Play it in an Emergency: Interview with Socialclub Hyangwu
Written by Charity Lynn and Sean Yoo
Photos by Christian Mata
After the recent release of their single Bleeding Cherry, female-led punk band Socialclub Hyangwu prepare to drop their upcoming EP The Panic Tool. We spoke to members Jeon Dain (guitar/vocals), Young Ho (bass), Ga Won (drums), and Hyun Min (creative director) about their concept and expectations surrounding the release.
Socialclub Hyangwu formed in 2023, but have already found themselves to be one of Korea’s most anticipated live bands. Their roots lie in the urge to create a team that sings about feminist messages and personal experiences. “There are already a few great feminist bands in Korea,” Jeon Dain started, “but I had this idea of creating an all-women, feminism-driven band where I can talk about my own stories and anxieties, especially those that revolve around men.” That’s when she recruited the other members and began activities as Socialclub Hyangwu.
Feminism is still quite a taboo topic of discussion in South Korea. Hyun Min, the creative force behind the band, explained their visual strategy, “The concepts start with the songs. From there, I try to think about how we can best express the songs’ messages in a visual form on stage. Since feminist ideas seem ‘forbidden’ to talk about, there might be people who feel dissuaded from listening to us because of this. So, the key is to attract listeners with a cool visual presence without being fake about it. Our messages are real, after all, and we don’t want to be misunderstood.”
The Panic Tool is meant to be used exactly as its name implies– an emergency kit for those times when you need to release all your pent-up feelings. This is also where its secondary title, Play it in an Emergency, comes from. It includes five of their most energetic and upbeat tracks: The Stranger, Ophelia, Dusties, Home Sweet Home, and RIOT. “Some fans had mentioned before that, when they feel angry, they listen to our songs,” Hyun Min began, “so we made this EP to express our listeners’ anger on their behalf. We believe music has the power to help relieve those intense emotions, and we hope our songs resonate with fans and erase their loneliness.” Additionally, Jeon Dain and Ga Won hope the EP will comfort listeners and ease their pain.
Although the track order is a secret, they stated that The Stranger is the title song and Ophelia will be the closing song. “All of the songs were hand-picked and placed intentionally,” the band stated, “the first four songs are more powerful and intense. So, we placed Ophelia, a calmer song, at the end to kind of dissipate those angry feelings from earlier.” Hyun Min and Ga Won chose Ophelia as their favourite song for its atmosphere, emotion, and message. ForJeon Dain, she chose Home Sweet Home, as the lyrics carry a personal connection to her mother. Young Ho endearingly added that she likes The Stranger the most because she “totally slayed” the guitar solo.
Although Bleeding Cherry was a separate release, Jeon Dain wanted to share her thoughts about it as well. She stated, “The song is about the depression and self-harm felt by women in their 20s, how they feel that they cannot be loved even though they desire it. One of the messages is that you must first love yourself before you can be loved.”
The members draw inspiration from a variety of places as well. Jeon Dain highlighted local bands such as Beacon and Soumbalgwang for their powerful stage presence. Additionally, she mentioned Nirvana, Pixies, and The Stooges. “I even get inspiration from my own drawings,” she added, “there are times when I want to make a song based on the story from my illustrations.” For Young Ho, she looks to metal bands, like the Korean band Pia, and has even used effect pedals similar to what metal bands use to enhance her own sound.
Because this is their biggest release so far, the band put their best effort into recording. “We had the chance to record at Studio Sanbo,” Young Ho mentioned. “Although the recording schedule was physically and financially challenging, I was satisfied with the end results. There were a lot of spontaneous ideas that we had at the studio that ended up making it into the final recording.” Ga Won added, “I always felt overwhelmed with anxiety before recording. But we made a lot of bold choices that were fun to experience.”
Additionally, the band feels they have grown a lot since their formation. “One thing we are better at doing is giving each other proper feedback,” Yongho said. “Now that we have gained more experience, we feel more like a team.” Jeon Dain feels that recording this EP has helped them a lot, “Working with engineers and tackling this whole process was very new to us. Embracing these new experiences lets us grow more together.” Ga Won added, “So far, we have focused more on live shows than recording. I think the experience of playing on the stage has helped us polish our recorded music. I’m happy we can finally release our first EP as we are now.”
Hyun Min had the most to say about the band’s growth, “Because I don’t play on the stage, I can see the band through the eyes of the audience. In the beginning, I didn’t feel that they were very confident. But now, it’s totally different. Even though they only have three members on stage now, their sound has remained cohesive, and they show more confidence when they play.” She went on to point out that the band plans to go in a bit of a different direction after this EP is released, “The Panic Tool’s sound is more like the former Socialclub Hyangwu. We plan to use a different concept as a three-piece band in our future sound, so please look forward to it.”
The band are keen to share their dream collaborations, too. “I really want to work with some contemporary dancers,” Jeon Dain said, “or even play at a festival for women-fronted bands.” Similarly, Ga Won would like to collaborate with many fascinating female artists. Young Ho said she would like to work with Korean traditional musicians and added, “I also want to go on a world tour someday.” For Hyun Min, she thinks working with someone who is close to a wider audience, like an idol group, would be interesting.
The Panic Tool is set to release on July 31st. They plan to have two showcase performances–one in Seoul on August 23rd, and one in Busan on August 30th. You can stay up-to-date on the band’s activities through their Instagram (@socialclub_hyangwu).