Woods interviewed USA Today... The first full-length album in 13 years, "I don't want to be in one frame."" [K-EYES]

*This content was translated by AI.

Korean solo artist WOODZ (real name Cho Seung-yeon) released his first full-length album "Archive. 1" (archive one) 13 years after his debut and had an interview with USA Today, a major daily newspaper in the U.S.

The U.S. daily USA Today reported an exclusive interview with Woods on the 4th (local time), highlighting his musical journey and the meaning of the album. "I don't want to be stuck in one frame," Woods said at the meeting. "I want to keep trying new challenges musically. It constantly pushes me into a situation where I have to break through myself," he said.

Woods, a multi-artist who transcends singer-songwriter, producer and performer, has a history of more than 1.1 billion global streams. This album, "Archive. 1," is the first full-length album released after completing his military service, and has a special meaning to him. "I didn't want to compromise on completeness," he told USA Today. This is an opportunity to redefine myself," he stressed.

Work on the album began about three years ago. At the beginning of his solo career, he made music conscious of the public's taste, but over time, he began to ask himself "what music I really enjoy." Rock was the genre that came to the end of the search.

The change began in earnest on the EP 'OO-LI', which was released in 2023. The track "Drowning Drowning" won first place annually on the Melon and Circle charts in 2025 and belatedly wrote the myth of reverse driving. Woods, who joined the military in early 2024, continued his creation by consistently releasing "0.9 points," or songs that were not ranked first, through SoundCloud while serving. After being discharged from the military in July last year, he reunited with fans with the concert series 'index_00'.

"Archive. 1", which consists of 17 songs, covers various sub-genres such as ballads and metals based on rock. Woods conceptualized each track into four categories: instinct, emotion, relationship, and identity, and explained, "Each song has a clear color, and those colors show various aspects of me." The title song "Human Extinction" contains the duality of human nature, and "CINEMA" contains feelings after losing love.

Woods also said it is important to separate himself as an artist from Cho Seung-yeon, a human being. "As a human being, Cho gets energy from the achievements made by artist Woods. I know a lot of people take courage from my music, so I try to be a better human being so that I don't make mistakes as an artist," he added.

Meanwhile, the album entered all major domestic music charts such as Melon, Bugs, and Genie shortly after its release, and has been receiving enthusiastic responses. Along with the release of this album, Woods also confirmed the 2026 World Tour "Archive. 1," which will tour 17 cities in Asia, Europe, and Oceania.

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*This content was translated by AI.