P1Harmony on new music and self-love: “We’ve achieved perfect harmony”

It’s been a truly happening month for P1Harmony. Barely three years into the game, the group just released their sixth mini-album, titled ‘Harmony: All In’, which saw the boyband break their personal sales record and chart on the Billboard 200 for the first time. They also just signed with the prestigious Creative Artists Agency (home to the entire roster of SM Entertainment artists and soloists like Mark Tuan) to expand their global presence. On top of all that, the sextet have added Asia, Australia and New Zealand dates for their ‘P1ustage H: P1ONEER’ tour.

It is no wonder then, that the members look exhausted when they finally appear on screen to chat with NME. “No, we’re not tired, don’t worry!” group leader Keeho assures me, despite the time being 10:46pm and all evidence pointing to the contrary. “We have fun doing interviews!” the 21-year-old continues emphatically. The relaxed chemistry between Keeho, Theo, Jongseob, Jiung, Intak and Soul certainly affirms that statement over the course of the interview, as conversation flows seamlessly from their album, to secret talents, to self-love.

“This is the third and last album in our ‘Harmony’ series,” Keeho explains with the practiced ease of someone who’s perfected the paragraph over a slew of interviews. “We’ve achieved perfect harmony in this one, let down all of our worries and anxiety and doubts and jumped to a new level.”

The six-member group are among the small minority of K-pop acts that are extensively and personally invested in the making of their own music, and it was no different for ‘Harmony: All In’ as well. Intak and Jongseob wrote all the rap sections of the tracks, while Jiung worked on the dreamy R&B track ‘More Than Words’, which he produced along with Keeho.

“We get asked the same questions a lot,” they say conspiratorially. “What is the album about? What was the songwriting process like? I suppose they have to do it, and that’s okay, but now we’ve perfected those answers to a tee.” I try to veer off the beaten track and ask about the songs that don’t end up making it to the end.

“The worst thing about songwriting is that it might sound good, and then you wake up the next morning and you’re like, ‘What the heck?’” muses Keeho. “I feel like in this process, you need to learn that it’s okay to be satisfied. Sometimes when you work on it too much, it just gets worse and worse and worse. And you look back at the first draft, and that ends up sounding the best.”

Intak and Jongseob have been writing lyrics and songs even before they debuted, which helped when contributing to rap lyrics over the years. “We usually have a formula that we stick to,” they explain, “but over the last two years we’ve experimented with so many different styles and genres that we’ve improved tremendously.”

The group have made quite the impression outside of music as well, most recently with Keeho and Jiung joining Season 3 of the online game show series Hwaiting by DIVE Studios. “I don’t think I’m a very talented person,” announces Keeho, wearing the deadpan expression so famous on Tiktok. The (untrue) statement is denied from all quarters, prompting the revelation that he actually loves sculpting and painting.

He’s not the only one in the group with far ranging creative pursuits. Jongseob loves photography and Jiung is unexpectedly fond of jewellery making. “I made these myself,” he smiles proudly, showing off the bead bracelets on his hand. The other half of the group is partial to more physical activities, ranging from soccer (Theo) to volleyball (Intak) and standing long jump (Soul).

The group’s ability to laugh at themselves has also led to a flood of memes on social media, and given them the title of “meme kings”. The members confirm that they do watch the videos when they’re together. “We laugh at each other, we laugh with each other. There’s some stuff on there that’s so dumb, but it’s still so hilarious,” chuckles Keeho. “Our fans are really good at making random moments funny.”

P1Harmony fans, also called P1eces, have been vocal about their approval of the new album, especially praising the breadth of musical genres it showcases. The title track ‘Jump’ is an energetic, self-explanatory song for the summer, while ‘I Am You’ brings out the group’s ballad side, and ‘Love Me For Me’ adds a minimalist sound to their hip-hop repertoire. The latter track is typical of P1Harmony’s general lyrical theme of accepting oneself, and joins the swelling ranks of self love anthems populating the charts right now.

The members have varying approaches with regards to the practicalities of loving themselves. “Nobody knows me more than myself,” says Jiung, after a long pause spent in contemplation. “I know all my strengths and all my flaws, and I try to actively practice the mindset that I have to accept myself for who I am – warts and everything.”

For Soul, setting high standards is the way to go. “I always work hard to make sure that what I want for myself is always received and achieved, and that’s how I love myself,” says the eighteen year old. Keeho interjects, asking about what would happen if those goals are not met at times. “There’s nothing I can’t achieve,” Soul replies simply, with a guileless self-assurance.

This confidence seems to be a common attribute in the group. “It never actually occurred to me that loving yourself is something that people have to actively try and do,” says Theo seriously. “I just kind of…did it.” “Yeah, I never really had to try either,” agrees Jongseob, to an eruption of awed “wows” from the other members in the background.

Keeho laughs and adds: “I guess we just all really love ourselves here.”

P1Harmony’s new mini-album ‘Harmony: All In’ is out now.

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