After some rest, Karn of Thai duo HYBS, is back to doing what he loves. As WIM, he’s ready to start a familiar musical journey—solo this time.
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One of the most difficult things to do in life is acknowledging that sometimes, you have to cut loose, let go, and move on. Whether it’s from a loved one, a job, a career path, or an opportunity, walking away from something that’s changed your life is a painstaking ordeal. But often, it’s worth it to try something new, and WIM, or formerly Karn of HYBS, knows it, too.
Many of us know what it feels like to find out your favorite band or duo broke up. From One Direction to Alex & Sierra, IZ*ONE to My Chemical Romance, many of us, if not all of us, have gone through a “breakup” of the sort. But of course, that’s on our end. We’ll always wonder how it is for our favorite artists to part ways.
Joining the roster, but—don’t get it wrong—without any bad blood, is Thai duo HYBS. Founded in 2021, HYBS was a project by long-lost friends Karn (Kasidej Hongladaromp) and Alyn (James Alyn Wee). They formed a musical act whose indie-pop/R&B tracks were filled with the vibiest of vibes. HYBS hasn’t been a musical act long, but with songs like Tip Toe (you definitely will recognize this song) and Ride, their music has brought some light and good energy to people all over the world.
FINDING THEIR WAY
Karn and Alyn were friends who haven’t spoken to each other in years, until one day, at the height of a time of gloomy uncertainty, aka the COVID-19 pandemic, the two came together to express themselves through laid-back, quirky music that’s born of their memories and experiences.
After three years of producing, collaborating, and touring, HYBS eventually made the decision to go their own ways in January 2024. “When we started this project, we never meant for it to go on forever,” the two said in their goodbye statement. “As it was, we achieved so much more than we ever dreamed we would.” In the same statement, HYBS announced they would release a new EP and embark on a goodbye tour, which concluded in March with their Well Done Concert in Bangkok.
Now, a few months later of rest, and recharge, Karn Kasidej has taken the first steps on his own solo endeavor—releasing his first song as WIM. WIM is Karn’s new solo project, an acronym for Who Is Me? As WIM, Karn brings what we’ve loved about HYBS’ music and puts his own spin on it, focusing on feeling good, feeling the vibes, and feeling yourself.
Fresh off the release of his solo debut single Mr. Feelgood, WIM talks to NYLON Manila all about the decision to walk away, a relaunching of his career, and the value of taking a step back so you can take even bigger leaps forward.
Congratulations on your solo debut, Mr. Feelgood! How does it feel to start this new journey, solo this time?
I feel pretty excited so far! It’s so good to be back. I mean, yeah, I took a little break. And now I’m back here and I can’t wait to share those magical moments with everyone again. I’m glad that people like this song, love this song. There’s so much more to come this year as Wim. So yes, hang tight.
What were you up to during your break?
I’m just being a regular dude, living my life! Making sure I eat well, sleep well, travel well. And making sure my battery is like 80% plus.
Could you tell me about the moment you realized it was time to move on to other things, to other projects?
I think it is such a common thing for people to disrupt something. And there are so many things that are in their lives. I mean, but don’t get me wrong, me and Alyn are still good friends. But we just decided to like do something new, explore something new. I think it’s okay, because you never know the future. The future is the future. So for now, we just wanted to experiment with our careers and music as well.
Why did you choose to launch your solo career with this song, Mr. Feelgood? What about this song made you feel it was right to start your new project WIM?
I wasn’t sure if it was fit to be the debut single or not, but I like it! I took a little break, and sometimes I just sit there doing nothing, playing video games, and sometimes I felt bad about it. I felt kind of useless back then, but at some point I just realized that sometimes you might want to allow yourself to just sit there and do nothing—and not feel about it. Because at the end of the day, we’re all just human.
Even though we are socialized creatures, sometimes you might want to just disconnect for a while to reconnect with yourself. The world is so fast nowadays, some of us don’t even know where we are or what we want anymore, so you might want to just sit there and be you. No need to rush things or try so hard, just make sure you’re healthy and young at heart, and yes, be Mr. Feelgood.
Speaking of reconnecting with yourself, what are some things you’ve learned about yourself since you ended your previous project and took your break?
I realized…when HYBS was highly active, I mean, I worked 24/7. We wrote together, and it was good fun, but I just realized that people can’t work 24/7, you know? Even if we love our work so much. At some point I realized, actually, I’m just a dude. I need to balance things. I can’t do that—we can’t just work 24/7. Some days you’re going to wake up thinking what’s wrong with me? What happened to me? I feel kind of strange today. You can feel so unconnected with yourself.
Yeah, that kind of burnout, even when you love what you do, it’s very hard to recover from.
Yeah, I think it’s a common thing for people who like doing creative work, because we can’t really separate our lives, like our personal lives and creative work.
What kind of mindset does it take for someone to try and find themselves? Because what you did wasn’t easy, of course, taking a step back from it all. Not a lot of people try to undergo that journey.
I’m not sure if I’m the guy who can encourage this! But let’s say I’m sharing it with my friends. There’s no need to be guilty when you sit there and do nothing sometimes, because I’d say it’s one of the most important parts of a process, even for work. It’s fine if you don’t know who you are now. You have more time. You can try everything just a little bit more. Allow yourself to try everything you want to. Feel free to explore new things.
What are some of the advantages and struggles that you’ve had to work through as you do this all yourself at your pace now?
Independent artists have to do so much more. When you’re in a label, the scope of work is kind of deployed to the whole team. But this, like 80% of the work is on me and my team. Not gonna lie, it’s pretty exhausting, but when I hear something like my song helps someone get through something or even adds a little bit of joy to their days, it kind of reminds me why I’m doing this in the first place.
Speaking of your fans, is there anything you’d like to say to your fans, particularly here in the Philippines and all over Asia?
I mean, you guys mean so much to me. You are the main reason that reminds me of why I do this. You guys encourage me to spread the good vibe. When you’re feeling happy, you can easily spread that good vibe without even trying, you know? And I’m trying to be that person.
All my friends from the Philippines or even all around the world, I’m so glad you still stick with me to this day. I’m not sure if this is even right to say, but I’m no going to let you down. I’m still here. I’m not going anywhere. I’m creating new things, exploring new vibes, and we’re on sprint mode right now to get out there and share some more magical moments with you guys as soon as possible.
Interview has been edited for length and clarity. Photos courtesy of WIM and Amplified Entertainment.
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