Kimj is architecting the rebellious new sound of the Asian underground

K imj has just landed in New York when he speaks to NME over Zoom.

He’s come back from his US tour, he says, and has just finished some pho at a restaurant.

His phone’s on one per cent, and now he’s scrambling for a charger while discussing the state of the Asian underground scene.

READ MORE: Yves’ new chapter: a K-pop star’s quiet rebellion This is the Kimj experience: endearing and intense, with the Busan-born producer calm at the helm.

His songs strike a similar note; yes, they might sound like Skrillex on steroids, but there’s always sweetness to be found in a snippet of a pop hook, or a glossy synth passage.

Combined with his upbringing, Kimj’s become a unique nexus between East and West, fostering a global underground of electronic upstarts through his work with the likes of 2hollis , Nate Sib , The Deep, Effie – and, increasingly, infiltrating mainstream pop by working with the likes of Tinashe .

“The young people, they will always be the future,” Kimj (real name Jaehyun Kim) tells NME .

“Their creativity is so pure and so honest, and because they’re most likely living with their families, they’re not thinking about taxes or rent.

They have this very pure outlook on life, and it makes the art super fun and fresh.” Credit: Press Kim moved to New Jersey aged six, where he was enrolled in classical music lessons and plunged into the American pop lexicon.

Car trips with his father and stepmother introduced him to the genius of Kesha and Katy Perry , while the rise of then-16-year-old Martin Garrix would inspire Kim to dive into EDM .

Those beats proved too tricky for Kim to recreate, but he found more luck with the hip-hop artists his friend introduced him to: Future , Young Thug and Lil Uzi Vert .

Soon, Kim was making ‘type’ beats imitating popular rappers on YouTube, gaining a cult following and selling his instrumentals to the likes of Rod Wave and NBA YoungBoy .

But once the pandemic hit, he realised he was reaching his limit: “It was getting exhausting making these similar beats.” At this point, Kim started searching for a more dynamic sound, where he stumbled upon future collaborator and roommate, SEBii.

They moved to New York together following Kim’s high school graduation, and Kim credits him for modelling a lifestyle that embraced his Asian roots.