Leader, the new album from the South Korean artist and member of the Balming Tiger collective Omega Sapien, is a high-energy sprint partly inspired by the street-level dance music currently coming out of South East Asia. It’s frenetic from start to finish, warping the vernacular languages of that region’s dance music into something that, at times, gets so frenzied that it’s almost psychedelic. We caught up with Omega Sapien and asked him about the record, Balming Tiger, and his crew’s place within the larger K-pop landscape. Read it below!

What kind of artists and producers influenced the sound of your new album? There’s a lot of different styles coexisting together in a really exciting way.

Omega Sapien: Mainly from street dance music of South East Asia, such as DJ Love from the Philippines. I found the music so fresh and unique and my instinct was to venture out the scenes and create something cool together.

Is there a song on the record that you really love, one that you feel encapsulates your vision for the project?

Definitely “Swag.” Maybe it isn’t the most playable song but this was the backbone of the album. It was the first track that I made as well. This song encapsulates the brain rot/dancey/“fried” tune that I wanted to target when I started this project.

How did the video for “Krapow” come together?

I hit up my bro Leesuho from Balming Tiger. We really wanted to make something

extreme and push the boundary. With my solo project I really wanted to bring back the 2019 vibes. It was a super low budget video compared to the size of it, so I’m super grateful for a lot of the cast and staff who came out because they believed in this project.

What are some ways that your sound has developed over the past decade?

I think it’s a constant journey to find myself. I’m trying my best to blow my own

unique soul into it. It definitely is an exciting journey and I think these steps will take forever without a definite ending.

Tell us about Balming Tiger.

Balming Tiger is my creative family. We handle videos, production, pitching all the

other work that is needed in order to put our music out. It is a joy to create things together with people that I’ve known for a long time and who know my flaws. Being in a team helps us to keep our soul.

How do you feel like you and your friends in Balming Tiger fit into the larger K-pop landscape?

I guess we are creating our own bubble or space within the scene. If we leave an

irreplaceable presence then that space will always be there for us.

What is the scene like in Seoul right now? What are some of your favorite venues or Clubs?

I don’t know, I don’t party as much as before and not really sure what they are up to. But from my sense of it, club culture didn’t change too much since I first got to Korea. I wish there were newer and cooler venues in the city.

You make really high-energy music. What is one of your favorite high-energy songs to dance to?

Been bumping to “RUSSIAN TRAP HOUSE” nowadays.