WAVE TO EARTH - 웨이브투어스 is a 3 member band and collective based in Seoul, South Korea. They create light indie-pop sounds with jazz and lo-fi influence and are inspired by artists such as Sunset Rollercoaster, Oscar Jerome, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Nick Hakim & more. .They debuted in 2019 with the single “wave” and are currently under the “WAVY” label founded by korean soloist Colde (before wavy - Poclanos). Wave to Earth are self made meaning they do everything from composing, recording, etc. to artwork design & styling themselves. The band aims to become the new wave in the musical sphere by expanding their own artistic universe all over the world. Their fandom name is “Plankton” (not official, ref. lyrics from their song “surf”).The band consists of Daniel Kim, John Cha (Cha Soonjong), Shin Donggyu + performance members - Jeonmin (saxophone/guitar), Cho Jonggeun (keys/piano/synth), and an important role also plays Hong Seungki (visual artist/photographer/videographer)
2023 - flaws and all.
debut full album
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2020 - wave 0.01 EP
2020 - summer flows 0.02 EP
2024 - Potatoi debut album
2024 - Jonggeun debut album
2024 - Jeon Min debut double single
(older projects)
2019 - Daniel debut single
2017 - John Cha debut single
Wave to Earth started off as a duo consisting of Daniel and Dongkyu that have known each other ever since their school days (met in church). Daniel took more interest in music in first grade of middle school and once when he saw Dongkyu play the drums, he thought of forming a band with him. It took Daniel some time convincing him to join the band (since he wanted to pursue playing the piano) but eventually he convinced him and that's how 'The Poles' was formed. Due to unavoidable reasons (like school acceptance exams) and also the fact that Dongkyu wanted to pursue a different music genre, he had to leave, but they promised themselves they're gonna come back as a band again one day. In the meantime Daniel was part of his first project “NABEE” (later on present The Poles) & afterwards that's how Wave to Earth came to life. Dongkyu served as a drummer and Daniel as a guitarist/vocalist.The band debuted as a duo with the single 'Wave' in 2019, This song was chosen as a debut single to give the word 'wave' a bigger meaning in the band name itself. In January 2020 Wave to Earth released their first EP titled 'Wave 0.01' with their new member Soonjong Cha (John Cha) - John and Daniel have known each other since high school. John has been active on Naver since middle school and uploaded videos of him playing the bass, on the day of a high school entrance exam a crowd that Daniel was a part of recognized him – then they hung out together & in September of John’s first year in high school, Daniel was doing a transfer exam since he didn’t pass the first round and afterwards him & John were attending the same school and became closer. Daniel thought the band needed a bassist, so after John finished his military service, he joined the band. Now John is in a position of a bassist and Daniel of a guitarist/vocalist and as their motto says ''all self-made'' all (also inc. Jonggeun+Jeonmin) now contribute to the production of their discography.As all members have said before, their goal on their currently 5 year old musical journey is to continue making boundless music that is rooted in their artistic signatures, such as jazzy and lo-fi tones, expand their universe across the world and make a name for themselves especially in Korea.As of 2024, Wave to Earth have released their first full length album titled ''0.1 flaws and all'' (apr ‘23) & finished their North American, SEA + european tour, alongside with other exciting performances and events in Korea such as Seoul Jazz and Pentaport Festivals. Their Thailand concert has been mentioned as one of the band's major turning points and most memorable performances so far.
FUN FACTS ›
- frontman of the band, also the frontman of the band The Poles
- Rolling Stones, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and The Beatles were bands he used to listen to growing up
- finds 80’s/90’s bands very cool in terms of fashion and attitude, usually also refers to them
- got lasik but continues to wear his fake glasses similar to his real ones
- likes the cartoon character Snoopy
- said by his The Poles bandmates, he has a great alcohol tolerance
- considers himself a somebody who constantly needs to pursue his creativity
- his very first musical project in his teens was called Nabee
- was born in Paris, France (attended kindergarten+elementary for a bit), moved to Korea afterwards
- has been doing music since he was around 19 years old, made his debut with the single 'Blue' in 2018
- one of his first musical influences were ELLEGARDEN and Jeff Buckley
- when his brother left for studies to France, he took his guitar and played for 8+ hours everyday, that’s when he first became interested in music
- major in singing-songwriting @ Howon’s University’s department of applied music (bachelors degree in arts)
- if he didn't study music he would study fashion
- in terms of clothing he gets inspired by 90’s japanese/80’s+90’s rock bands’ aesthetics (esp. Thom Yorke) + jpn vintage
- is interested in interior design/furniture design
- played basketball when he was younger + still enjoys it (fav manga Slam Dunk)
- the first song he ever played on guitar was Radiohead’s ‘High and Dry’ in 6th grade of element. school
- when coming up with a song, he chooses the title first, he also thinks of a scent and color of a song when writing it
- religious; christian
- has a poodle named Poong, meaning “wind” from ancient chinese, he’s 7 y.o, ig: @the_poongs
- other members also participate in composing, but most of the songs have been written and composed by him alone (thus why John explains wte music genre as ‘Daniel Kim’)
- one of his favorite artists are Oscar Jerome, Nick Hakim, King Krule and Ryuichi Sakamoto, he’s inspired by Stevie Ray Vaughan as well
- believes in ghosts
- yuja cake and New York cheesecake are one of his favorite deserts
- favorite guitar from his collection is his black Silvertone; it makes the most him-like sound
- admires the scenery of the sea and nature, gets inspired by nature very often
- mentioned Wave to Earth's 2023 concert in Thailand as one of their biggest turning points
- artists mentioned/recommended: Jw Francis, Bruno Major, Beach Fossils, Yellow Days, Benny Sings, Rad Museum, Thom Yorke, Radiohead, Oasis, The lemon twigs, The Velvet Underground, Nirvana, David Bowie, The 1975, Sonic Youth, ..
- part of the crew called ‘we are not 00’ with seungki
- one of his most favorite bands in korea is ‘Silica Gel’
- whenever he sings ‘seasons’ the season he thinks of is winter
- his guitar was once used in SE SO NEON's EP 'Nonadaptation’, Soyoon borrowed it from him because she was in a rush
- his hobby is also taking pictures, one of his cameras is contax t2 (film)
- favorite movie: ‘Mononoke Hime’ (wte’s song ‘bonfire’ was inspired by this movie)
- he (& other members) agreed that they would like to collab with artists such as boy pablo, sunset rollercoaster, BTS, Tame Impala,..
- one of his favorite animes is ‘The Disastrous Life of Saiki K’, he would also watch One Piece & Detective Conan w/ his brother when he was younger
- has an older sister & brother
- has bikes — Daelim Honda DH88 & Honda Benly 110
- can also play bass guitar, violin, trumpet, keys & drums
- takes part in designing album art alongside with Seungki
- really likes Oasis’ guitar tone and aims to replicate it
- said that love itself is the most used material for his artistry
- his ideal type is somebody with a good heart, somebody he can communicate w/ since he likes to resolve problems by talking
- originally from Busan, moved to Seoul. Members of both bands used to make fun of his dialect
- his favorite idol groups are aespa and Red Velvet
- one of his favorite cities is London
- his favorite 2023 US tour stop was Vancouver
- has around 15+ (visible) tattoos on his sleeves, including one inspired by David Bowie’s signature lighting and Radiohead
- doesn’t like summer that much
- said would like to collaborate with beabadoobee (nylon int.)
august 13, 1997 ┊ISFJ
bass
wave to earth, JRC trio (inactive), Potatoi (solo), obdnce
FUN FACTS ›
- went to american missionary private school and lived in Kenya for 7 years when he was younger (his parents were missionaries) he got his nickname “John” from there
- his favorite food is indian food, he doesn’t like green tea
- likes to organize and have a schedule to (not neccesarily) follow
- one of his nicknames is “potato” (he doesn’t mind it & likes it) and bellsprout (pokemon)
- for him the song ‘sunny days’ serves as a symbolism of the great moments w2e would spend together
- shortest member, around 165cm
- reads a lot, one of the books he recommended was Ahn Mi Ok's 'On'
- favorite alcohol is white whiskey
- mentioned wte would like to collab with Tame Impala
- in charge of mastering (not only) w2e songs
- religous; christian
- likes reading poems and gave Daniel a collection of poems from Charles Bukowski's book to inspire him
- has a younger brother
- debuted with the single 'Rise Above' in 2017
- already finished his military service in 2019
- him and Daniel were schoolmates
- in his early 20’s his biggest dream was being a jazz musician in LA
- is interested in furniture/interior and house design and one of his favorite brands is ‘Monostructure’
- some of his favorite artists are mndsgn, Tame Impala, Weather report & Stones Throw
- served as a bassist for Gsoul's performance & says it’s one of his most memorable moments
- also played bass for WOODZ's 'ONLY LOVERS LEFT’ highlight medley
- hates it when people easily give up or complain or when they're inflexible and not polite
- artists mentioned/recommended: Erykah Badu, Marvin Gaye, The Smiths, Steve Lacy, Boy Pablo, Jacob Collier, J dilla, Childish Gambino, Talib Kweli, Red Forest, Q, Wynton Kelly, Beach Fossils, Frank Ocean, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Rad Museum, Stones Throw, Banes World, Crumb, Hether, pH-1, Vacations, YONLAPA, ..
- considers himself a very curious, optimistic, nerdy and empathetic person
- is the mood maker in the band
- favorite idol group are LE SSERAFIM, NewJeans and Red Velvet, he used to listen to red flavor a lot before, he finds Wendy cool & his dream is to shake hands w/ her
- is the most fluent in english out of all members
- can play the piano and drums and also sings some choruses in live versions of w2e songs
- finds inspiration in environment, books & new places
- has watched whole season of chainsaw man anime
- already graduated; attended music high school and college
- doesn’t really play any games even tho he’s bought playstation before; Horizon Forbidden West is one of the games he would play on Playstation
- an artist he looks up a lot is mndsgn
- doesn’t like summer that much
- explains his clothing style as “japanese 90’s vintage”
- he started producing music in 2019 as obdnce
january 23, 1998┊ENFJ
drummer
wave to earth, AIFF (“Ant Is
Fourmi In French” - inactive)
FUN FACTS ›
- fav LP is ‘Bossa Nova’ by Sunset Rollercoaster
- would love to release his own album one day & work on music Similar to Ryuichi Sakamoto’s
- Ryuichi Sakamoto is an artist he respects the most
- former member of a band AIFF (Ant Is Fourmi In French), he was in charge of drums
- his fashion icon is David Bowie
- has an older brother who’s also a musician and a drummer
- mentioned that both bands wte and The Poles are very friendly w/ each other, have known each other for a long time & help each other out a lot very often
- is interested in interior design/furtniture
- has a small black dog named Jelmi (kr: 젤미)
- likes to clean
- really likes fashion, modeling and gets inspiration from Pinterest
- attended Howon University
- always documents their recording processes
- when he's shopping he would mostly go to a vintage shop Dongmyo or shop online
- has the most experimental fashion out of all members
- a smoker (lol)
- religious; christian
- likes taking care of others, ex. would always prepare feasts when somebody's over
- likes wearing purses and tote bags, especially women's bags and is interested in make-up
- artists mentioned/recommended: Tom Misch, Engelwood, Kirinji, Mirta Da Silva, Faye Webster, Lloyd, pH-1, rm, Video Age, Whitney, Priscilla Ahn, Sonic Youth, Oasis,..
- impulsively purchased a motorcycle because of the movie AKIRA (the scene where Kaneda rides his own one made a strong impression on him)
- considers himself a very ambitious person that can be demanding at times
- likes seafood and salmon
- is very interested in scary/horror stuff
- can also play piano and bass
- is a dog lover
- did piano parts in ‘dried flower’ ‘calla’ and ‘seasons’
- 170cm, tallest member out of the 3 by a few inches
- it is said he's already served his time at the military
- his ideal type is somebody he can communicate with easily
- he’s friendly with the band “Lacuna”
- he’s been playing the piano since he was 7 years old and wanted to pursue his own piano career before
- doesn’t like summer
- so far the most memorable performance for him was in Jakarta
- his go to coffee orders are: americano, cafe mocha & flat white
- his @ handle references his first puppy, his nickname is the band is also Dongki
All interview links: here
✷ consistently updated | made by wteology on twitter & friends
inspired by https://wavetoearthguide.carrd.co · content provided
from interviews, social media, mainly my own translations, blogs..
special thanks to Syb (@perpendlines X), Nana's design (@owolloil X) & Mils (@filmoftide/throughthepoles) contentplease credit if inspired don’t use design anywhere else :)
additional wave to earth links: all click-able:
we are not 00 instagram
instant archive we are not 00
instant collection
official wavy shop, wte merch included
11th march 1997 ┊ENTP
saxophone
solo, h.f.g band, wave to earth
✷ RANDOM FACTS ›
- education: Howon university (not sure about exact major title)
- when live performing he sometimes plays the guitar
- artists mentioned/recommended: Conor Albert, Reuben James, Maya Deliah, Sam Wills, Braxton Cook, laufey, SWV, David Sanborn, Tower of Power, Fred Hersch
- tallest member
- can also play keys, bass and guitar
- part of a jazz, funk and rock band called H.F.G band
- he was announced as wte’s saxophonist around 2020
- is also a composer and producer under the name “Bezel”
- finished his military service
- Michael Brecker a very big influence on him as an artist
9th june 1997 ┊ISTJ
keys/synth
solo, wave to earth, the poles
✷ RANDOM FACTS ›
- education: Howon University, majoring in piano, jazz (not sure ab exact title)
- likes Erin Rae
- out of all seasons summer is his most favorite
- the person who shaved his head was daniel around 2020 however it was Jonggeun's idea to do so (...lmao)
- finished military service
