Part 3. Pioneering “Violin-Driven K-Pop”
The term “violin-driven K-pop,” which combines classical violin melodies with trendy hip-hop beats, is a very fresh and distinctive description of your music. Where did the idea for this unique combination originate?
ALL’N: The idea really started from me thinking that violin does not have to mean classical music. Classical music is where I learned the instrument, but the violin itself can do a lot more than people sometimes expect. It depends on what you play, how you attack the notes, what beat is underneath it, what chords are happening, and what kind of production you put around it.
K-pop already works like that. It pulls from so many places. You can hear hip-hop, rock, R&B, electronic music, Brazilian funk, and all kinds of other influences inside K-pop. So to me, violin should be able to travel through those sounds too. I do not want to make one formula where every ALL’N song is “classical violin plus hip-hop beat.” That would get boring very quickly.
For a hip-hop-based track, I might set the key and BPM, loop the chords and beat, pick up the violin, and just jam until I find a lick that feels cool. On a ballad, I usually play very differently because I am thinking more about the vocal and how the violin can answer it or support the emotion instead of competing with it.
I want to keep showing that the violin can fit into a lot of different genres. Sometimes it can be the main hook, sometimes it can almost act like a lead guitar, and sometimes it may barely be there. The sound should change with the song.
When creating a song, do you usually come up with the violin topline first, or do you start by creating a hip-hop-based beat and then build the violin performance around it? We would love to hear about your personal creative process.
ALL’N: I do not really have one routine where the violin always comes first or the beat always comes first. Usually I know the emotion before I know the exact production. I see music pretty visually in my head, so different songs have colors and environments attached to them. “Dream Higher,” for example, was always light blue to me, very glowing and dreamy, almost like an LED world. That image helped me decide what kinds of synths, guitars, and textures belonged in the song.
If I am making something more hip-hop-driven, I will usually get the key, tempo, chords, and beat going first, then play the loop over and over and improvise on violin. I will record different ideas until there is one little phrase that makes me stop and think, okay, that is something I would remember. Then I build from there.
If it is a ballad or something more vocal-centered, the process can be almost the opposite. The melody and lyrics may need to be right first, and then I think about where the violin can come in without making the song feel crowded. Sometimes the violin idea comes very late, even though violin is obviously part of my identity.
I think that is important. I do not want to add violin just because people expect ALL’N to have violin. It still needs a reason to be there. The instrument will always be part of my music, but I want its role to be different depending on what the song needs.
Traditional classical music and mainstream hip-hop can sometimes feel like very different worlds. What kinds of music or artists do you usually draw inspiration from when breaking down that boundary and creating a harmonious sound?
ALL’N: I usually get inspired more by individual songs than by one specific artist. There are artists I really admire, but I do not think there is anyone where every single song affects me in the same way. Usually it is one song that finds me at the right time and makes me feel something very strongly. Those are the songs I end up studying.
My classical training definitely affects how I listen. When you grow up with violin, especially with competitions and sight-reading, you get used to looking at music very analytically: tempo, key, rhythm, phrasing, dynamics, where the difficult section is, and how everything is structured. I do something similar when I hear a song I love. I start asking why it made me feel that way. Was it the drum pattern? The chord change? A sound that came in right before the chorus? Was the drop actually big, or did it feel big because everything went quiet right before it?
That is why classical music and hip-hop do not feel as far apart to me as they might sound at first. The instruments and language can be completely different, but you are still dealing with rhythm, harmony, tension, release, repetition, dynamics, and emotion. If the BPM works, the key works, and the musical idea makes sense, sounds that seem unrelated can live together.
So I take inspiration from songs across a lot of genres, break down what I think created the feeling, and then try to use that knowledge in my own way. I really believe ideas come from other ideas. The goal is not to copy the surface of something I like; it is to understand why it worked on me and then make something different with that understanding.
You have demonstrated a wide range of abilities as a rapper, vocalist, and violinist. When working on a song, how do you balance the roles of these three different elements?
ALL’N: When I decided to come back into K-pop as a soloist, one thing I kept thinking about was how to make one person feel as full as a group. Part of the fun of a K-pop group is that you get different voices, different personalities, and different energies inside the same song. I obviously cannot become five different people, but I can create more contrast than just singing in one tone for three minutes.
That is why I intentionally use a deeper tone when I rap and a smoother, airier tone when I sing. Then the violin becomes another voice completely because it does not need words. In my head, those three elements can almost act like three different members of the same performance.
The balance changes every song. “We Up” has a lot of violin because I needed to introduce that side of me very clearly. Another song may need more rap in the verses because I am telling a story. Another may be mostly vocal because the hook needs emotion. Sometimes the chorus might be melodic, and sometimes a simple chant works better.
So I do not really sit there and say, this song needs 30 percent rap, 40 percent singing, and 30 percent violin. I just keep asking which voice should carry this part. If I use all three just to prove that I can, the song will probably get worse.
Beyond “violin-driven K-pop,” are there any other musical genres that you would like to explore or combine with your violin playing in the future?
ALL’N: I definitely want to explore more K-pop rock and pop-rock. Lately that kind of music has been giving me a lot of positive energy, especially songs that feel like they would be huge with a live band and a crowd singing together. One of my favorite examples is DAY6’s “Welcome to the Show.” I love that kind of feeling.
I also think violin has a lot of room in that sound that has not been explored very much in K-pop. It can almost take the role of a lead guitar, it can double a guitar melody, it can make an intro feel cinematic, or it can come in during the final chorus and make everything feel bigger. I would love to experiment with that.
More generally, I think K-pop is closer to a category than one strict genre because it keeps absorbing different sounds. That is exciting for me because it means I do not have to choose between being “the hip-hop violin guy” or “the rock violin guy.” I can keep changing the genre and let the violin change with it.
