Jang Eun Seong, who goes by the name of Summer Soul, is an independent South Korean singer-songwriter known for her R&B and soul singles. She made her solo debut in March 2018 with the digital single “How Beautiful (feat. TAEK).”

Since then, Summer Soul has been continuously releasing songs, incorporating her creative vision into each one. A few of the singles under her discography were a collaboration with different artists with “Kill Your Darling,” “My Last Teen,” and “JUNKFOOD” being her current top songs on Spotify.

‘Dear.R’ is the artist’s newest single album, bringing back her familiar R&B sound. It contains two tracks: “Ride,” featuring Jueun, who was previously part of girl group DIA with Cosmic Girls (WJSN)’s Exy as one of the song’s lyricists, and “Ruby” that delves into the complexities of love, “the sides of love that are not as beautiful as one may think.”

In an exclusive interview with allkpop, Summer Soul discussed her journey as an independent artist, working with Jueun and Exy, the artist she would love to collaborate with, and more. Read on below for the full interview!

allkpop: First of all, congratulations on your new single! I heard that the CDs were immediately sold out! How were you feeling when you saw that news?

Summer Soul: I was amazed when I found out that the CDs were sold out in a day. As it’s been a year since I released a new album, I thought there wouldn’t be many people who'd been waiting for it. I felt really grateful and touched by the fact that there are actually many fans who’ve got my back.

allkpop: For those who may be curious, why is your stage name "Summer Soul"? Is there any meaning or inspiration behind that?

Summer Soul: I studied abroad in Malaysia from 2012 to 2017. Since Malaysia only has one season, Summer, I believe that the warm and hot weather had a big influence on me in making music. So, I picked “Summer” as a keyword and then just added Soul. I think that is also why people like when I sing songs during winter; my voice makes people feel warm.

allkpop: Could you walk us through how ‘Dear.R’ was brought to life?

Summer Soul: At first, I was actually planning to release a project album with Jueun. Then, as it fell through, it was too good to just throw away the remaining “Ride” track. So, I released it alongside my solo track “Ruby.” I was personally close to her and talked about music a lot on a daily basis, so we connected so well. I think I had fun in the process of working without any difficulties.

allkpop: Tell us more about the first track “Ride.” You collaborated with Jueun for the song.

Summer Soul: I wrote “Ride” together with Jueun, who used to be in a girl group called DIA. I thought she was someone who lived a very different life from me when I first met her. But after spending a couple of years together, we found out that we are very similar to each other as we both had a lonely and hard time in our own ways. So, I wanted to tell the story of us coming together as well as the growth between the two of us. I chose to make a song with someone who has been through difficulties with me. We’ve been friends for years, and I thought that could help me sing with sincerity. Not just this but Jueun is an incredibly talented artist, and people don’t notice it.

allkpop: What was it that made you choose Jueun to feature in this song?

Summer Soul: Her voice is very refreshing and has a higher tone compared to mine. That is why the song went so well. Surprisingly, her voice and my voice sound really good together.

allkpop: How about the second track? What do you want to convey with "Ruby"?

Summer Soul: Talking about “Ruby,” whenever I’m in a relationship with someone, I find out that I’m really in love with that person and that relationship seems to be very important to me. So, sometimes I get obsessed with love, but I come to realize that the real side of love is not as beautiful as I thought. So, I wanted to talk about greed and the unpleasant side of love that everyone who has been in love before would have experienced at least once.

allkpop: You took part in writing the lyrics for the two tracks. You've always been taking part in that creative side of being a musician, but what was your experience like working, particularly on those songs?

Summer Soul: Writing lyrics and melody is not a big deal for me anymore since I do it all the time. But this time, the lyrics were quite straightforward. It was both hard and easy writing those down. “Ruby” required lots of imagination and “Ride” required me to tell my true story. It took some time, but I could feel the growth after completing the two tracks.

allkpop: When I saw the song credits for "Ride," I saw WJSN Exy's name. What was it like working with her for this as well as with the other producers and writers?

Summer Soul: It was difficult for me to actually write Korean lyrics because I used to write in English more than in Korean. By good opportunity, Jueun introduced me to Exy of WJSN. I was so grateful that she was willing to work with me. Thanks to Exy, she wrote the Korean lyrics that I really like. I used to get disappointed when I release a song because I couldn't include Korean lyrics. But this time, I was so happy with the result because Exy worked with me on the song's Korean lyrics.

allkpop: It's been 5 years since your debut. Tell us how your journey as an independent solo artist has been so far.

Summer Soul: My music spectrum got wider over the years, especially since I've been listening to all kinds of genres. Before 2018, I just put my work on SoundCloud, so basically, I was just active online not offline. But after 2018, when I came back to Korea, I had many gigs and stuff. I think that’s the point where I could feel my growth as a musician.

allkpop: What's the most enjoyable and most difficult part of being an independent soloist? How do you overcome the challenges?

Summer Soul: The most difficult part of being an independent soloist must be that I have to be everything. I have to be the CEO of my own company. I have to be responsible for every single thing including the things that disturb me for being an artist myself. To overcome these, I’m trying to get as much help as I can from my colleagues around me.

allkpop: Do you have any artists in mind you'd like to work with on a song?

Summer Soul: DPR LIVE. Nowadays, I’m really into DPR Live. He’s super cool. I could say that I'm almost fangirling over him. This summer, I got to watch his performance live, and I just fell in love with his music. His melody, his lyrics, his gestures… There are no flaws at all.

allkpop: Lastly, do you have any goals set for the rest of the year and next year? Also, please feel free to leave any messages to everyone who will be reading this interview.

Summer Soul: Next year, I'm planning to do lots of collaborations with artists in other countries and make it global. After I achieve this goal, I want to go on a tour to see my international fans in real life. I hope all these things will happen in the near future. I love you so much and thanks for staying here with me! I’ll be there whenever you need me!