When I think of Colde, my mind used to naturally drift to the quiet, introspective hours of the night. He is the artist who gave us iconic, late-night staples like WA-R-R and When Dawn Comes Again, tracks that feel tailor-made for solitary drives and midnight reflections. But as he steps into his latest era with his fifth EP, ICY BABY, the vibe is shifting in a surprising yet very welcome way.
We scored an exclusive interview with Colde about his new record where he revealed that the biggest departure from his past discography is that it carries “a direct emotional cry from that hasn’t really come through this clearly before.” The album’s emotional arc moves deliberately from a cool exterior toward a burning, honest core.
Exclusive Interview with Colde
Photo from Colde
Describing the vibe, he notes, “Since the album’s flow moves from a cool exterior toward a burning, honest core, if I had to pick a time of night, it would be from the quiet stillness of late night into the moment the sun starts to rise. You’ll get to experience everything from the cold, city-like feeling of the first track, all the way to the swelling, heated emotion of the final one as the sun comes up.”
That fiery energy didn’t come from nowhere though. While working on his explosive title track SHUT DA FXXKA AND GO, Colde found himself looking backward to find strength, returning to a song he rinsed out during his school years: Korean punk legends Crying Nut’s “말달리자” (Let’s Run).
Remembering that era, he shares, “The lyrics are simple and direct, but that passionate energy of just going for it gave me a lot of strength too.” If the stars align, he dreams of playing SHUT DA FXXKA AND GO for the members of Crying Nut and working together on something that hits with that exact same intensity.
That spirit of surprise and sonic experimentation pulses right from the jump in this album, by the way. Longtime fans will likely find themselves as surprised as I was, starting from the very first track, ICY. As Colde points out, “There’s a lot of new sonic experimentation packed into it, and this album shows a lot of sides of me that I haven’t really shown before.” Tracks like the futuristic LIFE IS A MOVIE and the striking BIG TALK also deliver a fun, jolting twist for anyone who thinks they have his sound entirely figured out.
Photo from Colde
At its heart, ICY BABY is anchored by a sprawling tapestry of modern youth. Rather than pinning the concept down to a single buzzword like freedom, chaos, or nostalgia, Colde wanted to capture stories that both his own past youth and the youth navigating today’s world could genuinely relate to.
Explaining his approach, he notes, “Rather than building this album around just one single idea of youth, I wanted to capture stories that both my own youth and the youth living today could genuinely relate to.”
Tracks like DRIPPY carry the mindset he had when he first introduced himself to the world through offonoff, while PULL UP captures an immature, youthful emotion, “acting cool about a breakup on the surface, but ultimately missing that past love with regret underneath.” Ultimately, it’s a collection that refuses to be boxed in, shifting effortlessly so that it feels less like Colde’s story and more like our own story.
Photo from Colde
That reflection on youth naturally bleeds into how his own definition has evolved over nearly a decade of making music. To Colde, youth isn’t just an early chapter of life. It’s a mindset defined by “the courage to do anything and become anything.”
Looking back at his journey from small indie beginnings to heading WAVY and taking his music on world tours, he reflects, “From where I started to where I am now, nearly ten years later, I’ve watched WAVY grow from small venues to world tours, and I’ve become a singer-songwriter now releasing his fifth EP under his own name.”
To bring this expansive sonic narrative to life, Colde approached production with an acute eye for world-building. Because ICY BABY is a record about looking back on his own youth, he focused on “weaving in my personal story more than ever before.”
On the visual front, he reunited with longtime music video collaborators, the IDIOTS, now working with powerhouses like ILLIT and CORTIS, for a classic, run-and-shoot style alongside trending designers like HAHYUNG IS HERE and sunburnkids for the artwork and profile shots.
Photo from Colde
Looking across his journey, if he could pass a single piece of advice down to the version of Colde who was just starting out and struggling to get his voice heard outside of major agencies and constantly torn between commercial appeal and pure artistry, his message to his past self would be simple, “It’s okay to be a little braver.”
Ultimately, ICY BABY isn’t here to lecture us. As Colde emphasizes, “ICY BABY isn’t advice. It’s my empathy and my support for your story.” Whether you’re cruising through the city lights or facing down an uncertain tomorrow, his final message to us is simple: even in anxious moments, all you need to do is keep believing in yourself and keep moving forward.
As for where that romance comes from? While piecing the album together and playing tracks for old friends, the process brought back memories of a very specific night from his earliest days of making music: right after buying his first car, driving around the neighborhood all night with friends, and listening to music under the dashboard lights. It’s that exact late-night magic that breathes life into ICY BABY, and Colde hopes that when you press play, it guides you right back to your own version of that midnight youth.
