Say their name: KAVE.

Korean rock band KAVE (Kings Always have Veiled Egos) is unstoppable. The creativity, musical ingenuity, and diversity just kept flowing from the band that in just four months after making an official debut in July with the debut EP Flight of Ideas, KAVE is already back with its second mini-album Say My Name.

The five-piece rock band is composed of Gaho (vocals), Kekinu (drums), Jisang (guitar), Hyun (piano, keyboard), and Ownr (keyboard, DJ). All exceptionally talented, they had a grand time coming out with these two self-produced albums. 

KAVE’s sophomore effort Say My Name includes killer and catchy tracks "Achoo," "Stone," "You," "Umm Umm Umm," "Follow Me," "Say My Name," and "Blue." Like the first EP, Say My Name showcases the band’s wide range of musicality and genre-bending capabilities. Coinciding with this is the release of the band’s first-ever physical album Acting Out which combines the two EPs so fans can also look forward to the initially released tracks "Venom," "Legend," "Hurricane," "Dangerous," "Avant," "Crazy Crazy," and "Die For U."

To celebrate and mark the release of Say My Name, KAVE had a conversation with Metro.Style to talk about the EP’s theme, behind-the-scene stories, and what Filipino fans can look forward to from the band.

First off, what kind of music did KAVE set out to do when it debuted and how has their sound evolved from first working together even before the official debut?

“We have quite an unusual combination of instruments compared to a typical band. For instance, we do not have a bassist in our group. Instead of a bassist, we have a DJ—Ownr. Ownr is contributing to the heavy, low bass sounds. In addition, our keyboard player tries to use the upright piano which shows that we consider how we appear on stage. We tried to create music that is both great for performing and streaming. I hope we can be perceived as a performance bad. I guess that is the distinctive feature of KAVE,” lead vocalist Gaho explains.

KAVE at their first solo concert in Seoul, South Korea

“As for the difference in our music [and how we evolved], I can’t say that our musical pursuits have changed. We try to showcase various genres of music, with each member bringing something unique to the table,” the singer-songwriter adds.

Say My Name is heavily considered a prequel to KAVE’s debut EP Flight of Ideas and the band gamely explained the correlation between the two powerful EPs. KAVE’s keyboardist Hyun took the time to explain the concept.

“First of all, our debut EP Flight of Ideas has this specific theme that is Venom and Consciousness—this identity inside you. With Say My Name, we tried to describe how that identity manifested and actually grew inside you. We developed those two with specific presentations, lyrics, or song development. I guess that is the simplest explanation for this album,” keyboardist Hyun shares.

The band’s confidence in their brand of music was evident in that they released the EP with double title tracks: "You" and "Stone." Asked what made those two songs special, KAVE actually decided to release those two title tracks in a surprisingly pragmatic and non-dramatic way.

“The fact is, we had more candidates for our title track and we reviewed them all very cautiously. The process of producing 'You' and 'Stone' was concise and intuitive. For example, Gaho was humming the melody for 'Stone' in a car, and then arranging it took one or two days. Just like that, it was very concise and quick. And of course, it could be a cliché, but they got the most votes among our members. That’s how they became our title tracks,” Hyun says. Gaho seconded, adding that B-side tracks were also considered candidates for the title track.

Gaho, who gained fame as an OST singer-songwriter for hit K-Dramas like Itaewon Class and Start Up, generously shared how he usually gets inspired to compose and write songs.

“When I write songs and lyrics, I consider the image and color of KAVE as a team. I consider those when I compose songs and write lyrics. I believe that our color is dark and powerful so I often think of my work as if I am writing a novel and gain inspiration and ideas from that process,” Gaho starts, his passion for the craft clearly showing.

“[For example], the word ‘Venom’ itself is very fantasy-like since it’s an infectious alien. Furthermore, the composition of our music is very splendid. Writing lyrics with those images is just like writing a novel. So, if you listen to the songs on 'Say My Name,' you could find novel-like narratives. It has features from sci-fi that’s why I consider us to be a performance-based team. You have to see us play while listening to our music to understand our lyrics fully,” he continues, explaining the band’s inspiration.

Both Gaho and Hyun shared that they usually get inspiration from novels, movies, and sci-fi.

Interestingly, while the songs from the EP give off a sci-fi, powerful yet groovy and other-worldly feel to it, the songs were actually all made at home. Call it “homemade” if you will.

“Actually, we all worked on this music individually at our respective homes and recorded all six tracks at our place. I worked on the songs entirely in my room. We do have a studio near our company but we all prefer to work from home and gather at the end to wrap things up. I guess that’s an interesting story behind this EP,” Gaho smiles.

While all the members dutifully worked on the music and produced the albums, KAVE as an artist is also hands-on and very much involved in the creation of the music videos.

“Actually, Gaho is involved in a great portion of our music videos. For example, he participated in storyboarding, the angle of the camera shooting, and participated in the production meeting with the director,” Hyun volunteers the info, glancing at Gaho to show his appreciation.

“I also participated in editing. But in terms of promotions, those are handled by our company,” Gaho confirms.

We asked the members which song from Say My Name resonated with them the most and they were quick to share their thoughts on this.

“For me, it’s 'Umm Umm Umm' because it was very challenging. The recording of the piano required very classical and technical skills. I was not used to it but I tried very hard. It was very fun to record the piano for that song. 'Say My Name' used to be my favorite,” Hyun says.

Jisang, on the other hand, names 'Say My Name' as his favorite.

“It’s a song that we revised multiple times during the final stage. It has changed compared to our original vision. Since I am really into sound engineering and this is the first album that I mixed, it means a lot to me. The process has helped me to learn how the sounds that I make change after it gets into mastering. I was also very experimental with my guitar by changing the position of the microphones. It was the album that has given me a lot of lessons and 'Say My Name' is the most memorable song to me among those. The original song lacked the vibe of band music so we tried to include a more realistic drum sound and those kinds of stuff into it. We did it all together, asking each other’s opinions,” Jisang thoughtfully shares.

Kekinu chose to answer the question in English to get his point across.

“I think I like the last number known as 'Blue.’ Because I like ambient sound and narrative sound and so I feel like complex sympathy when I listen to the song 'Blue.' I like it,” Kekinu notes.

Ownr picked Kekinu’s song choice too and echoed his appreciation for it.

“I think I am going to go with 'Blue' too because the other songs were so hard to rearrange with these guys. The other songs were so challenging, so hard for sound-making, and everything. But 'Blue' was easier than the other songs because it was more sentimental and emotional rather than being technical,” Ownr declares.

Outside of KAVE, the members are also busy with other things and so it’s a given that each member would have their own kind of creativity that needs to be expressed. When creative conflicts arise, what kind of team dynamics come into play for KAVE?

“These guys don’t talk,” Gaho says and the band laughs.

“Honestly, when they’re mad, I don’t even know when they are. They are very quiet so we get over things very smoothly,” Gaho adds.

“We follow our leader with trust,” Kekinu offers.

“Actually, I was very stubborn in the beginning but we decided to pick the chief producer for each song so we follow the opinions of the producer of each song very peacefully,” Hyun explains.

Metro.Style asked KAVE what fans and listeners can look forward to and the band was just as excited to share some updates, especially to Filipino fans.

“We needed a second EP to have our concert. With Say My Name, we could add more songs to our setlist. We have about ten songs so we finally have the setlist. We are planning to have a concert in Korea and we are also looking forward to touring so we are preparing very diligently and we are practicing together every day. You never know when we will be going abroad or getting called out of nowhere. I think you can look forward to our concerts. Shout out to Manila!” Gaho exclaims.

“We’ve already been to Manila before so it will be a comeback,” Hyun says, referring to the Hallyuween 2022 music festival held at MOA Arena where they shared the same stage with CL, Epik High, P-Pop group BGYO, KARD, Pentagon and more.

To conclude the conversation, Metro.Style asked KAVE about their ultimate goal as a band.

“We want to buy a large plot of land and set up a new country. It might sound weird but what I mean with that is to have a really great concert in this huge empty land that’s so significantly and characteristically KAVE—that would be the dream,” Gaho shares the band’s ambition with cool confidence. And if you’ve heard all their songs from both EPs, it sums up their sound: powerful and with such cool aplomb.

KAVE’s second EP Say My Name is out now and available for streaming at leading music platforms. 

Follow KAVE on their official social media accounts:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kave_official_/

X / Twitter: https://x.com/kave_official_

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KAVE_Official

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@kave_official__

Stay tuned for our video interview with KAVE, soon on Metro.Style!

Photos from @kave_official_