Koyote marks 25th anniversary with new single 'Wish'

Veteran dance music trio Koyote on Wednesday marked its 25th debut anniversary with a new digital single, “Wish.”

“This single can be described as a very ‘Koyote-like’ single, a song that describes our music style very well. It is a powerful dance song but its lyrics are quite sad. Just like our previous songs, this song is also easy to sing along to,” said Shin Ji of Koyote during a press conference in Seoul on the day of the single’s release.

The new single is an electronic dance song composed with powerful sounds that convey the trio’s wish to continue creating new music for as long as possible, just like the gentle breeze of the wind.

“We’ve never been a storm in the industry but rather a gentle breeze. I think that’s the success factor behind our longevity,” said Shin Ji.

Koyote, consisting of Kim Jong-min, Shin Ji and Bbaek Ga, made its debut in 1998 and has since garnered various hit tracks including “Sad dream,” “Sadness” and “Disco king.”

“We are relieved when we get to make a comeback every year. It’s an honor to get to present new music every once in a while to our fans and the public,” said Kim Jong-min.

“Every time when we make a comeback, we struggle in choosing a new song because we want to do something new, something we’ve never done before. But, at the same time, we also think we should maintain our musical style,” said Bbaek Ga.

Despite each member being chased by busy individual schedules, the trio always records new songs together at a studio.

“Recording all together at the same time at the same place helps bring out the best in us. We come up with great ideas when we are together and add those ideas to our original track. We really enjoyed working on this single,” said Shin Ji.

The trio performed its new single on stage for the first time during the press conference during which Kim Jong-min and Bbaek Ga took some time to introduce the highlight of the single’s choreography.

“We named it the 'fan' dance as we move our hands just like the (blades) of a fan,” said Kim Jong-min.

“It’s been 25 years since we’ve been active as Koyote and our fans are aging with us. The 25th debut anniversary means a lot to us because we were able to stay in the industry for this long thanks to the support and love from the public,” said Shin Ji.

“I will be 60 years old at our 40th debut anniversary, but I want to continue doing music until then. For that, we are all taking good care of our health,” said Kim Jong-min.

“I think we will continue to contemplate the kind of music we want to create in future because we also want to expand our reach to the young generation, but at the same time continue to maintain what is ours,” said Shin Ji.

Koyote awaits its US concert, which is set to take place next month. The group will then embark on a nationwide tour.