[Interview] Molar System fearlessly takes flight with their debut EP

Hello and welcome back to HallyuTones – always focused on sound, stage and substance.

Korean Indie Band Molar System revisits HallyuTones to chat about their recent EP ‘system malfunction’. For those who are new to HallyuTones and Molar System, they are an indie rock band consisting of Sannie, PopcornTVGulchan and Park Jin-young who debuted back in March with the single ‘GREENROOM’. 

Now, with this 6-track EP ‘system malfunction’, Molar System continues to carefully sculpt their identity bit by bit. In hazy, breathy vocals, mellow beats and reverbed soaked instrumentals, the EP stands out in its cohesiveness despite being intentionally stripped of linearity. Like its title, the EP encapsulates the state of feeling confused, vulnerable and the system has ‘malfunctioned’. As Sannie mentioned in our last interview with the band, “it is through the imperfect and experimental music that captures emotions of our times.”

To get to the bottom of this ‘system malfunction’, we must decode the EP which Molar System has so kindly helped us with!

With ‘Greenroom’ as the opening track, what do you want people’s first impression of your music to be?

Jinyoung Park: I hope listeners can feel a fresh sense of excitement.

sannie: I hope they feel a subtle excitement, mixed with a touch of melancholy.

PopcornTVGulchan: Hope they think “Hmm, not bad”.

‘Mess’ is your first fully Korean song, can you tell your international fans about the song’s message?

sannie: The lyrics are talking about the tangled emotions that remain in the aftermath of a broken relationship. It captures many different emotions. With its raw and fragmented lyrics, the song expresses that messy, chaotic state of mind that many people could relate to.

The favourite over at HallyuTones, track 3. What kind of feeling were you trying to capture with this instrumental?

PopcornTVGulchan:  I wanted to make the most loved track on Hallyutones 🌞🌞🌞 … but honestly, I just wanted to create an instrumental track! Sorry, there’s not a big meaning behind it.

Jinyoung Park: I wanted a track that would be the intro of Fear of Flying, and Popcorn created it brilliantly.

In our previous interview, Sannie spoke about ‘Fear Of Flying’ following themes of female sexual shame and frustration. Is there anything you would like to say to women experiencing these feelings?

sannie: I hope the world will become a better place where everyone feels safe to embrace who they truly are. For those who may feel like outcasts, I want them to know they’re not alone. And especially to women, I just want to say that you don’t need to silence those feelings. What may feel like weakness is actually proof of your depth and your desire to live fully. I hope you can embrace your voice and let it shine without fear.

‘p.32’ is my personal favourite, what’s the meaning behind the song’s title?

sannie: I was studying for the IELTS test one day, I was on p.32, I got bored, so I wrote some lyrics like ‘ yeah I should stop all this boring stuff of page 32’ and that ended up becoming the title. Haha

‘잔디’ (don’t wash me off your jeans) is your first exploration into the rock genre, underneath has a heavy instrumental but the song overall is soft and slow. What was the thought process behind this song?

Jinyoung Park: The track was made to feel both comfortable and a bit clumsy at the same time.

sannie: I wrote 잔디 while thinking about ‘puppy love’. To me, it sometimes feels like a small piece of grass clinging to someone’s clothes. My hope was for it to feel light and easy, a song you can simply relax to.

PopcornTVGulchan: I wanted to make something soft, fun, and dreamy—easy to listen to. Personally, I kind of wished I could be like Clairo.

What is your favourite track and why?

Jinyoung Park: That would be ‘Fear of Flying’. It was my first time trying a genre I’d never done before, and I’m satisfied with how it turned out.

sannie: My favorite is ‘Fear Of Flying’ and ‘MESS’. I like both genres, and the vibe they give off. FOF was a very challenging song to me since it hits high notes and the lyrics also took a lot of time to be finished, but I really liked the result. For MESS, It was my first time trying to write lyrics with so many Korean words flowing quickly, and I felt like it turned out pretty well!

PopcornTVGulchan: I get embarrassed listening to the music I worked on, so I usually avoid it. Maybe I’ll feel differently in six months.

What advice have you received as musicians that has become a core part of your artistry to date?

Jinyoung Park: I can’t think of any particular piece of advice, but I believe it’s important not to suppress your imagination.

sannie:  I believe it was from 배철수(Bae Chul-soo) during one audition program (새가수). After my performance, he said to me, ‘Just do that one thing well.’ What he meant was that I didn’t need to force myself into every style or try to be everything at once. Instead, I should trust my own voice and go deeper into what I do best. That moment gave me the confidence to embrace my own style, and it still guides me today.

PopcornTVGulchan: I’m not too sure, but when I was wrapping burgers at work I first felt, ‘The more I try, the better it gets.’ That realization really made a lot of things feel okay.

Do you have any advice for aspiring music producers?

Jinyoung Park:  Don’t be afraid to try something new. Focus on creating something that belongs to you or your team alone

sannie: I hope you have fun experimenting!

PopcornTVGulchan: If you truly love music, don’t worry about what others think—just try anything!

The album from start to finish feels like a journey through space – what have been the highlights of molar system’s journey so far?

Jinyoung Park: Releasing this EP feels like a big step for us—it’s the project we’ve put the most effort and hard work into so far.

sannie: I hope our live performance, which will hopefully happen soon, will be the highlight.

PopcornTVGulchan: There may not be a huge impact yet, but I believe every little thing we do is a small highlight in itself.

Considering this is their debut EP,  we have merely caught a glimpse of what they are able to accomplish, let’s watch as Molar System evolves as artists and takes their craft onto a live stage! 

If you’d like to follow Molar System and stream ‘system malfunction’: 

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@mymolarsystem?si=eyRjyT6M64rcdmht

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mymolarsystem?igsh=a25sZ2xreDlidDdj

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2wFmsdFdYcJIGNhvC8KFkH?si=LZK1-UXSR_q0vxulYkmoIw

Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/gb/artist/molar-system/1803308220