[INTERVIEW]: THE FAKER CLUB Wants Their Art to Heal You.
For a long time, the artists from20 and HELLO GLOOM spoke to each other about starting their own company.
“We’ve always talked about starting a crew or label,” HELLO GLOOM told me this week. “There was always a trial and error,” he said before they finally decided to stop talking and start creating. They settled on the name THE FAKER CLUB because as HELLO GLOOM described slyly, “We’re liars. We are so mischievous and had so many things [we wanted'] to do, but that we couldn’t do because of our reality. So we said we are liars as a twofold meaning.”
THE FAKER CLUB is a unique concept. Their name inspires mischief. The label functions as a collective of artists “who can change without worry,” HELLO GLOOM explained. They work together to create music videos, produce music, design wearable clothes, and produce products that add another layer of meaning to their concepts. Lately they’ve extended their work into fine art to produce art exhibitions. The goal is artistic freedom.
In the past year, HELLO GLOOM and from20 have both completed several projects that demonstrate the wide scope of THE FAKER CLUB’s output. HELLO GLOOM’s eclectic first EP “Because I Was Young Boy” was released to streaming services in May, while from20 has steadily released singles since 2021, including “WEOL” and “CHEMICAL”. Their label’s production also extends into fashion and coffee table artbooks. Each product, all with unique packaging and design, is sold on the label’s website. Many are sold out.
The FAKER’S CLUB releases grip you with the unexpected turns they take and by the tension in the delivery of their lyrics. The guys’ approach to music is grounded in experimentation. HELLO GLOOM’s throaty, deep voice is arresting on first listen. From20, in contrast, has a wiry voice that could front an indie rock band. Their music fuses together hip-hop, electronica, and at times, hyperpop.
Both are defiant artists who create music with a nontraditional streak. Wholly expressive, weird, wildly ambitious: Their music reflects how they move through the world.
THE FAKER CLUB for Season’s Greetings
“I often feel depressed,” HELLO GLOOM told me as he remembered how he settled on his stage name. “Sometimes I hated myself for being this kind of person, but one day, I started drawing and scribbling under the name of ‘HELLO GLOOM’ because I thought I had to think deeply about this feeling, and after that, I naturally became that name.”
Born Na Ungjae (나웅재), HELLO GLOOM grew up in Seoul. “I started composing while playing the piano when I was young,” he said. “Then I fell in love with hip hop music and naturally fell in love with producing.”
He debuted in IMFACT in 2016, a group that had modest success throughout their time together. But HELLO GLOOM’s ambitions were larger than K-Pop. His version of art is multi-disciplinary: writing, music, visual, film, and fashion. He has a hand in each, and wants to conquer each form. “Currently I am challenging [the concepts of] video, art, and fashion,” HELLO GLOOM said. But he’s eager to expand his breadth. “I want to find more to challenge [myself] in various ways in the future.”
From20 charted a similar trajectory. Born Kim Raehwan (김래환)), from20 grew up in Gangneung, Gangwon-do, South Korea. “Until [I was in high school], I focused on my studies,” he remembers. But he dreamed of producing music one day. When he was a teenager, from20 decided to give a career in music a shot. “Then, I challenged myself to become a singer, thinking that I could have a bigger dream if I became an idol.”
Raehwan debuted ten years ago, in 2012, as a member of BIGSTAR. He was signed to Brave Entertainment, the same label that created Brave Girls, whose smash hit “Rollin” exponentially lifted the companies’ profile. “I came to Seoul from the provinces, dreaming of becoming a singer at the age of 20,” he told me. Raehwan was 27 when his contract with Brave Entertainment ended. Now in his early thirties, the singer is left with an appreciation for the boy who bravely moved to Seoul from a coastal province.
“That's how I started music, and I gave myself the stage name with the mindset of, ‘Let's not forget the passion and heart of that time.’” He recommended I listen to his song of the same name “from20” to hear his story. “There are multiple meanings in it,” he said. “The lyrics contain a lot of emotions that I felt during my 20s. I think many people can relate to it. I recommend it even more because it's the end of the year.”
One morning while I sat at a coffee shop and watched the rain pile down outside of the windows, I put on my headphones and listened. “Sometimes I think of how awful my life is/ But boy, it’s alright,” from20 sings softly. The song is a tribute to his resilience: moving to Seoul, working through the depression and self-doubt that come from believing in yourself. “I know I will go through the dark side of bloom/ It’s our life/ So boy don’t cry.” It felt like a guttural punch when I first heard it. I could relate to every word.
Similarly, HELLO GLOOM’s first EP “Because I Was Young Boy” is a striking body of work. He loved each track he made, but he is particularly proud of the opener “IN THE NIGHT”, a wildly euphoric song that almost became the title track. “That’s how much I love this song,” he said.
"Because I Was Young Boy" is an album that contains the regrets and emotions I felt when I was young,” he described.
In the music video for “YOUNG BOY”, HELLO GLOOM portrays a wealthy young boy who drinks wine and lives in a modern mansion. But halfway through the video, the boy’s mask falls and his contempt emerges. He rips apart a painting and begins to tear apart an office. “I wanted to beautifully capture the wounds and the growing pain, so I wanted to beautifully express the sound. Overall, it contains regrets about my childhood and my growing self.”
K-Pop can be a challenging and demanding industry, both on the idols’ body and on their mental health. But HELLO GLOOM looks back on his time in the industry as largely positive. “I think there are more good parts [than bad parts],” he told me about his time as an idol. “It is a precious and good experience for me because I felt and learned a lot at that time.”
“And,” he added reflectively, “it was a good experience because we met each other.”
from20 and HELLO GLOOM; courtesy THE FAKER CLUB
From20 and HELLO GLOOM are excited to share more of their story with listeners in 2023.
“I am very happy to tell my story as a solo artist,” from20 reflected. “The FAKER CLUB has been running well for two years. And I'm growing up. I'm most proud of that. I will become an artist who will grow further in 2023.”
HELLO GLOOM is similarly proud of his work this year. “There are about 7 title songs that I've produced since last year, including my own and [some for] from20. I've been thinking a lot about what kind of music I should do recently, but I am proud of myself for doing so much,” he told me. “I want to produce a lot of fun work next year without getting more tired than I was this year.”
2021 was a particularly stressful and exhausting time for HELLO GLOOM and from20. HELLO GLOOM recalled eventually reached a breaking point from working so much, and saying to from20, "It's good to be successful, but I think it’s better to be happy for a long time while protecting each other and taking care of myself. That is a more successful life.”
From20 proposed that they create something from HELLO GLOOM’s statement. What evolved was a photo exhibition and photo book, featuring the work of 20 artists, titled “HEART”. Each photo was the artists’ interpretation of how we care for our hearts, and a documentation of their daily lives. THE FAKER CLUB donated profits from the book to the Korea Foundation Sucidie Prevention, a cause that is extremely important to both from20 and HELLO GLOOM.
Maybe this is the most important lesson the HELLO GLOOM and from20 have learned this year: What do we do when sadness creeps in? We take care of one another.
Perhaps what I find most inspiring about THE FAKER CLUB’S work is that it allows us to access that part of ourselves where sadness and hope coexist. As we discuss the goal of their art, HELLO GLOOM becomes candid. “I hope I look cool, but I don’t want to be unnatural,” he says. What he wants to get across is that their art is authentic. “I just want others to be healed when they consume the art I left behind.”
Special thanks to my friend and Korean teacher Jeongmin for helping me with portions of the translation of this interview!
