In The Garden Of Eden: How This Self-Taught Producer Is Crafting K-pop's New Sound

By Elizabeth de Luna


It’s March 24, 2019, and Warsaw feels like it’s about to explode. The small Brooklyn venue, housed in a humble Polish community center, shakes with the anticipation of over 1,000 people waiting for K-pop order ATEEZ to take the stage. It’s been much less than five months since the musical group debuted, although their popularity In the
U.S. Has already outgrown this space.


Up in the balcony, ATEEZ’s main producer Eden leans over the banister, watching because the crowd screams the Korean lyrics he wrote. At the end of the concert, ATEEZ’s leader and rapper Hongjoong points to Eden from the stage and calls him the “father” of the group’s music. The entire audience turns to look up and wave, and Eden bows gratefully. As soon as asked about that night eight months later, Eden confesses that he is still shocked that ATEEZ has noticed such a loving audience in the U.S. “I thought, ‘Where did they first hear this music? How have they listened to it to a point where they’ve memorized the lyrics?’ I was very surprised,” he tells MTV News.


The 31-year-old producer sits in his studio, a plush sanctuary in the trendy Sinsa neighborhood of Seoul. The only connection to the world outdoors is the faint chorus of shouting and laughter floating up from the street through a cracked window.


This is where all of ATEEZ’s music is produced. Once Eden and his crew moved in, they designed the space to feel like a second house. It’s padded with rugs and lit by a number of tinted lamps and clusters of vintage bulbs hanging overhead. A substantial crimson sectional sits across from a brick wall lined with albums bearing long, heartfelt notes from the artists with whom they collaborate. The scent of fresh plants mixes with smoke from two cigarettes that lie extinguished in an ashtray on a coffee table. Adjacent to this usual area are individual studios separated by frosted glass panel doors that are lit from within by the glow of computer screens. Before the archway a pair of plain black slippers await the return of their owner.


Eden wears a pristine black Stussy sweatshirt, vinyl sweatpants, crisp white socks, and Nikes. His dark hair frames his face; he has a habit of running his hand through it to push it up and out of his eyes, only for it to fall back down. Though his lyrics articulate a spectrum of visceral, aching emotions, Eden himself radiates meditative calm.


Not much is known about Eden outdoor of Korea. Even the generic specifics of his history as a producer and performer are diffused across the world wide web, some true and others false: he's a singer-songwriter under KQ Entertainment (true); he is now the primary producer for labelmate ATEEZ’s music (true); and he once worked for CUBE Entertainment (false, he only rented a studio in the building’s basement). Eden’s compositions will soon fill arenas 15 times the size of Warsaw once ATEEZ tours again in March, and he’s willing to set the record straight. Eden prepares a cup of coffee and takes a seat on an ottoman. His hair is in his eyes again, so he pushes it away as he says, “I’ll tell you whichever you wish to know.”


The Origin


Eden was place on Earth in 1988 as YongHwan Kim in Yeosu, South Korea. As early as he can remember, he was playing the piano. “It's sort of a given that every Korean child learns the piano,” Eden says, nevertheless he had organic flair for the musical instrument that singled him out from his peers. His admiration for virtuosos like Frédéric Chopin and Sergei Rachmaninoff led him to pursue a career in music. He wanted to be a singer, and then a composer, although the only fashion taught in his hometown was classical, which he mastered. To study pop, he required to go to the heart of Korea's bustling music industry: Seoul.


At 15, he moved alone to the country’s capital with the blessing and financial support of his family member. "I told [my parents] I was studying in some formal setting When I was actually learning in my room by myself, using the world wide web His education was simple: He purchased books about programming, listened to music, and explored different genres on the piano by ear.


“I was obsessed with the idea of becoming a real musician,” he scoffs, shaking his head.


In 2010, a music file he sent to a friend reached affiliates of Source Music, and he officially debuted as half of a producing unit called Eden Beatz. His handle references the biblical garden because he sought “to make music in the most organic, generic way." As a 22-year-old composer, he was an anomaly in South Korea; most are older, several twice his age. "That made me overconfident," he says with a chuckle.


The short-lived high was followed by years of financial and artsy struggle. Source Music was no longer able to allocate the resources to continue the Eden Beatz partnership, so he joined the military to accomplish his two years of government-mandated service. Upon returning to Source in 2013, he noticed that the organization was interested in taking his music down a different path than he envisioned, and so they parted ways amicably. For the initial time in his life, Eden had to sell his own music.


Between the ages of 25 and 29, he sold only a sole song. "I was confused," he recalls, brows furrowed. "I debuted at such a young age and thought, Am I a genius?" he says. Segment of the problem was that Eden didn’t wish concentrate on just one genre. “In the industry, my potential as a composer was perceived like this: Eden can do everything, although he’s not fantastic at anything."


And then, KQ Entertainment reached out. Minutes into a meal of Chinese eggplant, the company’s vice director recommended they work with each other. “Actually the wording he used was 'I like your eyes,’” Eden says, still bemused by the turn of phrase, which was likely meant to imply that a certain “it” factor was apparent in his gaze.


However Eden wasn’t in a location to question the provide, which felt like his “last hope.” He joined KQ and lived in his studio for the next two years, producing music for his solo debut. Throughout that time, things “radically began to change,” he says, shuffling his hands. At a party, Eden was introduced to singer-songwriter Hyun-sik Im of boy sort BTOB, and also singer and producer Seungyoun Cho, then-member of Chinese boy sort UNIQ. This encounter led to the deepest friendships of his life and then some of the most crucial collaborations of his career.


Eden, Cho, and two other producers formed a collective called Drinkcolor in 2016. He then produced two tracks for BTOB, 2016's “I’ll Be Your Man” and 2017's “Missing You,” releases that marked a “turning point” in his career. The songs were hits for the order and helped establish Eden as a versatile talent in the Korean pop industry.


In February 2017, at 29, Eden released his first single as a solo artist. “I’m Still,” a pop ballad about lost love, was well-received and the higher ups at KQ “gave a sigh of relief” that their bet on him had paid off. And then, one day, the vice director of KQ visited Eden’s studio with a bright-eyed teenager in a school uniform trailing in back of him. “They notified me, ‘He wants to be an idol who writes his own music,’ and invited me to teach him,” Eden says, smiling. “That was as soon as Hongjoong entered my life.”


"The Father of ATEEZ’s Music"


Hongjoong Kim was the initial member of ATEEZ to join KQ as a trainee. Eden, who'd no formal training, wasn’t immediately thrilled about becoming someone’s teacher. “There was a song of his that he brought to me, and I couldn't get a grasp on where to begin or what to work on with him. So I thought, I'll find a way to prepare him give up on music,” he says, snickering at his former ruthlessness. Eden showed the teen an online encyclopedia with 200 vocabulary words related to composing. “I instructed him to memorize all of these by the next day. I thought he wouldn't have the ability to do it and that, if he came back, I’d go, 'Hey, you can't do music,' and he would quit my lessons.”


Yet the timid kid surprised him. “He came back with all of the words memorized. He spent the full night doing it. He hadn’t slept at all." This effort thawed Eden’s remaining resistance, and Hongjoong became his first pupil. “What I rather praise about Hongjoong is that he was below average in each discipline if he began as a trainee. He wasn’t an organic dancer, and he couldn’t rap at all. However he sacrifices rest for practice. Watching him improve, I thought, I should think of Hongjoong as my younger self and help him grow.”


Today, Hongjoong claims his own space in Eden’s cozy studio. "He is aware what he needs to work on, and I give him support and direction. I don’t attempt to prepare him sound like me however, ironically, he is becoming more like me,” Eden notes. “His fashion of clothing, even the way he talks — he's not just copying the good things although also the things I don't like about myself.” He trails off, then says softly, “There are two people in my life that are like my sons: Hongjoong and Seungyoun Cho.” He emphasizes that they would process this data differently. "Seungyoun is a rebellious type. In the event you asked him, he wouldn’t really agree that he's my son. However Hongjoong embraced me. I never learned music in a formal setting from somebody else, so I didn’t wish to teach anyone. Yet if there was one individual that I had to teach music, to pass on what I know, it could be Hongjoong."


That mentorship has had a profound effect on Hongjoong, who felt that Eden respected even his earliest attempts at composing. "I was a high school student who didn’t have any significant achievement in the music industry, however he routinely listened to my ideas and helped me develop them," Hongjoong says. "That’s why I was able to grow and reach where I am right now Though he isn’t copying Eden’s style  he admits it’s inevitable that he plans to “probably begin resembling him,” given the quantity of time they spend together.


Eden has also warmed up to the seven other members of ATEEZ. There really are small moments throughout the group’s first reality show, a documentation of their pre-debut preparations, where his fondness for them is apparent. Once the members file into a recording studio, visibly nervous while holding lyric sheets for their debut single "Pirate King" with both hands, Eden stifles an affectionate chuckle. The recording starts and every member takes a turn in the booth to receive Eden’s warm feedback.


In these interactions, he comes off like the group’s older brother. “I can’t yell at them as soon as I’m on national TV," Eden jests. However his connection to the members is real. “I witnessed their whole journey. I was there as soon as when every of those joined the categorize and was a judge for their monthly evaluations. Mental resilience is an enormous piece of training to be an idol. Even if you've been told you’ll be a member of an audience, you don't know any time or if that categorize will debut. Everything is uncertain. I was there to give them mental support and suggestions, to be a mentor, to eat with them. That's how we built our relationship.”


However any time recording for ATEEZ’s first album started, the relationship shifted to be more professional as pressures increased. “If I don't produce good music, the impact is greater for the eight members than it is for me,” Eden notes. In Korea, where idols are trained from a young age and forgo schooling to debut, failed careers can leave performers with limited prospects. “The possibility of ATEEZ ending up like that makes me sleepless at night. I felt that pressure like a heavy weight. So whenever we were working on the opening album, I had very high expectations for them. While in that process, a number of the members shed some tears. I scolded them a bit.”


Although, Eden never intended to have such an enormous role in the group’s development. “Everyone was worried If I mentioned, ‘I will produce ATEEZ! Leave it to me!’” Eden says with a smirk. Despite his reputation as a well-rounded producer, he had become known for the signature ballad-like sound of his greatest hit to date, “Missing You.” No one at KQ was confident that he may should make music for what he calls “dancing idols.” Yet Eden had a plan. Through network connections and word-of-mouth, he gathered a team of talented producers to support him prove his creative vision to KQ. He called them Edenary.


Introducing Edenary


Edenary’s four members — Eden, Buddy, LEEZ, and Ollounder — all work in this studio. Eden rises from the ottoman and starts knocking on doors. Buddy isn’t in, however he manages to coax LEEZ and Ollounder from their rooms. “What do you need to do?” Eden asks them, as they look around shyly. “Come on, sit down.” Ollounder, who claims the pair of black slippers, runs to put on socks.


Buddy was Eden’s first recruit; the two had worked with each other on an assignment of solo collaborations called “EDEN_STARDUST.” LEEZ, who produces the brooding rock-pop of girl sort Dreamcatcher, followed. With each other the three of these completed all songs on ATEEZ’s first and second albums, Treasure Ep.1: All to Zero and Treasure Ep.2: Zero to One, in a range of a sole, stressful month in the spring of 2018. The group's potent combination of trap, pop, and hip-hop was a hit with KQ.


For ATEEZ’s third album, Treasure Ep.3: One to All, the team realized they required more help and pulled in Ollounder, their final member, who still works with LEEZ on Dreamcatcher’s music as piece of a trio called Super Bomb. ("He's probably working on Dreamcatcher now Eden says, chucking a thumb towards Ollounder’s open studio door.)


Ollounder’s name is a play on the Korean pronunciation of “All Rounder,” which is apt considering that each member of Edenary was chosen for their high level of skill across numerous disciplines. “What differentiates us is that the members of other teams generally have set roles, yet all four of us do everything: the tracks, lyrics and melodies," Eden explains. "It’s like having four of me.”


And their creative process doesn't leave much room for ego. They are bound by deep mutual respect and claim to have never had a disagreement. “What I’m grateful for is that they believe in me,” Eden says. Their working relationship is unusual in an industry where entertainment firms fill albums with songs cherry-picked from across dozens of different composers. By contrast, Edenary has been involved in ATEEZ’s music and identity from the starting. That’s as the members of Edenary aren’t composers; they’re producers. Eden explains the difference: A composer is “someone who makes music and sells it to someone else," whereas a producer “sets the structure for a group’s entire creative concept with their music, envisioning the piece’s visuals, creative, and choreography, and working with other teams to bring that vision into focus."


They’ve maintained that identity across a sizable body of work, spanning five EPs and two albums in just over per year. Using the confident "Pirate King" as their guide, the team visualizes ATEEZ’s story “like scenes from a movie,” creating music themed around exploration, teamwork, and the search for symbolic treasure. "If you think ATEEZ’s universe is like a movie, we’re probably 15 minutes in now, in terms of the timeline,” Eden hints.


Musically, the group’s sound pulls from far-reaching influences. “K-pop as a genre is like a total art that encompasses all music. It's very flexible,” says Eden. “We desire to combine several genres, as a substitute opposed to focusing on and identifying with a solitary one. In the event you listen to the work we’ve released for now, you could visualize our try to mix in sources and sounds from across the world — from the U.S., India, and Brazil, to various countries in Africa." LEEZ adds, “It’s a little rock, a little hip-hop, a little bit of everything.”


As Eden keeps it up and continues to release music solo and through his ongoing collaborative series EDEN STARDUST, Edenary has begun producing other assignments outdoor of ATEEZ. The same day that ATEEZ’s fourth Treasure series EP Action to Answer dropped, Korean artist YounHa released "Winter Flower," a group effort with RM of BTS. Produced by Edenary, the song rocketed to the top of the charts. Later that week, ATEEZ’s Action to Answer bows at No. 5 on Billboard's World Albums chart.


as soon as I first met Eden, he didn’t have any hit singles," Hongjoong says. Watching his mentor work towards his current success taught Hongjoong the value of fortitude and humility. “He habitually notified me, ‘Be humble nevertheless noble,’” the rapper says, smiling. Since meeting Hongjoong, Eden’s mentorship has matured to mirror that opinions. “During my 20s, I thought mentoring was about changing someone by transferring knowledge to them,” he says. “Now I concentrate on supporting an individual’s discovery of themselves. I visualize our relationship moving from a mentorship towards a friendship."