows our strength as instrument players.
EUN CHAN: It’s “Celebration.” This debut is a hard-earned opportunity for us, and I think it’s a great song to celebrate ourselves and also to comfort ourselves.
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SH: Again, congrats on your debut! I love that you guys mentioned youth. You’re making music about youth while you’re actually living through it. Does that ever feel strange—knowing that the things you’re singing about as “memories” are things you’re experiencing right now?
YOON CHAN: Definitely, the time that we work as a band, the five of us, and all the moments of it will be unforgettable memories when we look back on our days of youth. I think we will really miss all the time we spent together, and it will be a great memory for us.
KYUNG UK: I think when we look back years from now, we will definitely miss all of these moments because they will never come back. The fact that we have the music that we made together and the things that we did together as a record will be a great thing for us to look back on and reminisce about later in our lives. It will be almost like a photo album that we can look back on. Also, getting to spend so much time making memories with our fans will all be very precious moments.
EUN BIN: We are definitely living our days of youth right now, and we’re working hard every single day. I think the things that we do right now will be great memories that we will look back on years from now. Every time I think about this, it makes me so happy.
AYDN: As you’ve said, these are our days of youth, and they will never return in our lives. I’m grateful that I am spending my days of youth as a band member. I’m also grateful that we have fans by our side, sharing all these moments and recognizing all the hard work that we are putting in every day. It makes me keep going.
EUN CHAN: Considering our ages, it’s fitting to say that we are living our days of youth. Although we have different stories in our lives, we come together through music and the youthful music that we make. Every time I think about it, I think it’s pretty amazing.
SH: Splayit is just beginning, so there are probably things about yourselves as a band that you haven’t discovered yet. What are you most curious to find out?
YOON CHAN: So, for me, I didn’t always train to be a vocalist of a band. I was more used to just singing by myself. But as I continue to rehearse as a band, I’ve become more excited about the stages and the performances that we can put on together as a band. So, that’s what I’m most excited about.
KYUNG UK: So, right now, since we are young and we’re focusing more on the refreshing sound, I think as we grow up, we will be able to show a more mature side of us. Stronger, harder concepts and a harder sound as a band, too. I know YOON CHAN is capable of showing those different sounds as a vocalist, too. And we’re excited to show different sides and charms that we have as a band going forward.
EUN BIN: The whole reason why I started playing music was because I saw a drummer in a band, and I thought it was really cool. And so, since I am part of a band now, I am excited about the great stages that we will be able to hit in the future and the performances that we will put on as a band.
AYDN: So, I wouldn’t say that I had a lot of stage experience up to this point, and so sometimes that makes me a little nervous. But as we go on stage more often as a band, I hope to bring out more energy on stage after I have become more comfortable hitting the stage. So, that’s what I’m most excited about—showing more energy on stage.
EUN CHAN: So, right now, we’re singing about youth and the days of our youth. But as we grow older, I’m sure there will be emotions that we’ll be able to learn more about, emotions that we don’t know much about yet. And so, as we learn more about these emotions, I hope we will be able to bring out more depth in our music, too.
SH: You’re only at the very beginning of Splayit, but you’ve already created memories around SPLAY: CHAPTER 01. What’s one thing you hope fans will experience alongside you as the story continues?
YOON CHAN: Since we just debuted, we haven’t really had an opportunity to be featured in big festivals. But as we continue working as a band and put out more songs, I hope we’ll be able to have more opportunities to perform at festivals and on bigger stages, and also have concerts of our own so that we can engage and communicate more with our fans.
KYUNG UK: A lot of our fans actually got to know us through the show called Steal Heart Club, and they have been so supportive in seeing us grow through that show. As we continue to grow, as YOON CHAN said before, I hope they get to also see us mature more as artists. I hope to have more opportunities to engage with our fans.
EUN BIN: As previously mentioned, we haven’t had a lot of opportunities to put on performances at festivals yet, so we want to work hard and do those shows. I hope to have more opportunities to feel proud and happy after those shows.
AYDN: So far, we’ve had opportunities to perform on stages, but not on the streets, maybe busking as a band. I hope one of these days we will be able to interact with our fans at a much closer distance through these street performances.
EUN CHAN: Growing up, I always thought it was really cool how bands perform, and while they perform, fans are just jumping with them and having a great time. I always thought it was really cool. Now that we have become a band, I hope that we will be able to have those opportunities to really resonate with our fans and have a great time on stage with them.
(Photo credit: LM ENTERTAINMENT, Kakao Entertainment)
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SH: Before we wrap up. After getting to know each other through this process, what’s something about the five of you that you’re excited for people to discover over time?
YOON CHAN: For me, I only got to know how playful and affectionate KYUNG UK is. I really hope that our fans will also get an opportunity to find out those sides of KYUNG UK.
KYUNG UK: For me, I always thought that EUN CHAN was just a playful person since he is also the youngest in our group. But whenever we had almost an emotional breakdown, he was the person who took such good care of all of us and also stayed really strong. I realized how mature he is for his age. I hope that our fans will also get an opportunity to be comforted by him.
EUN BIN: We’re still young, and it’s still a bit awkward for us to show our charms to the fullest. But beyond the refreshing charms that we are showing right now as a young group, I hope we’ll get chances to show the cool, chic side of us through music.
AYDN: Before we started living together, I always thought that EUN BIN was a very quiet and almost cold person. But as we started living together, I realized that he is actually a really warm-hearted person and he’s fun to be around. I hope our fans will also get to know that side of EUN BIN.
EUN CHAN: As we started preparing to debut as a band, I realized how much our leader, YOON CHAN, and also AYDN were working. I hope that our fans will also realize that everything we show on stage is something that we really practiced and worked hard on. It’s not something that comes naturally, but it’s actually the result of a lot of hard work and effort.
Listen to SPLAY: CHAPTER 01 in full here:
For more insights on the artists who inspire us, click HERE to read our review of Keoni Usi’s “ShortLife.”
