Loona's Yves steps into solo spotlight with EP 'Loop'

Yves performs ″Loop,″ the title track for her solo EP at a press showcase held Wednesday afternoon in southern Seoul. [NEWS1]

Yves didn’t produce any of the songs on her first solo EP, “Loop.” That doesn’t mean, however, that the album is any less about the singer-songwriter.

Yves is no stranger to songwriting — she wrote lyrics for Loona’s 2022 track “Playback” and gifted Loossemble two songs, “Strawberry soda” and “Truman Show,” that she’d written and produced.

“I have been working on my own songs during my break, but I’ve also wondered what it would like to have a song about my charms produced by a third party,” former Loona member Yves said during a press showcase Wednesday afternoon at the Ilchi Art Hall in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, ahead of the EP’s 6 p.m. release.

“But I’m just starting my journey, and I’m sure there will be many chances where I can showcase songs that I wrote. Hopefully, I’ll be able to produce even better songs later,” she said.

That was one of the reasons why she chose Paix Per Mil, a relatively small agency founded by producer millic, as she the producers of the agency — including millic himself — had the ability to “choose the songs that best suited” her and “produce songs with the charms of Yves.”

“I think the music produced by CEO millic had a great impact on me; I was curious to see how his alternative music could work with the music of an idol singer,” Yves said.

Yves' first EP, coming 6.5 years after her first solo single “Yves” was released under her debut project, features four songs: the title track, “Diorama,” “Afterglow” and “Goldfish.”

Title track “Loop” is an alternative score, featuring house rhythms, which depicts the desire to escape the “everyday loop,” while also being thankful for said loop.

Yves, with her first solo EP, also sought to define her own vocals — one of the main reasons she opted to go solo rather than join another girl group.

“I wanted my vocals not to be defined by a single term; that’s why I tried to sing with different tonality and pronunciation,” Yves said.

But her desire solo doesn’t mean she didn’t enjoy her time with the members.

“We were a group of 12 so we were naturally loud, and I think I took that for granted; it was so lonely to record and work all alone,” she said, explaining that Loona still feels like her “birthplace.”

“Oliva Hye [Hyeju] came to support me today, and even though it was just one extra member, it made all the difference. It felt so warm, and I felt very supported.”

“Landing on Billboard is all good, but I first want to be a solo artist who can fill the Handball Gymnasium [in Songpa District],” she said. “It’s a big dream but that’s how you achieve dreams.”

BY CHO YONG-JUN [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]