Helping bring songs to life is no easy feat. Beyond the technical know-how and having a keen attention to detail, great music producers know that, in order to bring out the best in every track they work on, they have to deeply understand the artists they’re working with.

Whether its these artists’ preferred sound and style or the stories they want to tell, a major part of a producer’s work is knowing how they can take these individual, unique creative visions and take them even further. Like all of the best producers out there, 153/Joombas Music Group‘ Hyuk Shin and CUURLEY know this very well. Within Asia and beyond, the two acclaimed producers have helped countless notable artists bring songs to artistic perfection for years now, both on their own and together.

Juggling the roles of songwriter, composer, and producer, Hyuk Shin is recognized as the first South Korean-born music producer to have entered the Billboard Hot 100 through his work on Justin Bieber’s 2009 mega-hit “One Less Lonely Girl.” Since then, the multi-platinum record producer has worked with a number of other major names such as Anderson .Paak, EXO, NCT, and more. He is the founder and the executive producer of 153/Joombas Music Group — a K-pop-focused publishing and production company that has worked with the likes of BTS, TXT, aespa, SEVENTEEN, LE SSERAFIM, TWICE, and more. He also runs leading a K-pop music academy in South Korea that provides a platform for many songwriters and producers.

Hyuk Shin: courtesy of 153 Joombas International

Meanwhile, CUURLEY, whose real name is Bo Amir Iqram, is a renowned music producer, DJ, singer-songwriter, and all-around multi-instrumentalist hailing from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Dabbling in multiple genres throughout his more-than-a-decade career in the industry, his skills refined from behind the scenes, and a deep understanding of composition and songwriting has led him to do work with a plethora of artists within and beyond his native Southeast Asia, eventually leading him to sign with 153/Joombas Music Group. The artists he has worked with include the likes of CHUU, Jeff Satur, ALVN, Patrickananda, and so much more.

CUURLEY: photographed by YS Ting

In addition, in the past year or so alone, these two producers have also worked with two of the Philippines most notable young acts. Namely, these are the genre-bending rapper-singer FELIP on “Fake Faces” and, more recently, the chart-topping, viral funk-pop favorites Lola Amour on “Dance With My Mistakes,” with the latter being released just last April 2, 2025. With this, Billboard Philippines sat down with Hyuk Shin and CUURLEY to learn more about their creative process and working with these two exciting artists on bringing theirs songs to life.

Tell us about how you came to work with Lola Amour together on their latest single “Dance With My Mistakes.” What was the experience like bringing this song to life with them?

Hyuk Shin: On the business side, Warner [Music] is a business partner of 153/Joombas Music Group, so Warner Music Philippines reached out to us first. We had an initial meeting and we had a songwriting camp last year. That’s when Lola Amour joined us and we had amazing chemistry from the start with the songs we created.

That became the starting point for our next project together. And in terms of the process, it was almost like magic! Everything just flowed. From building the foundation to composing and producing, it all came together naturally. I think we finished six or seven songs in about ten days.

CUURLEY: Yeah, we wrapped up around six or seven songs in total.

Hyuk Shin: All within ten days! It was just so easy working with them. I love their vibe, and our energy really clicked. Everything turned out great.

CUURLEY: Chemistry is always important and the moment we met during the songwriting camp, we just hit oa! The moment these guys came back after the camp, it was like seeing long-lost brothers. Half of the time, I feel like I’m part of the band too because they’re just so welcoming.

So, yeah. We wrote everything so easily. It all just came together like glue and we were just so excited every day that we were working on songs together. “Dance With My Mistakes” was, funny enough, the first song we worked on together. It was just like magic!

There’s nothing else I could say about it. It was just perfect. So much fun!

As producers, what factors, especially in relation to the band’s sound, did you consider in order to ensure that this song was the best that it can be before it was released?

Hyuk Shin: For me, I only listened to a couple of their songs, like “Raining in Manila” and “Fallen” and I did that on purpose. I didn’t want to dive too deep into their existing music. I wanted to understand them through my own instincts. I’m the kind of producer who doesn’t set a strict playbook. It’s all about the flow.

And the energy I got from them was just…happy. I wanted to capture that in the song. “Dance With My Mistakes” is a feel-good record, right? and I think that came from the heart and soul. That’s why we call it “magic!”

CUURLEY: In terms of the process, for me, it’s the same as Shin. I heard two songs from them and we pretty much have these situations where we sit down with each other, the band tells stories, and we craft together upon those stories.

It became somewhat of an easy process. I was just jamming together with them and yeah, we pretty much just came up with the whole thing then and there. It was perfect. And within, like, three hours, we came up with the base, and then lyrics just started being written. Things just came about so easily. And seven songs in ten days? We’ve never had that kind of sessions before. It was just fun!

As producers, you’ve been working together for a while now. What can you say that you have learned from each other during that time?

CUURLEY: It took me a while to gain Shin’s trust and understand his tastes. To be honest, after many challenges working together years ago, suddenly, come 2023 or 2024, everything just gelled. Like, he tells me, “Oh, you should make it like this,” and I’ll be like,

“Okay, sure.” And in 15 minutes he’ll be like, “Yup, that’s it!” (laughs). We became closer as co-workers and even better as friends. I’ve looked forward to every single session with him. We’re always looking forward to everything that’s new.

Hyuk Shin: I agree. More than anything, we understand each other’s strengths, and there’s mutual trust. I’m confident in my instincts, and Bo is great at picking up on my creative direction. He just gets what I want to hear. I truly appreciate working with him.

“Dance With My Mistakes” is not your first time working on the same track by a Filipino artist together. Just last year, you also worked on “Fake Faces” by FELIP. In your experience, how different were the experiences working on these two songs?

Hyuk Shin: Our process was similar in both cases. We like to understand the artist deeply before we even start writing. When FELIP came to the studio, we had a great hour-long conversation about his life. That helped us capture his essence in the song.

That initial stage is so important. Every artist has a different vibe, and we aim to reflect that in the music.

CUURLEY: For FELIP, I would say that it was more of a calm and focused vibe. We came out with a really cool song that fits FELIP’s energy. We understood how he was with the stories he was telling us.

With Lola Amour, it was more “chaotic.” Like, having seven children in the studio (laughs).

They’re like excitement in a bundle. We were just screaming and laughing out our guitar mistakes or musicianship. And it came down to a point where it felt like we were just jamming and I was like 17 again in a band.

Speaking of these two artists, are there any other Filipino artists you two would want to produce music for?

CUURLEY: I’ve always been a big fan of IV of Spades. Like, their song “Mundo.” And, of course, Gloc-9. If I had the chance to sit down with him and make beats for him and write songs, I would go for it!

Hyuk Shin: I’d say beabadoobee. She’s a super talented songwriter, and I think it would be an amazing project if we could collaborate together.

Finally, in relation to the last question, can we expect to hear more songs produced by the two of you together in the future? 

Hyuk Shin: Oh, too many! (laughs)

CUURLEY: (laughs)

Hyuk Shin: We’ve got a lot of songs coming out this year (laughs). We’ll be announcing our upcoming projects through 153/Joombas APL. So yeah, look forward to them!

Listen to Lola Amour’s “Dance With My Mistakes,” produced by Hyuk Shin and CUURLEY, below: