Eric Yoon, better known by the stage name Minshik, started making music back in 2017. It started off as a hobby at first. The singer didn’t think there would be many people listening to his songs, but he realized that with each release, he was gaining more and more listeners.
Minshik started on Soundcloud, but he soon moved to Spotify and Apple Music after gaining a huge following. A producer named KATI also reached out to Minshik, and after checking out some of his beats, Minshik decided to collaborate with the producer and create music together. He proceeded to create a crew of underground artists who have similar music styles, including Jimmy Brown, Harms, Nathania and Jword. The group is called wvvy, and everyone involved looks after one another like family.
Minshik has been a fan of the talented Korean American artist Ted Park since 2018, and three years after first encountering his work, Minshik happened to get in contact with him through a mutual friend. He sent Park a demo, which he loved, and their collaboration began. The resulting track, “In My Head,” is about a bitter breakup and fighting the thoughts of missing an ex — and despite missing them, knowing that it’s not the right thing to do and hoping that it is all in your head.
The song starts off with a repeating guitar chord, and it has an alt-rock influence and a catchy rhythm that’s addicting. The melody gives off a melancholic vibe that will get stuck inside the listener’s head.
Prior to the single’s release, Minshik released his first album, “Heartbreak Kid,” back in September 2020. The album consists of eight songs, with each track capturing the different heartbreaks one may feel after the end of a relationship. The singer says “Heartbreak Kid” is a term for someone who’s been heartbroken so many times, they go and break the hearts of others.
A lot of the songs in this album are about giving love that isn’t reciprocated, each inspired by the singer’s own past experiences. He captures the feelings he goes through by writing them down and turning them into lyrics.
When starting the production of this album, the singer had a couple of songs that were already made and just sitting in his computer. He decided to work on those songs and started the project. It took about two months to finish producing the album. Though two months may seem kind of short, the singer dedicated a lot of time and effort into creating each song. As each track was finished one by one, Minshik became more and more excited to complete the project and share it with the world as soon as possible.
Minshik normally starts off with a melody when he begins the process of creating a new song. He runs through the track by simply mumbling various melodies, and he eventually gets one that is really catchy. From there, he begins writing lyrics that fit into the melody. Every song is a different process, but that’s usually how it goes for much of his music.
After that, Minshik goes straight to recording each song and works on finalizing his sound. He tends to be consistent with the message of his songs; a lot of them are about relationships, but they each have their own special and unique vibes.
It’s easy to connect with each song because they convey emotions that everyone has felt at one point in their lives. If you have ever felt regretful, disappointed, rejected, betrayed or sad, then Minshik’s music is just for you.
When Minshik was asked about the most memorable thing in his music career so far, he spoke about the opportunity he had to work with a well-known music company in South Korea this past summer. He created his own demo and wrote his own lyrics to match the vibes of the track. Though the producers didn’t go with the singer’s demo, it was still a great experience for Minshik, as this was his first time writing a song for a famous Korean pop idol. “I really enjoyed the process and can’t wait for the next opportunity,” he said.
Over the past four years, Minshik has been steadily growing his fanbase. Just like every other artist, Minshik’s fans and supporters give him a lot of motivation to continue producing music. The singer is beyond grateful for them, and he still cannot fathom the fact that there are people who enjoy his music. He tries to give back to his fans by interacting with them on Instagram and uploading posts with small snippets of his recordings.
Minshik has had many opportunities to work with well-known Korean artists, like Crucial Star, and amazing underground artists who have thousands of listeners on Spotify.
As an underground artist himself, Minshik always tries his best to find the time to create new songs to release to the public. For the singer, the only place left to go is up. With a lot of inspiration and motivation still burning inside of him, Minshik is currently working on an EP that consists of four songs. There is still very little information on when the EP will be released and what the songs will be about, but Minshik wants his fans to look forward to what he has to bring in the future.
