Mr. Feelgood: HYBS’ Karn On Going Solo As WIM And His Debut Solo Album ‘NOICE’

If given the chance to start all over again as an artist, what would you do? Hold onto the past and hold yourself back, or take a leap of faith and embrace new beginnings? HYBS‘ Karn chose the latter, and now, he’s ready to share the next chapter in his journey.

This is the beginning of his story as WIM.

When HYBS surprised the world by announcing their unprecedented yet amicable disbandment in early 2024, their growing number of followers were left wondering what would come next for the Thai pop duo behind such massive hits as “Tip Toe,” “Ride,” and more. After all, it was no easy feat for the two to build a name for themselves since joining forces in 2021 and subsequently achieving a meteoric rise to stardom in the process.

However, even if good things might come to an end, it doesn’t mean one cannot start over.

Following a brief but much-needed period of rest after their disbandment, HYBS’ Karn found himself making songs once again, greatly motivated by the idea of one day coming back to the stage and spreading positivity and good vibes with his new music. Ultimately, this led him on a rapid yet introspective path that resulted in his first full body of work as a soloist: NOICE — his debut album under the moniker of WIM.

Standing for “Who Is Me?”, WIM serves as not just a showcase of Karn’s growth as an artist but, ultimately, as a peak into who he is and continues to evolve into as a person. With NOICE, WIM explores multiple aspects of the human emotion, piecing together city pop and lo-fi-infused tracks that detail personal growth and new beginnings as well as explore the intricacies of life, love, and everything in between.

As Karn boldly takes this next major step in his career, Billboard Philippines decided to catch up with “Mr. Feelgood” himself for a fun chat, discussing his creation of NOICE, the importance of taking breaks, the most valuable lesson he learned from his time in HYBS, and more.

Billboard Philippines: Hi Karn! Congratulations on the upcoming release of Noice — your debut solo album as WIM! How does it feel to be releasing these songs out into the world?

WIM: We’re super excited man! Me and my team are working so hard and been waiting for this moment for ages. This is the moment. There are so many angles of my life that I wanted to talk about, which [are] contained in all of the tracks in this album. I can’t wait to share it with all you guys!

I’m sure your fans, especially here in the Philippines will be very excited to hear that! You’ve mentioned before that NOICE was “produced from scratch in three months.” Tell us about the process of creating the album from the beginning. What was your favorite part about writing the songs? Were there any challenges you faced and how did you deal with them?

I mean, at first, we never [had] an album as a topic.

I just took a little break and then I got back and I just wanted to balance things and, you know, have fun making music again. But it turns out, there are so many friends out there that have been waiting to enjoy [the music] live with me again. So, I [couldn’t] just sit there and do nothing. I needed to do something. I needed to carry on since you guys mean the world to me and remind me why I’m doing this in the first place. So, because of all of you, I’m back!

My favorite part about [creating the album] was that I [could] explore so many things and I’m the guy who can [have] variety when it comes to the music production. I can actually do that right now since this is a solo project. 

It’s good to hear you had full creative control and were able to use all of your ideas! 

Actually, the most challenging thing for me was the deadline.

But the process [of making the album] was not something too [far] from HYBS since I [was] the one who produced all the music and co-wrote [the songs] on the project. It [wasn’t] something new. 

NOICE is composed of a total of 8 songs and you’ve released four of them as singles. For our readers who are only discovering you now, which 3 songs would you most recommend that they listen to in order for them to get to know you even better as an artist?

I mean, I want to recommend all the songs on this album to all of you because of the variety of emotions — the rollercoaster of emotions — which makes us human and social creatures. But, let’s say, at the moment, the songs I want to share with you guys is, “Magic” for sure; “Weirdo” as well — I love this one so much. It’s so simple and sincere — and, the last one would be “One Day I’ll Fly (Again).”

I mean, I can relate to all the tracks since they’re from me. But [“One Day I’ll Fly (Again)”] is one of my key takeaways after I took my little break, which is you don’t need to curse yourself, or be mean to yourself, or get over-frustrated when you break your wings. You can just sit there, accept the truth, let it all go. No need to be jealous of those birds who fly high right now. You can’t fly today, you can’t fly tomorrow, you can’t fly next month [or] next year. But, for sure, one day, you’ll fly again. 

A lot of people will definitely relate to that last one! And speaking of relating, NOICE is your very own musical journey of “self-discovery, growth, and celebration of new beginnings.” Ultimately, what do you hope people experience or learn when they listen to the songs on the album?

It would be noice if my songs can blend into other people’s activities and routines, you know, as white noise, since NOICE is a combination of “nice” and “white noise” as well.

I see!

Since I love and listen to lo-fi music so much as background music, like, it’s with me all day. And I hope this [album] can find a place in your routine just like those kinds of lo-fi music that I love.

So, you stated before that you “almost quit music when HYBS ended.” However, you took a short break which helped you decide to “give [music] a go again.” In your experience, what do you believe is the importance of taking breaks and resting as a person who does creative work?

It’s a common thing for us people, especially creators, [that] we can’t truly separate our work life and personal life, since we love our work so much, bro! 80% of the time, the idea’s gonna be there at night, right?

I can definitely relate to that! 

Yes! And since we love to play with our thoughts so much, we love to [do] creative things. But, at some point, we forget that, if we made [that] our work — we can’t work 24/7. You need to balance things or you’re going to end up waking up and feel something strange, like, “What’s wrong with me? Why don’t I want to pick up the guitar? Why don’t I want to sing?” Something like that. 

Don’t take yourself to that point. Please guys.

In that case, if there’s one thing that you personally do to balance things, what would that be?

I’m not actually balanced at the moment.

That’s alright! It happens! 

But you, at least, need to talk to yourself more. We live in such a strange era that we can be easily connected to all the people all around the world but feel so unconnected with ourselves, you know? Since the world spins so fast nowadays, you don’t even know where you are anymore. You don’t even know where to go. People and society want to shape your thoughts. But you need to be you, man.

That’s true! We all need time for ourselves. So, having gone on your journey as WIM for a few months now, what can you say is the most important lesson you’ve learned from your career in HYBS that has greatly helped you as a solo artist so far?

As I just said, you need to balance things. And all the people you surround [yourself] with matter. They matter. You can’t be you without them since we’re social creatures. It is such a blessing to be surrounded by great and good people. So, make sure you give love back to them.

Following the release of your debut album, you’ll be going on tour with stops in Australia’s SXSW Sydney as well as certain countries in Asia. What message do you have for your fans who are excited to see you, especially here in the Philippines?

Thank you so much guys for sticking with me [even until] now. I can’t wait to be on-stage sharing all those magical moments with all you guys again. It’s gonna be a blast guys! Ready your throats, make sure you’re healthy, and let’s vibe!

To close things off, I know it’s only been a couple of months since you started your solo career but I want to ask, what is one major goal you want to achieve as WIM in the near future?

I just want to have fun and have financial freedom at the same time. Learn new languages and traditions from all of the places in the world. I just want to learn more and live my life. I’m just a dude!

Listen to WIM’s debut album NOICE: