They are the new kids on the block, who delightfully call themselves “Catch The Young”. The quintet includes Sani, Jungmo  Kihoon  Namhyun Junyong are back with their second mini-album Catch The Young: Fragments of Odyssey. The album comes five months after their debut in November 2023 with their first mini album, Catch The Young: Fragments of Youth. Their music a vibrant blend of retro, rock and pop heralds a new sound in the music scene.

As the rock band embarks on their musical voyage, they spoke to Puja Talwar on their latest album, musical influences and love for Bollywood movies, like Three Idiots and Rocky Handsome.

Many Congratulations on Fragments Of Odyssey. This is your second mini album and brings in an innovative blend of styles, there is a bit of retro, pop and, gives the 80’s vibe. How did this come about?

Sani: This is our second mini album and a continuation of Fragments of Youth, which was our debut. While Fragments of Youth focussed on the beginning of “Catch The Young” our band, and the idea of youth itself. With our second album Fragments of Odyssey, we wanted to focus on the journey and adventure, as well as how we had grown. These were the aspects we wanted to highlight in our songs, and as we worked on the songs, we decided to develop them around the concept of an “Odyssey”.

How challenging was it as you have tried out new sounds, and created a new blend of music? 

Kihoon: There are some challenges, as our main focus has always been to create something pleasing to the ears as well as to the eyes. That apart, we need to build our team colour and sound. We try to incorporate individual ideas from each member, as well as collective ideas for the team. We strike a balance between individual ideas and team ideas and that can be a bit challenging from time to time. But whenever we put out something, it has to be something we are proud of. That apart when the listeners tune in, they should also think that our music is worth listening to.

You have an innovative band name” Catch The Young” How did this come about, is there a story behind it?

Sani: We started as “The Young”, because we wanted to convey that our music can influence people, with energy and sound, and they would enjoy it. We were active with “The Young “before our debut but wanted to add another element to that name, and that’s when we decided to use “Catch”. It was to highlight that the audience can catch us, our youth as well as theirs through our music. It was our way of communicating to the listener that they could keep coming back for our music and our performances, and together we embarked on a journey.

Five boys making music so how does it work, do you all have defined roles or does everyone take on a bit of everything?

Sani: When we make music together it’s like drawing a big picture and then adding individual elements to it. The perk of being in a band is that you can always correct yourself while playing together, and making adjustments on the spot, as we work along.

This is your second album within five months of your debut, how have you grown as an artist? From trainees to rookies, anything you miss about training days?

Namhyun: We have grown as artists since we made our debut. The other aspects where I see an improvement are in expressing ourselves as well as developing our skills as a band, and being a lot more natural in front of the camera. What I miss about being a trainee, is that when we were training, training was the main focus, and we had plenty of time to practice and work on ourselves. 

Kihoon: The difference I have seen is that as trainees one is still very young and a bit immature in a refreshing sort of way. That somehow carries when you make your debut. One is still new to everything, and learning a lot of things as well. But, now with our second album, we are working on how to be seen by the public and getting used to that. I agree with Namhyun, as trainees we have a lot of practice time, now being busy and given our schedules it gets tough, and I remember a senior artist telling us that, we would miss practice sessions. But, my trainee days were challenging, so I don’t particularly miss them a lot.

As a new boy band in this very competitive space what do you feel is your biggest challenge, and what makes you different from the many bands making their debut?

Sani: What we take up as a challenge is writing and playing our music when we are performing. The artistic challenge of creating something new, every time we release new music is an aspect we are all working on. What makes us different from the rest, is we are also focussing on the performance not just the band play, which I think is a great strength. We also self-write and produce all our songs, which showcase our distinct identity as a group.

With K-pop becoming a global phenomenon what do you think makes it a special genre?

Sani: One of the biggest strengths of K-pop is the scale of grandness. It’s visually very appealing and satisfying. As we discuss the phenomenon of its global popularity, I would say beyond the music it’s visually very stimulating, drawing the audience in with its energy and music. It’s the overall experience which leaves an everlasting memory, and as a K-pop band, we too want to create these unforgettable memories with our performances.

What have been your musical influences and is there any particular band/ group you dream to collaborate with?

Sani: When we were trainees we used to emulate several Western bands to enhance our skills. We would play covers of Red Hot Chilli Peppers, One OK Rock, 1975 since their sounds were different. Regarding our collaboration wish list, it would be fun, and honourable to be able to collaborate with other K-pop bands like Xdinary Heroes, that would be exciting.

India loves K Pop are you familiar with Indian films, Food and can we expect you to Perform in India?

Sani: I enjoyed watching Three Idiots, which is very popular. Overall I love watching Bollywood films, it’s filled with music and colour, and I try to look up new Bollywood films whenever I want to watch something fun and interesting. I enjoyed watching the Indian version of Man From Nowhere, “ Rocky Handsome”. We love Indian food and are always looking for new spots to try Indian cuisine.