Hae.zy's Love Letter to the World

interviewed by Sydney Ling

Photo credit: Tina Vonn and Olivia Puruggunan (Babae Studios)

Peachy gauze. Yellow sundress. Grapefruit and orange. Pink roses. Lulling of waves. The black frame flickers, filtering the sun-soaked scenes with hazy film. “See all the beauty of me / I know how to let you free / Just like how I wanna be,” Hae.zy intones in her music video for “Just Sayin,” her face a portrait of bronzed honey under the sun.

LA-based Korean American artist Hae.zy released her debut EP, Love letter, as her entrance to the world. She fuses jazzy pop, neo soul, and bedroom R&B, marrying her music with the poetry of her lyrics. With Love letter, Hae.zy uncovers who she is, a ballad of the vulnerability of human experience.

Could you introduce yourself?

My name is Hae.zy and I currently reside in LA but I'm from Boston. I was born in Korea and immigrated to the States when I was 3 years old. I believe that I've lived multiple lives before this one, my soul's purpose during this lifetime is to find healing, peace and Love.

What does your debut EP, Love letter, represent and mean to you? How does it compare to previous releases?

My first EP serves as an actual love letter to the world. This EP wasn't only created by me but it was a collaboration with Spirit, so the messages and the purpose of this album is far greater than me. My intention for this EP is to be the bridge between divided communities and show people that we all have something in common. And that is the human experience. All of my work has been a collaboration with Spirit but the difference with this EP is my vulnerability. I finally feel ready to put myself out into the world and be the one to connect with people.

What was the inspiration behind Love letter?

The inspiration comes from the human experience. Some of the songs come from my own personal ones and some songs come from other peoples' stories. These real life stories constantly inspire me in creating art and more peaceful ways of relating with one another. I truly believe that we need each other to heal ourselves.

What is your favourite song on Love letter?

“mong(dreams)” is my favorite song because it is my mother's story when she was pregnant with me. My role for this song is the messenger of a mother's story to the people and I really love that. In the Korean culture, a pregnancy dream is a monumental moment for most mothers to receive messages about the baby or self from the spiritual realm to the physical world. My mother recently told me this story and it served as an affirmation of my soul's purpose so I just had to add it to the project.

How do you infuse Korean culture and tradition into your music?

Being Korean is a part of my identity so the influence is inevitable but only recently I began to include the Korean language into the music. Growing up as a Korean-American, I always saw the two different cultures as separate things... very black & white. When I would hang out with my Korean friends, I was Korean and when I would hang out with my American friends, I was American. I never knew that the two cultures can collide to exist as a whole part of me. I am not intimidated by this anymore, I just utilize this as a strength to connect with more people.

How would you describe your music?

My music is unique, it can't be put into a box of just one genre because it has influences from all genres. But my music is mostly influenced by jazz, r&b, indie, rock and electronic. I usually just say that my music is a marriage between poetry and music because it takes too long to describe.

How do you use your music to explore your Asian American identity - how do you create Asian American representation through your music?

I started to explore this part of my identity through visuals. Music videos are awesome because it doesn't limit the musician to only create art sonically but allows us to explore the visual aspects as well. I really enjoy bringing the imagination in my head to real life. I make conscious decisions on putting more Asian faces and representation of different communities within the Asian community to be in the frontlines.

Where do you draw inspiration from?

Life experiences. Human experiences. Thoughts and emotions. Experiences from other sources of life and love.

What does music mean to you?

Music is an expression but it is super powerful because it has direct connection to the heart.

What does it mean to you to be an Asian American female artist in a white, male-dominated industry? It affirms to me of my pioneership, strength and courage. I used to be intimidated by this but I've been on this journey long enough to understand my strengths and uniqueness. Now I am just excited to create more allyship.

Could you speak on your song, “mong (dreams)?” You described the song as your mother's love and journey, where you also chose to shed light on superstitions in Korean culture about pregnancy dreams. What do these dreams and your mother's experience mean to you, and what importance do they hold in Korean culture as a whole?

When my mother began to tell this story, she paused a couple times to explain the different symbolisms. She said that she was walking in the desert for countless miles feeling exhausted and hopeless. After walking for some time she noticed something coming up. As she continued to walk towards it, she saw that it was a big tree abundant with fruits like apples, pears and melons. Superstition believes that when you see more than one fruit in your dreams, it embodies feminine energy and that's when she knew she was having a daughter. When my mother saw this tree she began to joyfully eat and drink the juices of the fruits. She pointed out that the emotion she was feeling was pure hope and love. The hope that she needed to keep it moving and the love that she felt for her baby. And those raw emotions symbolized my soul's purpose.

Your music has a very lyrical, intimate personal feel, an infusion of a variety of genres- how did this style speak to you, and how does it speak to who you are as both a person and an artist?

My music describes my uniqueness. I stay in my own lane and mind my own business, and this independence and confidence exudes in my art and whole being. I think the most important thing to me is the realness in my expression rather than my delivery because I truly believe that if I am real and genuine enough the messages will safely be delivered.

What is your love letter to the world?

It is my declaration and commitment to Love. Love for God, love for people, love for art and music, love for myself, love for life, love for the present moment and experiences, love for connection, love for relation, love for companionship... just Love. I want to shout and spread my love for all things of this world through the good and the bad.

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