[Exclusive Interview] Colde on ICY BABY "This Isn't Advice. It's My Empathy for Your Story"
Photo Cr. WAVY
Colde founder of independent label WAVY, has returned this August with his new EP "ICY BABY," an eight-track release.
At its core are three title tracks — "Shut Da Fxxka and Go," "Pull Up," and "Life Is a Movie (Feat. DIMO REX)" — which together trace a loose emotional arc from tough love to escapism to reflective resilience. The first is an anti-procrastination anthem rejecting fear and self-doubt in favor of action; the second flips that bravado into a party-hard bender that gradually reveals itself as heartbreak in disguise; and the third steps back into reflection, framing life as a film where pain becomes just another scene the narrator has already learned to move past.
Across the EP, Colde blends his signature English-Korean code-switching, blunt hooks, and tension between bravado and vulnerability to tell what feels like three chapters of the same story: falling, coping, and finding perspective.
Beneath the party language, drinking, and cinematic imagery, each track ultimately circles the same theme — resilience in the face of heartbreak, doubt, and exhaustion, and a refusal to be paralyzed by pain, whether that means defiance, distraction, or reframing. It's this throughline that makes "ICY BABY" feel less like a collection of singles and more like a cohesive emotional statement, setting the stage for the conversation that follows.
We spoke with Colde about the release of "ICY BABY" to get his insight into the album.
If you had to describe ICY BABY as a feeling rather than a genre, what feeling would you want listeners to walk away with?
If I had to describe this album as one feeling instead of a genre, I'd say it's "the urge to keep moving forward, even while feeling uneasy." ICY BABY isn't advice. It's my empathy, and my support, for your story. If there's one feeling I'd want listeners to walk away with, it's this: even in anxious, uncertain moments, all you need to do is keep believing in yourself and keep moving forward.
You’re known for creating a very distinct atmosphere in your music. What’s something outside of music—a movie, place, visual, fashion piece, food, or even a random everyday experience—that has recently inspired your creativity?
The most impressive input I've had recently was Pharrell's Louis Vuitton 27SS show. Waves crashing right in the middle of Paris, models walking across a sandy beach, and Pharrell's runway music filling the whole space above it, that show alone felt like it filled up every one of my senses. Lately I've been enjoying myself, continuing to take in inputs like that and thinking about how to translate them into my own direction and my own colors. A lot of that thinking is packed into this album too, so I hope you enjoy it as you listen.
You’ve built a career as a singer-songwriter and as a producer. When you’re working on your own music, which side tends to take control first: the artist or the producer?
This is something I think about a lot in my process, but when I'm making my own albums, I always seem to work from right in the middle of the two. As a singer-songwriter, I think about where I can express my character performance-wise and musically, and as a producer, I think about how to structure the album so it tells my story. I tend to think beyond just one individual song, factoring in what comes after this album's release too, and I only start actually shaping a song once I have that bigger picture in mind. If I had to pin it down, I'd say I sit exactly in the middle of those two roles.
You’ve worked with artists whose musical identities are very different from one another, from RM and Baekhyun to Lee Chan-hyuk and Miyeon. What do you look for in an artist before deciding that you want to create together?
I work with a lot of different artists, and while there are a lot of things I consider, the biggest criterion is probably whether that person's character creates real synergy alongside mine. In the end, this music comes out under my name too, so my top priority is never having it be purely Colde's character, but having that artist's individuality blend in naturally while still shaping my story. So when I'm choosing who to collaborate with, I think I ultimately end up asking myself whether their character can genuinely mesh with mine, and that's what I base the proposal on. Because it's precious music, both to me and to the artist I'm working with.
WAVY has become more than simply a label—it feels like an extension of your artistic identity. What do you hope people understand about the world or philosophy behind WAVY?
WAVY is the biggest pillar behind the kind of community I always envisioned. Back when I was at HIGHGRND, seeing musicians across so many different genres, Code Kunst, Hyukoh, The Black Skirts, each showing their own distinct charm while still holding onto one shared tone together, was such a great experience for me. When that label eventually disbanded, I felt a strong urge to build that same kind of movement myself.
But by the time I went solo, every label already had its own clear direction, so I decided to build that direction myself, and that's how WAVY came to be. I think those decisions and choices are what led to the larger wave WAVY has become today. WAVY isn't tied down to one genre or sound, but it shows its own kind of cool in each artist's own lane. I want WAVY to keep growing into Korea's one truly alternative label, through albums and shows going forward, and I hope listeners will ride that wave alongside us.
What is the best advice that you have received throughout your career?
Rather than advice I received, I'd like to talk about a promise I made to myself. When I first struck out on my own and started WAVY, there was a lot of anxiety and uncertainty, since it was all new to me. But I believed in myself and kept moving forward alongside WAVY's artists and staff, and I think that's what eventually built the big wave we have today. If I could give advice to that version of myself now, I'd say: "trust your choices, and keep going all the way through."
Your BLUEPRINT tour reached North America, Asia, Europe, Oceania, and Latin America. What did you learn about your international audience from seeing them experience your music in so many different places?
Touring and receiving so much love from fans, I realized that no matter the language, people could love my music and love me as an artist unconditionally. And I came to understand that energy is exactly what keeps pushing me forward. In fact, ICY BABY came out of wanting to channel that huge energy I received after the tour, and I want this album to send my heart back out to fans around the world once again.
If you could produce a song for any artist in the world—regardless of genre or language—who would you choose?
If I could produce for just one artist, I'd want to work with Pharrell Williams. He's been an artist who's had a huge influence on me since I was young, and even now, as a director, he keeps showing so many different sides of himself across so many fields, still giving me a lot of insight. I'd love to create a massive wave together with him, something that could give the world that same kind of insight.
If you had to create a three-song playlist that introduces someone to Colde the artist, which three songs would you choose and why?
Since I poured my whole heart into making ICY BABY, I'd build this playlist out of the album's three title tracks: "PULL UP," "LIFE IS A MOVIE," and "SHUT DA FXXKA AND GO."
PULL UP captures an immature, youthful kind of love, one that put on a brave, cheerful face but was ultimately left behind in regret. LIFE IS A MOVIE compares life's romantic yet chaotic moments to a film, carrying the attitude of pushing forward anyway. And SHUT DA FXXKA AND GO is my own encouragement, coming from someone who's walked through anxious, uncertain times, to other youth going through that same period right now.
I hope listeners can feel, through this playlist, both the youth I've lived through and the "ICY" character I carry today, along with the burning sincerity underneath it all.
Finally, do you have a message for the fans (Colde Blue) who support you?
Hello everyone, it's been a while. This new album, ICY BABY, is the first step of a journey toward my upcoming full-length album. I think the next chapter will build on the many sides I've shown in this album, and become the journey where I finally bring every side of Colde's identity together as one. I hope all of you listening around the world can recognize the emotions I felt through that process, and the story of pushing forward anyway to become who I am today. ICY BABY isn't just my story. It's all of ours. Thank you, always, for being with me on this journey.
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Read Also: [Album Review] COLDE Returns with a Lived in EP Album "ICY BABY"
