Glen Check Talks Emotional Waves Behind Netflix’s Boyfriend Soundtrack

Childhood Exposure to Alternative Music from Western Countries

Glen Check was originally formed by June One (Vo/Gt) and Hyuky (Ba/Key) for a long time, but in 2023, Zayvo (Gt/Key) joined the band. How did the three of you come together?

Zayvo: It was probably during our 2017 performance at Itaewon Soap (a popular club in Seoul), when I first properly saw a Glen Check live show.

June One: That could be it. Originally, Zayvo was just a friend we would drink with. Over time, we started hanging out every day, and around that time, Glen Check as a duo was starting to feel a bit dull. We wanted to make the live shows more powerful, and it just naturally worked out that he joined us.

Zayvo: I was just a roadie [laughs].

You play guitar and keyboards, you’re an essential part of the band!

Zayvo: I was just joking [laughs]. I was originally working as a producer, but June One reached out to me saying, “Could you help us out?” and I joined as a session member.

Zayvo is also really active with Glen Check’s social media, and the Vlogs is such a good content.

June One: Yeah, Hyuky and I are terrible with social media… [laughs].

Zayvo: I’m not exactly a pro at it, but I’m trying my best [laughs].

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June One and Hyuky, both of you are from Busan. Did you meet during your school years?

June One: Yes, we met in high school.

Hyuky: June One is a year ahead of me, but we were in the school band club together and played in a student band. We shared similar tastes in music and had a great time, but at the time, we never thought, “Let’s make it big with this band!”

What kind of music did you both get into?

June One: I’m the type to listen to a wide variety of music rather than sticking to one particular genre. Initially, our style had a synth-pop vibe, but that was because I was listening to a lot of synth-pop at the time—bands like Duran Duran, New Order, Daft Punk, and Shinichi Osawa. I also listened to a lot of Japanese music. And 1980s Italo disco as well.

Hyuky: I also listened to bands like Duran Duran, A Flock of Seagulls, and Pink Floyd, just like June One. There are phases where you get really into certain albums, but then, if you ask if I still listen to them now, it’s not necessarily the case. It’s all about timing.

What was the initial trigger that got you into such diverse music? For example, did your father listen to music that influenced you?

June One: It was definitely my father’s influence. When I was young, I lived in Japan, France, and the U.S., and we would always listen to music in the car while my father drove. I think I relied on music a lot during that time, especially when I would reflect on the fact that I was living abroad as a foreigner. Duran Duran was also one of my father’s favorite bands.

Zayvo: For me, it was when a friend asked me to start a band in middle school. That’s how I got into music and picked up my first instrument, which was the piano.

Hyuky: I lived in the U.S. during middle school, and I was part of the school orchestra. The tenor saxophone was the first instrument I ever played, and that’s when I really started digging into and listening to more music.

How did Glen Check come to be formed from there?

Hyuky: After graduating from high school, I moved to Seoul, but I was kind of bored (laughs). I started hanging out a lot at June One’s place, where he already lived, and we would make music together.

June One: To backtrack a little, when I was in middle school, I became interested in MIDI equipment and modified a discarded computer myself. Recording became my hobby with that setup, and when I moved to Seoul at 20, I felt like I wanted to try it again. Reflecting on the past, I wasn’t really sure if what we were doing was music, but we just wanted to create what we enjoyed listening to. That’s how the first demo track of Glen Check came to be.

We uploaded that demo to a community site where home-recording artists shared their works. One day, out of the blue, we got a call from a label through that community. We had never performed live, and our only experience with bands was from our school club days, so we were like, “What do we do now!?” [laughs]. But receiving a call from a label made us think, “Maybe our music is pretty good?” That’s when we decided to give it a shot professionally, and here we are now.

Bleach: A Creation Born from Letting Go, with “Youth” as Its Ever-Present Theme

Can you tell us about the album? First of all, the Japanese edition of Bleach was released under the long-established indie label “P-VINE” as part of their K-ALT series.

Hyuky: We’ve always talked about it, right? How we wanted to release something in Japan one day.

June One: Yeah. We’ve always felt that the physical market, like CDs and vinyls, is smaller in Korea. We grew up in a generation that listened to CDs, not subscriptions or digital data, so we really understand how important physical media is. Japan still has a strong market for physical sales and listeners who appreciate it, so we always talked about wanting to release something here. We’re really grateful for this opportunity to finally do so at the right time.

Zayvo: P-VINE is the best! [laughs].

Glen Check’s music has a core of electro-pop and synth-pop, but the mood and atmosphere of each album can drastically change. The freedom to not be confined to one genre is one of the appealing aspects. However, with Bleach, there seems to be a more introspective tone compared to the previous danceable approach. There was a gap of about 9 years between the release of YOUTH! and Bleach. Do you think this period of time has influenced the style of this album?

June One: Yes, that’s right. As you create music, you naturally acquire more knowledge and skills. But sometimes, I became too focused on those things and started to feel trapped by a set of rules, like “If I do this, then I should do that next.” I wanted to break free from that and make music in a more liberated way. It took time, but the result of that was the album Bleach.

Dazed & Confused and 4ever, which are both included in the album, became a hot topic in Japan this year after being featured in Netflix’s romance reality show Boyfriend. Did you hear any feedback about that?

June One: I first noticed it when the number of streams on Spotify suddenly increased. I remember being really surprised.

The music video for Dazed & Confused on YouTube has many comments saying things like, “It fits perfectly with the world of Boyfriend,” and “Whoever chose this song has great taste.” The title Confused suggests a feeling of confusion—what was the thought behind creating this track?

June One: For us, this song represents Youth. It’s about the confusion that comes from overthinking, that moment when you just can’t make sense of anything anymore! The emotional fluctuation in that moment is “Youth.” And within that concept of Youth, what I always think is the most important is to “not overthink.”

So, is the song’s lyrics based on personal experiences, including that sense of Youth?

June One: Rather than incorporating personal anecdotes, I draw inspiration from my experiences and build a story around that. The lyrics are meant to be shared with those who listen to the song.

“Youth” has been used as an album title before. Is it a message that has always stayed the same, or is it a sentiment that has grown stronger in Bleach?

June One: The way we convey the message may differ with each album, but the core message—whether it’s the meaning of Youth, or the idea of letting go of thoughts and resetting—hasn’t changed.

Even for today’s younger generation, there are so many moments where we overthink. Sometimes, overthinking leads to something good, but we’ve also learned that resetting our thoughts can bring something valuable. Through Youth, we realized this, and that’s why we always try to tell people, “Sometimes, just don’t think at all.”

Would you say that Youth is about struggling or questioning?

June One: Yes, exactly. But overthinking isn’t the only aspect of Youth. There are also moments without worries or troubles. I think it’s the moments when we are on the border of those feelings, constantly questioning and shifting, that are the most beautiful.

Do you also find yourself struggling with things often?

June One: I used to struggle a lot when I was younger. About the future, about life, and with Bleach, there was also the issue of mandatory military service, so I had to take a break from activities for a while, which made me think a lot about time. But since Bleach, I feel like I’ve stopped worrying. The title Bleach comes from the idea of letting go of all worries, of “bleaching” them away, and this album became a very important point in my life.

Worries never really go away, right? Hyuky and I went to an international high school, and we were both under a lot of stress, especially with college entrance exams and other things. Back then, we’d talk about things like, “Which university should I go to?” or “Where will I be safe?” and sometimes I would get scared if I felt like I was stepping off that path. But there will always be some kind of worry, so I think it’s important not to get too caught up in it and to try doing things without thinking too much.

When writing lyrics, do you discuss them with Hyukki and June One?

June One: I talk a lot with Hyukki to brainstorm ideas.

Hyukki, you’ve spent a lot of time together, so how do you feel about the lyrics?

Hyuky: I think I understood the change in mindset before and after making Bleach, and I deeply resonated with the content of the lyrics. But, actually “letting go of thoughts” is something that’s easy to say, but really difficult to do. I’m still working on it.

Zayvo: Hyukki is the one who thinks the most! [laughs]

Hyuky: I guess I’m the type to think the most when doing something! [laughs]

But I think it’s because you’re all putting effort and thought into the music that you create songs that really resonate. When I listen to Glen Check’s music, the word “Youth” comes to mind, and I really felt connected to it after hearing your story.

June One: We’ve grown older, but I believe we always carry Youth in our hearts.

Dual Live Set Formats and Allowing the Audience to Interpret

Let’s talk about your live performances as well. Glen Check’s shows are known for being danceable and highly energetic, but should people also pay attention to the more sensitive and personal aspects of the lyrics, like the struggles and doubts you’ve mentioned earlier?

Hyuky: Most of our lyrics are fairly short and repetitive, and one reason for that is to avoid being too specific. If the lyrics are too specific, their meaning becomes fixed, and people can no longer interpret them freely. We want each listener to find their own meaning in the song. So, during live performances, we hope the audience will take the lyrics in their own way.

June One: Rather than wanting people to understand something specific from our lyrics, we want them to enjoy the freedom of listening and having fun during the live shows.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzXd22EmFIs

Glen Check uses two different live formats, the “Band Live Set” and the “Electronic Live System,” depending on the performance. What is the basis for choosing which set to use?

June One: It depends on the venue size and the nature of the event. We enjoy both electronic music and band music, but mixing the two during a live performance is difficult. So, we thought it would be better to separate the sets to give us more freedom during the performance. The “Electronic Live System” was created because we wanted to showcase our remix tracks live, but simply DJing wouldn’t be interesting, so we made it more dynamic and flexible in terms of approach.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pT6-vBjohOU

So that’s how the division works. “60’s Cardin,” with Tigerdisco (a Korean DJ who also performed at ‘FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL ’24’) dancing, has become a staple track in the “Band Live Set.” Can you tell us how this style came about?

Hyuky: It probably started in our basement workshop, right?

June One: That’s right. We used to live in a basement that also served as our workspace. It was during that time that we met Tigerdisco by chance through a friend. He heard the demo of “60’s Cardin” and loved it, saying, “This is my kind of thing!” Then, he started dancing while drinking, and that became the starting point.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJ1QNah3sqk

That’s very much a Korean style, isn’t it? [laughs] Lastly, your Japan tour starts in January. Please say a word to the fans who are waiting.

June One: We’ve always made an effort to create music that people will like, regardless of nationality, but honestly, I felt like we hadn’t achieved as much as we expected. However, I’m really happy with the positive reactions from the Japanese listeners, and it motivates me to keep going.

Working with K-ALT and releasing the Japanese album has sparked many new ideas about music. I’ve started thinking that I’d like to increase our activities in Japan, and for that reason, I’ll be giving it my all during next year’s tour.

It’s been about 9 years since our last solo performance in Japan, so it feels like we’re starting from scratch again. We’ll be performing not only in Tokyo but also in Osaka for the first time, so it feels like meeting new friends and also going to greet everyone. Through these new encounters, I hope we can create a new culture together.