Putting out the pre-release single – Abyss – of his upcoming mini album, WOODZ has chosen to reflect on his inner self with a soft rock approach as opposed to his former hard-hitting singles. Born Cho Seung-youn, the multi-talented artist has taken a step back from exhibiting his stage persona with this release that comes 9 months after his comeback with Colourful Trauma in May 2022.
As far as the song’s tune is concerned, it takes on a very indie personality, overtly depicting that with this premiere the singer has no intentions of appealing to the commercial side of the music business. His only goal is to convey his intimate, vulnerable thoughts as someone who’s simply working hard to do what he loves the most – making music.
The 4-minute-long video starts off with an epigraph that reads ” A Very Personal Story by WOODZ”, thus, preparing the audience for the heartfelt narration that follows it in the lyrics of the song. He then walks into a vintage-styled, gothic mansion filled with countless shelves of books. This library is soon visited by people across ages and tendencies who await their turn to be handed out a wrapped up parcel by Seung-youn in exchange of crystal clear balls.
And the balls handed out by the people seem to be an extension of their selves, a metaphorical representation of how an artist’s fans offer a piece of themselves when they decide upon supporting their musical endeavours. However, with this support, expectations and vehement passions tag along that often tend to reduce these artists to something they may not have been originally.
In that sense, the story doesn’t merely reflect WOODZ’s reality as a singer-songwriter, it becomes a universal experience felt by all musicians with a fanbase. During the initial moments of the video, we get to glance over a board filled with various feelings, desires and whatnot.
Seung-youn’s character in the MV pulls a note out of these compartments, and gives them out to the people coming to him along with the parcels. It again represents how, he, as an artist, often churns out musical products that emerge out of his fans’ desire or wants, but, the song released today emotes his personal thoughts instead, which on one end, he fears may drive some of his fans away. Yet, he has an answer for that too – “When the time comеs/ For you to hate me/ I want you to leave me”.
It’s a common feature observed across fandoms that people seek to know everything about their favourite musicians, and end up resorting to extreme ends to achieve this feat which often invades the boundary separating an artist and their fans. This act not only dehumanises the person or the group of people in question by reducing their identities to mere objects of one’s fantasy, it also leaves them with no personal space for themselves.
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As per the lyrics, WOODZ hopes to convey that “It’s alright if you want a lot”, and that he’s ready to give it his all to make his fans happier, in exchange for one favour – “Don’t try to know me in every way”. Korean music videos are always left open to one’s interpretation, as artists never try to thrust down their own ideas or constrict the meaning of the concept played with therein. For Abyss, it can be said that, towards the end when WOODZ drops the crystal balls collected from the people earlier and moves on to the sea-side thereafter, it’s his way of portraying that he’s let go of everyone’s expectations.
Although he respects his fans’ wishes and preferences, he, as WOODZ and Cho Seung-youn would also like to follow his own path of freedom that is bereft of any kind of pressure exerted by any party from the outside. In this way, he’s taking control of his narrative while also respectfully distancing himself from the others’ assumptions of himself.
Watch the Abyss Music Video
Tune into WOODZ’s discography on Spotify.
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