The Book Of DAY6 Is Still Being Written

It's hard to describe the intimacy of a DAY6 show up until you could visualize it with your own eyes. It's a special sort of alchemy, one that the fivesome from South Korea have spent years perfecting — from their days busking in the streets of Seoul to this very moment, on stage in a New York City theater playing a stripped-down version of their debut song "Congratulations" for 2,000 fans. Nevertheless the real magic is captured in the way their fans, called My Day, take the lead in singing the Korean song, a sea of diverse faces becoming a singular chorus.


As they play their instruments — leader Sungjin on acoustic guitar; Young K on bass; charismatic Dowoon at the drums; and guitarist Jae and keyboardist Wonpil standing idly by, encouraging the crowd — the looks on their faces are unmistakable, a mix of mirth and amazement. For an audience that wants to "sing about every moment in life," then surely this moment feels worthy of its own melody.


"I think that I'm actually not a singer although you guys are the singers," honey-voiced Wonpil says to the crowd, somewhere between earnestness and playfulness. With Wonpil, it's some days hard to tell.


The day before their string of New York shows, I meet the members of DAY6 for an early breakfast in NoHo, just a block away from where eager fans have already begun lining up for their next stop at BUILD Studio. Although here in a quiet cafe on Lafayette Street, the only sound that can be heard is drummer Dowoon's baritone laugh. "I was told to tell you that this is your spoon, for your yogurt," I tell him any time we sit down. "Thank you!" He says with a broad smile, clutching the utensil to his chest.


Dowoon's charm is his affable nature. ("I wish to be kind to all people," he later says.) Sungjin is wildly expressive and witty; his greatest strength, he says, is that he's "not bound to regular limitations." Wonpil speaks with quiet, cautious intention, yet he includes a positive disposition — plus a blinding smile. He's the best foil to oldest member Jae's occasional cynicism. Raised in Los Angeles, the guitarist moved to Korea seven years back, and he's still adjusting. "I've come to a point where I've realized I don't know what words are in English language anymore, I know them in Korean," he says. "So I'm not good at Korean or English Young K, who spent his adolescent years in Canada, can understand Jae's bilingual struggle. The striking bassist has recently taken up cooking as a new creative outlet. ("Because I never get evaluated," he jokes.)


DAY6 members from left to right: Sungjin, Dowoon, Jae, Wonpil, and Young K


We traverse their four-year discography over lemon pancakes and iced Americanos. Only Young K chooses something savory — a ratatouille omelette, chosen in part due to the Pixar movie — to indulge in throughout our conversation. Their latest release, The Book of Us: Gravity, marks a fresh page for DAY6. It's a prismatic segment of work about connection — both the connection you share with others and the connection you have with yourself. It's somehow bright and wistful, a mix of genres, sounds, sentimentalism. And yes it proves that DAY6 can't forge ahead without reflecting on where they've been.


Chapter 1: The Turning Point


DAY6 debuted in September 2015 as a sextet: guitarists Sungjin and Jae, keyboardist Junhyeok, bassist Young K, Wonpil on the synthesizer, and drummer Dowoon. As JYP Entertainment's first-ever musical group, DAY6's debut EP The Day — led by the raw power ballad "Congratulations," which Sungjin still calls their "best" — showcased their vocal ability and talent for writing tender lyrics.


They are, right considering that, a crowd of idol-trained vocalists. At the time of their debut, Sungjin, Young K, and Wonpil had each trained with JYP for over five years; Jae and Junhyeok for two; and youngest member Dowoon for much less than a year.


Ask Dowoon if he had any concerns joining a customary group's line-up just three months before their debut, and he'll kindly balk at the advice. It's not in his nature to worry. Although that doesn't mean he was totally void of insecurities. "I'm not a singer, and I'm not a good songwriter, so I was wondering about that," he says in English, surprising even himself. ("Are you from America?" Young K jokes from across the table.)


"I'm doing my best. I'm still not there," Dowoon says of his vocal training. Yet at the same time," Young K adds, "his part — which is playing drum — he's actually doing his best. So it's more than enough."


There's a comfortable camaraderie among the members of DAY6, one that Wonpil remarks has been there since their debut. "Because we trained [together] for so long," he says quietly, "we're like neighborhood companions who grew up with each other. Even Dowoon felt like he had been there the full time." Their last serious argument was in early 2017 (over the acoustic instrumentation for a radio performance; how boring), nevertheless Sungjin says the musical group has a "very strict majority rules" policy. "Once we have an argument, we resolve it — nevertheless we generally do it over ice cream."


As a body of work, The Day sits comfortably between DAY6's two magnetic poles. It begins with "Freely," an energetic pop-rock ode to living in the moment — a song that not only lays the structure for later tracks like "Dance Dance" and "Best Part" nevertheless also closes out the Gravity Tour setlist. And yes it ends with "Colors," a broody power ballad about unrequited love and the subsequent heartbreak.


Sungjin calls the EP's release a turning point. "The dream that I had lived for in that moment became a reality," he says, while cautiously dissecting his croissant. For Wonpil, it reminds him of his youth. Any time I think of [The Day], I remember the pure passion that we had," Wonpil says.


And right now that passion can be seen in the faces of fans who sing along to "Congratulations" with such fond reverence. "You have hella interviews any time as soon as you first debut, and so they routinely ask, 'What do you guys look forward to?'" Jae says. "And that was our answer: As soon as we point to the crowd and so they sing our song."


As trainees, Young K recalls how they would crowd around a laptop to watch live performances from groups they fancied like Coldplay. "There's habitually a session where each person sings for you, and they're not even holding a mic. We were dreaming about it, and right now we're having that. So we're very honored."


Chapter 2: Digging Deeper


For Korean artists the initial comeback (or release) right after a debut is essential in building momentum. Nevertheless for DAY6, their second EP Daydream served as a reintroduction. A month prior to its release, member Junhyeok left the sort and JYP due to personal reasons. DAY6 were right now a quintet, with Wonpil taking on the role of keyboardist.


The sudden announcement cast a shadow over the release of their second single, "Letting Go." Written by Young K and Wonpil, the sentimental rock ballad recounts the painful choice to end a hollow relationship. It unpacks heavy emotions with somber harmonies and dynamic chords. "In the second album we talk about more intricate emotions and situations," Young K says. Jae adds, "It was us wanting to sound a little bit more mature."


"Wish" is one such song that finds DAY6 growing more introspective and examining their own loneliness over heavy guitar riffs. "I wish I was happier," Sungjin, who co-wrote the song with Young K and Wonpil, sings on the chorus. "Every day my wish is the same."


Any time As soon as I ask Sungjin if he still feels this way, he smiles. "We get happier as time progresses," he says. "I'm habitually looking for new adventures. I feel like I experience more of these right now, in the present, than I did in the past."


It's their ability to open up about these worries and insecurities, to reveal the ugly parts of themselves, that has endeared DAY6's music to their fans. And Daydream was a step toward this direction, a confessional of sorts.


while in our first album, we wanted to friend with our JYP label or with a mainstream audience, so we had a more mainstream sound, or a lighter tone, overall Jae says. However I think with our second album we sort of figured, 'You know what? We're here. We're a musical group. Might as well do what we like to do.' So we pursued a little bit more of our own interests. And I guess our music got a little deeper because of that. I feel that eventually segued into the Every DAY6 project, where we just went fully with what we wanted."


Chapter 3: Shedding


OK, so maybe that's a slight oversimplification of the Every DAY6 project. On the surface, the premise was every musician's dream (or nightmare): DAY6 released a new single, music video, along with a b-side — plus performed them live — each month for the entirety of 2017. (As Jae later admits, "It wasn't really like we had a choice.")


The sort went into the ambitious project thinking that they could use plenty of their unreleased material; they had just written "a bunch" of songs for their new album, and their agency didn't hope to waste them as b-side tracks. So Every DAY6 was a novel way to showcase their new material. "We were excited because half the work was already done, however we were also scared as the other half wasn't fully done," Jae says.


There was only one problem: The agency wanted different lead singles, which meant Young K, the group's main lyricist, had to get to work.


"Writing lyrics is writing down a story every time," he says. "So we run into a phase where we go deeper and deeper into who we are because we required to decide: What are we going to talk about, and why are we going to talk about it? Group in attempt to do that, we required to know ourselves better."


To do that, Young K trim his idol veneer. "Before Every DAY6, or maybe up until the early segment of the Every Day6 project, I still had that packaging," he says. "I still wanted to look cooler, I wanted to write it better. However I feel like going through that phase, I took out more of that unnecessary clothing and got more trustworthy with words more simple."


and yes it wasn't just the bassist who felt the lasting effects of such a tedious creative task to undertake. "Before Every DAY6, I was lazy," Sungjin jokes. It also helped Jae, who admittedly gets indoors his own head more routinely than not, relax. "There's no time to worry," he says. "You just have to keep moving on."


Each member has their own way in which they deal with feeling creatively blocked. Sungjin "breaks up" with music. "I don't like working in a state where I don't know what to do, so At first I have to admit that I'm in a slump, and then take a break. Right after three days or a week, everything comes back to me."


Wonpil prefers to be alone. He assesses the scenario rationally: "I ask myself, 'Why am I feeling this way?' And then I find a way to break out of it. I like to think positively." Jae, on the other hand, turns toward the internet; halfway via Every DAY6 project, he launched his JaeSix channel on YouTube.


Meanwhile, Young K goes outdoor. "I'm the only person that goes out as soon as I'm in a writer's block," he says. "I need that travel time. It doesn't have to be somewhere far. It could be nearby. Just not in the same place that I used to be."


By the end of the Every DAY6 project, the order had released two full-length albums (Sunrise and Moonrise), and expanded their versatile discography with heart-racing anthems mention Wow," "Pouring"), powerful rock ballads ("I Smile," "I Need Somebody"), earnest love songs ("I Like You," "Man in a Movie"), and one relaxing declaration of acceptance that aptly acts because the assignments sentimental closer ("I'll Try").


Chapter 4: Balance 


DAY6 eventually hit their "burn-out phase" with Shoot Me: Youth Part 1. Three years of constant writing had taken a toll on the sort and resulted in repetitive melodies and songs that all began to sound the same. To break out of old habits, the sort experimented with new sounds and took their time doing their homework, listening to and studying other genres. The result, released six months soon following the Every DAY6 project concluded, was Youth — a two-part series that manifested in two starkly different singles: the dark and explosive "Shoot Me" and the 80s-infused, synth-pop song "Days Gone By."


"We're routinely looking for a new sound," Jae says. "One, because we like music, and we're routinely looking for something new to do. And two, categorize in attempt to get confirmation from the corporation to come back with a song, they require to feel something fresh in it too."


"Shoot Me" was "a little bit stronger as well as a little more concert-oriented," he adds. It's anthemic without being basic, its electronic influences adding a required edge to DAY6's particular brand of melancholy. "We're just sad people," Jae jokes any time asked why so several of their lead singles are about heartbreak. "We do write bright songs also Young K says. "It's just the ones that get confirmed as title songs happen to be very, very sad... I think the organization is attempting to either mention, 'You're sad people and also you have got to identify that or we're just better with singing and writing sadder songs."


By contrast, the synth-heavy "Days Gone By," released in December 2018, is sonically warm and nostalgic. "We wanted to bring the 70s and 80s vibes that we were feeling and studying into our fashion Sungjin says. To be clear, it's still about heartbreak; the lyrics speak to the halcyon days of a past relationship.


"I don't think any of us are very comfortable with happy emotions," Jae says. "[But] sad emotions, we're very comfortable with. Wonpil habitually says that we routinely have a hint of sadness even in the happier songs."


"The Day6 sound is balanced," Wonpil clarifies. "If it's a happy song, it's going to have a bit of sadness, and if it's sad song it's going to have that major happy sound. As an example, 'Congratulations' is a sad song yet the melody is bright and the chord progression is bright also This musical balance, says Sungjin, is a way for DAY6 to "spread our arms to everybody."


"I think that's real life, though," concludes Jae. "If you just take a song and make just positive or just sad, that doesn't feel real."


So, speaking philosophically: Is the glass half-full or half-empty? "It's both!" Says Jae, to which Young K adds: "That's DAY6."


Chapter 5: Exploration and Entropy


The Book of Us: Gravity, released earlier this summer, strikes this balance correctly. Lead single "Time of Our Life" captures the exciting feeling of a fresh begin. From the initial cymbals to the sweeping vocals, the song marks a new chapter for DAY6, one Jae calls "Exploration." Refused titles include Sungjin's "Somewhere in 2019" and Wonpil's "We Are Not Adults.") "We're still looking at new things, still understanding new concepts," he says. "We've got a lot to learn."


That level of self-awareness, especially four years into a career, is refreshing. Nevertheless it doesn't come without some concern for the next chapter. "I'm habitually thinking: 'Are we going have the ability to preserve this?'" Wonpil says. "Not only where we are creatively, however who we are?"


As they look ahead — The Book of Us: Entropy will be released later this month — that question still lingers.


"I feel like I've grown up a lot," Dowoon says. "I've matured."


"I feel like I haven't matured at all," Wonpil counters. "I desire to hold onto my youth. I'm afraid I'm going to mature also much. While you mature also much, the music becomes a little bit bland. And I'm afraid it's going to be work and not something I'd like to do."


Although on stage, performing live, that never feels like work. Sungjin pauses, smiling slightly: "That's any time If I feel the happiest."