There's always something new going on with eaJ.

Whether it's a new game he's into, a silly Peanut and Butter anecdote, or a snippet of an unreleased song, it seems like the Korean-American act always has surprises up his sleeve. eaJ shares all these and more, regularly chatting with fans on his Twitch stream. It was on one of these livestreams that the 'mad' singer ended up discovering Indonesian singer-songwriter, Hindia, after asking fans for music recommendations.

eaJ teams up with Hindia for new single, 'right where you left me': "I instantly fell in love with his sound. I had to slide into his DMs."

While eaJ has worked with a slew of collaborators throughout the years – from Seori to Vaultboy to schld - this was the first time he reached out to an artist he didn't know at all via DM. "I heard his sound and I was like 'I need to make a song with him.'"

Months after that first message, the pair defied timezones and language barriers to come up with 'right where you left me,' out this 5 July. A surprising collaboration for both acts, eaJ calls it one of his favourite songs thus far.

‘right where you left me’ is probably one of my favorites. Also have one of my favorite musicians with me on it. I’m so excited 😭

JULY 5th!!!!

— eaJ (@eaJPark) June 26, 2024

Ahead of the single drop, eaJ talks to Bandwagon about his highly anticipated Asia tour, being an independent artist, telling stories through his shows, opening meaningful conversations on mental health, being impressed by Thai singer-actor Jeff Satur, and more.

eaJ on connecting with fans, writing lyrics and melodies, and visiting Asia

Let’s talk about your Asia tour. While you’ve visited some of these places before for festivals or fan meets, this will be your first proper Asia tour. How do you feel about that?

I’m so excited. I feel like a lot of people have been waiting for me to come back. I’ve [always] wanted to. it’s just that the situation has never presented itself as clearly as it does now. I’m so excited to go back and see everybody.

ASIA I’M COMING BACK!
Tix info @ https://t.co/txevfxJLRz #wtrsfmTOUR pic.twitter.com/ApVUYnn0Hc

— eaJ (@eaJPark) May 24, 2024

How have you been preparing for your tour?

Creating a story and a narrative. It’s funny cause while preparing for this tour, I figured out what my next EP is gonna be called. It’s all just coming together. It’s interesting.

How involved are you in your live show preparations?

(Laughs) Oh, very involved. More involved than I would like to be. But hopefully, at some point, I could find a label that would be a good place for me and I could get some help. But for now, we’re kind of just building everything cause we’re independent. It’s been fun though!

So you’re kind of like doing a DIY situation at the moment.

Yeah, that’s kind of how my artist career as eaJ has been for maybe the past three years. I’ve just kind of DIY-ing everything and it definitely has its ups and downs, but it’s fun at the end of the day and I think that’s what matters the most.

It seems like your tour is close to selling out. Like whenever tickets drop, they’re gone right away.

(Laughs) Well, it’s awesome. The tour hasn’t sold out, it’s mostly the VIPs that sell out immediately. But tickets are flying fast, and I appreciate it cause it feels like people have even waiting for me to come back. I’m really, really excited.

Can you share a little something that fans can look forward to when they go to the shows or is everything a secret for now?

New songs and I think I’m trying to create a show with moments. I know that during my last North American tour people really loved the monologue and the storytelling. But I don’t want to do the same thing again. I’m trying to find a different way to project that. But come, and be ready to hear a story.

Let's talk about your new collaboration with Hindia. How did you end up working together?

I was on stream one day, I was making a playlist with everyone that was watching. This really cool and production came on and I was like, “Wait who’s this?” And they were like, “Oh this is Hindia. It’s a band.” And I was like, “Wait what??” And then we did a deep dive and I just instantly fell in love with the sound, his music, how he projects himself, and I had to slide into his DMs. I just had to.

So that’s how you discovered them! I thought you guys met when you were at Joyland Jakarta or something.

No. I discovered them on my playlist last year. It’s been a minute. It’s super random. I’m sure he was like, "What the heck? Why is this guy like [messaging me] out of nowhere." I’m glad we're working on some stuff and we're really excited about it.

You’re working remotely on this right? What’s that been like with the time difference and everything else?

Yeah. I mean it’s a struggle because with this lifestyle you’re always busy and messages can get lost in translation. But to be honest, for the most part, it’s just been really nice. My relationship with him and how I know him as a person, he’s just very kind, very very generous and just like, very polite. I honestly just have good things to say about him.

right where you left me ft.hindia coming soon! Presave here! https://t.co/P249N5Vsbp pic.twitter.com/95vX52o0XN

— eaJ (@eaJPark) June 15, 2024

You discovered Hindia randomly through a playlist, but are there any Asian acts you recently discovered that you’d love to work with?

Hundred per cent. There’s a lot of Indonesian bands that I really vibe with. But there's also this Thai artist named Jeff Satur. I really like his music. It’s like alt-pop but more pop-leaning? It’s kinda cool.

You guys should do something together.

I’d love to! I just haven’t reached out. I’ve never really done that before. But I heard Hindia's sound and I was like “I need to make a song with him.”

You’ve been doing the solo thing for quite some time now. What’s the best thing you learned about yourself throughout this solo journey so far?

I’ve realised that though my mental health goes up and down. I feel like my whole journey in Korea has made my mental health ridiculously strong beyond understanding. I just learned to take things like "Oh, I guess that happened, on to the next one." I’ve realised more and more that I feel like I’m growing up.

On that note, if you’re okay with it, I’ll ask you a bit more about mental health. You’ve been very open about it, not just as an advocacy, but also with sharing your own experiences. I find that to be admirable and refreshing especially because not all artists are able to do that openly. It’s not easy. It also influences your fans, it’s encouraging them to go to therapy, to talk to someone, to take their medication. Is this something you’d like to do in a more formal way?

Obviously, there are cons too. But I wish I could better represent the benefits of medication. Because you’re right, it is so taboo in Asia. The moment...  (Laughs). I’m telling you… the night that I first said, “Yeah, I’m on meds right now, it’s helped me a lot." I just got this ungodly amount of messages that were like upset and saying “Oh you’re like mentally ill, stop going online”. And I’m like, “That’s not how that works.”

I just feel like there’s a need for more advocacy for that. The truth of the matter is, more than some of us, more than a few of us have been through really weird childhoods or situations in life that just have us feeling a certain type of way in our heads. It’s not being weak, and it shouldn’t be taboo to actively look for help. It just doesn’t make any sense that someone trying to better themselves is supposed to feel bad about doing so.

In the Philippines, we're starting to be a little more open about mental health. Slowly, more and more artists are also stepping up to talk about the stigma about mental health.

I’m glad people are up in arms because it's not healthy. People can’t always be happy, that’s not how that works. For those who actively have chemical problems in their brain, to stop them from doing that, they live life miserably. I just really pray and hope that they are able to see that there are other options, instead of living life that way. Cause I’ve been there, and that is no way to live.

Going back to your connection with your fans, you seem to have a very open and casual relationship with them, talking about all sorts of things on your streams. Has there ever been a time wherein you had to draw a line for yourself, as well as your fans?

I think I did a while back. It got to a point where I would come online and talk to them about things, and then people were coming to my livestreams and just asking “Oh where’s this other group?” And I’m like “I don’t know.” So I started drawing lines at that point. But for the most part, if they’re harmless questions, I have no problem with that.

It becomes an issue for me when people come [to the stream] just to bait a certain reaction from me by saying certain things. That bugs me a little. Other than that, it’s cool.

What’s your message for your fans who have been waiting to see you in their cities?

I hope they’re ready to jump cause it’s gonna be a fun show. Bring your running shoes. Prepare to sing your lungs out, whether you sing good or not. I’ll be giving it my all and I’m excited to see everyone singing along and having a great time.

Do you have any song or artist recommendations for us?

For sure. Let me go on Spotify. I really like the ‘Blackbird’ cover that Beyoncé did on her last album. ‘My House Is Not A Home’ by D4VD. Those are great songs for me. Also, Charli xcx has a song called ‘Yuck.’

I love that song!

I think that’s a perfect pop song.

Have you listened to her new album though?

I have! I liked it, I thought it was really cool, it’s like a different direction. I’m just obsessed with that ‘Yuck’ song.

Last one, any games you think your fans should check out?

Recently, I’ve been playing this game called Arena Breakout: Infinite. It's like an FPS extraction shooter game, I’m obsessed.

eaJ is taking his when the rain stopped following me Tour to Asia this September. Find out more here.