Indie singer-songwriter Hevel has had a banner year- from the release of their debut album to performing at the Street Eats and Beats Festival in Arizona last month, it’s been a whirlwind for the emerging superstar. Atlas caught up with Hevel after their incredible performance at last month’s festival to talk about the album, performing these songs live and what’s in store for 2026!
Atlas Artist Group: How have things changed for you since your album dropped in May?
Hevel: There’s a lot more- not a lot more- eyes but some people reached out to us because they liked the record as a whole. I was always just scared that it was the wrong decision for us to do marketing-wise to make a big project rather than to just release singles and continue with that. It paid off in the sense that people are reaching out because they liked the project as a whole.
Atlas: In that regard, what made you decide to release the full album instead of just singles?
Hevel: I’ve always been more of a fan behind the artistry, behind more fully planned and articulated projects. I’ve always just wanted to do that for my own music career as well and I was lucky enough to have the chance.
As a consumer, that’s my favorite part and I was just worried that me chasing what I like as a consumer was going to hurt me on the business side. It kind of changed my perception on that and I can confidently say that I still believe in albums.
Atlas: What songs on the record mean the most to you and what songs are you seeing the fans really connect with so far?
Hevel: I think the more personal songs on the second half of the album- it gets a lot slower. There’s a song called “Lullaby” which is the outro track and I interpolate a Korean lullaby that my mom used to sing. That’s a more intimate and personal song. I’ve always wanted to do interpolations- not because of anything else but as a consumer when I hear people do a little shout out, I’ve always thought that was cool. Throughout the whole album, a lot of the references I’m using are stuff that I think is cool as a consumer- I’m just a music nerd. When people do recognize it [the interpolations], it’s like the world to me.
I think the one that connected with the people most is “Skin”- it’s a rock song. Someone said it sounded like 5 Seconds of Summer. I take a lot of inspiration from pop- there’s a reason why it’s popular. I love pop music, I love pop culture and to me it’s always fascinating because I’m a foreigner so all the media I consumed in Korea- things that I thought were cool because they were overseas- were the most popular things at the time.
Atlas: You came over to the States as a student and then decided to stay- what solidified that decision for you?
Hevel: It’s been so long, I don’t know anything outside of my life in the U.S. It’s been almost 10 years. I can still speak Korean but whenever I go back, I still feel a little bit alienated just because I don’t necessarily share the same type of upbringing that the people around me have. I’m in this kind of limbo state.
Atlas: Who are you most excited to see on the lineup for Street Eats and Beats?
Hevel: PRYVT. I don’t know them personally but I’ve just been a fan of the music. I got to talk with one of them today, I saw their soundcheck and I’m just excited for that. My friend Hohyun is also performing today. I’ve been friends with him for almost five years now but yesterday was my first time meeting him. He’s super chill- maybe I’ll see him again in Korea.
Atlas: Who are you listening to right now that people should know about?
Hevel: Sonny Zero- he’s a Korean musician and he’s my best friend. He’s been a lot more active, he’s on the come up and he’s been doing a lot better more recently because he’s been more active. Me and him have a project together from a couple years back. He’s amazing and every time I’m with him, it’s very fun.
Atlas: What are you pulling inspiration from these days when you’re working on new music?
Hevel: I talked about it a little bit during my set but I want loud music. I want music that I can perform to and get people to be excited about as well. Singing slow songs onstage is fine- it’s cool in its own way. I’ve been having a lot more fun performing. I used to be really anxious onstage but now that I’m getting more comfortable, I’d like to write more upbeat songs. I’ve been pulling a lot from dance music, electronic music and the new Frost Children record.
Atlas: Who would be on your dream lineup for a future show?
Hevel: I think all throughout my career, I’ve always been wanting to insert myself into an alternative pop space. I really like Aries- he just released an album and I really like that album. Brakence, I really like as well- kind of that anti-pop genre [that] I’ve always been a very big fan of.
Atlas: What’s coming up next for you?
Hevel: As always, after I do a big project, I just stop for a bit. I’m just taking a break, trying to learn a new instrument. I feel like if I just put myself in the same environment as before, I can only make similar songs so I’m trying to pick up some new skill sets that I can use.
Atlas: Is there anything else you want people to know that you might not get asked about?
Hevel: It’s okay that people don’t ask about this because I don’t expect people to listen to a song and be as invested as I am as the writer obviously but…track order on albums. When I write albums I really pay a lot of attention to the flow of the songs and how they connect and how cohesive it is. That’s always something that we pay a lot of attention to so that’s the only thing.
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