Dept

South Korean multi-instrumentalist and producer Dept crafts languid, beats-driven pop laced with R&B elements. Across his initial half-dozen years of releasing music he put out at least seventy singles and EPs, many wrapped in eye-catching, thematically unified artwork by Ji Su Kim, Dang I, and Heesoo. The easygoing, mellow character of these tracks carried strong commercial potential, which led to an early digital distribution arrangement with Warner Music.

His debut single arrived in July 2016 when he issued the self-released “Easily,” a delicate piece built on piano and acoustic guitar that featured Taewoo Kang. The next year saw the release of “Think of You,” a joint effort with CHILDIAHN whose dreamier, streetwise R&B approach hinted at the direction his later work would follow. During 2018 and 2019 he continued issuing singles alongside Chawoo & Choyoung, Artinb, and Jayci Yucca of Wayside Town. The year 2020 marked his first EP, Fade Away, after which he favored the EP format for most subsequent output. Three additional EPs appeared in 2021—High-Teen, A Thousand Miles, and Summer Blue—introducing greater reliance on English-language vocals and shifting closer to straightforward pop than his earlier productions. By 2022 his overall catalog had surpassed one million streams, prompting new partnerships with American artists such as Ashley Alisha and Kelsey Kuan on projects including the EP May’s Love Affair.