P1Harmony Puts Their ‘Own Twist’ on Hip-Hop with New Album

Global K-pop group P1Harmony is on a mission to reinvent itself with the release of its latest album.

On May 8, the six-member boy group — consisting of Keeho, Theo, Jiung, Intak, Soul and Jongseob — released its eighth mini album, “Duh!” According to the group, who made their debut in 2020 with “Siren,” each member played a crucial role in the album’s creation. Jiung, Intak and Jongseob contributed to the songwriting, while Keeho, Jiung and Jongseob took part in composing. Soul and Theo, meanwhile, added their “distinct vocal colors” to round out the sound.

“We created this album — a lot of it, actually — during our Europe tour [which concluded earlier this year],” Keeho says. “While we were in Europe, we were distributing parts (aka figuring out who’s doing what), coming up with new concepts and writing lyrics on planes and in between shows. It was just a whole bunch of hectic stuff going on because we were really pushing to meet the deadline. But I think when you’re rushing to get things done and working so hard to polish everything at the last minute, it leaves a lasting impression, so I hope our fans love it.”

The project, which took about 10 months from ideation to execution, features six high-energy tracks including “Murmur,” “Over and Over” and “Pretty Boy.” Staying true to their K-pop roots, each song carries the genre’s signature polish and energy, but this time with a more experimental and genre-blending sound. 

The title track “Duh!” leans into an early 2010s dance-pop vibe, while “Murmur” offers a ’90s-inspired fusion of R&B and hip-hop. By shaking up their usual sound, Jongseob notes that P1Harmony was able to present fans with something “new and fresh” that showcases both their musical versatility and creative growth.

“We really wanted to try an old-school hip-hop sound because we have so much respect for the culture and where it came from,” Jongseob says. “We wanted to honor that while adding our own twist. It’s such a popular genre, so we wanted to reinvent it…and make it our own.”

“That’s the vibe we brought into the [entire album], but we also experiment with new sounds — genres we haven’t explored in our previous albums,” he adds. “With this release, fans will definitely hear a mix of different styles, inspirations and influences from all over.”

While a tour for the album hasn’t been officially announced, Keeho hints that one is in the works. 

“We’re definitely going to hit the road,” he says. “We purposely didn’t perform a lot of the songs from [previous] albums on our last tour because we wanted to save them for what’s coming next.”

Keeho says that performing the new songs live opens up new creative possibilities for the group. “Since we haven’t performed this album yet, we’re thinking a lot about how to translate it into a live experience,” he says. “With a broader variety of songs now, we can explore different themes and concepts for our shows, which makes it even more exciting.”