KINO Finds Love And Liberation With 3rd EP [Lost And Found]

KINO has released his third EP, [Lost and Found].

​The 28-year-old K-pop artist didn’t expect to come up with a new album so soon after his last mini-album, Everybody’s Guilty, But No One’s To Blame, back in October. But circumstances beyond his control led him to find musical inspiration, venting all his emotions and experiences into these four tracks.

​After the release of his pre-release song, “CLUB SEX CIGARETTES,” the title itself is considered taboo in the idol life in South Korea, and he received criticism over its music video, which resulted in hate messages and calls for him to be canceled in the industry. It left KINO in shambles, feeling depressed and retreating from the public eye.

​“After my last album, I felt negative emotions and was so depressed,” KINO says, during our meeting at the Westin hotel lobby in Seoul. “I was getting so much criticism for something that wasn’t my intention.”

​It got so bad during that time that KINO’s company, NAKED INC, became so concerned about his safety that they hired security for his album release party after receiving numerous hate comments. He became nervous and withdrawn from the entire experience, feeling completely lost and mentally weak.

Hence, his album is called [Lost and Found].

It took some time for KINO to process these feelings, and he finally saw that the people around him were what really mattered. It was at his album launch club party for Everybody’s Guilty, But No One’s To Blame that all of his friends, family, colleagues, loved ones, and his fans gave him a lot of support. He had already received so much backlash from the music video, but he still had his support system, who cheered for him throughout the entire ordeal. It made him realize that online life is separate from his real life.

“I decided to live offline and in reality, not focusing or caring about the haters,” he reveals. “For me, the most important thing was always love. I was so focused on living under someone else’s expectations online that I was losing myself. Once I stepped away from that, I was able to regain that love.”

From there, he wrote all about love, freeing himself from that burden of expectations, and turning it into self-assurance, self-love, and being okay with “to live as who I am.” He explains, “Once I realized this, all I could feel from the fans and everyone was love. I have to live in the present and live my life with the people I love and who love me.”

Filled with upbeat pop-funk music with electronic elements, the mini-album represented a self-assured, loving feeling he had or rediscovered about himself. From his lead single, “TAXI,” which emphasized regained freedom and self-esteem, to “BIG HOODIE” (featuring Mikey Angelo), a love letter to his fellow introverts, KINO was ready to share more of himself he had found.

​With his lead electronic-pop-funk single, “TAXI,” the music video of which gives off ‘90s vibes, KINO wanted to highlight the message to youth and those around his age, who are often workaholics, to “stop being harsh on yourselves, and reward yourself for getting through life.”

KINO mentions, “People are so busy living their daily lives or chasing goals and not taking care of themselves or appreciating themselves for their hard efforts. I am still learning and enjoying life.”

​Though KINO’s onstage personality exudes extroverted, charismatic energy, in person, he is entirely different. He is quite quiet and soft-spoken, often needing to repeat himself to make his point. It’s not that he’s not confident; he’s just careful not to cause any misinterpretations. He admits he’s an introvert and reveals his Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) type (which Koreans are very obsessed with ). He reveals he’s an INFJ (Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, Judging), which makes sense as he’s a very creative artist. As an F, which represents “Feelings, ” they tend to make decisions based on emotional impact rather than logic, which KINO does through his music. Most INFJs are known as “extroverted introverts” who are passionate about their work but need time to recharge – like a battery.

​KINO likes the battery reference and agrees that is how he feels. “I always feel like two separate emotions. I want to go out, but at the same time, I want to hide in my home and not meet anyone.”

​He even wrote a power-pop song about being an introvert because he wanted to share who he is, and the “Big Hoodie” is his shield when he’s alone and feels most comfortable. He can often be seen in a giant hoodie when he’s home. KINO had the song’s base and knew he wanted to collaborate with another artist on it. That’s when he came across Mikey Angelo. Best known as TikTok’s monthly pop culture recap rapper, Mr. Grande, Angelo is also an accomplished recording artist and songwriter. KINO and his team were fans and reached out to him to collaborate on the songs. Angelo ended up co-writing on “BIG HOODIE” and “TAXI.”

​“We already had the main theme of the song, but it was so hard to express all my feelings as an introvert through the song,” KINO admits. “So [Mikey and I] thought about writing the lyrics together. He recommended some melodies and lyrics. We really loved it. His voice was well fitted for the song.”

​KINO also collaborated with singer-songwriter and avant-garde artist Yunjoung Lee on his electronic funk track, “HENNESSY.”

Inspired by KINO’s feelings and thoughts during the music festivals and clubs he’s been to, the track is about feeling free when he’s at the event, drinking and enjoying himself. KINO just wants to feel like a human being, not a celebrity, so the song centers on that feeling of drinking to survive and escapism.

​His final track, “ALL LOVE!”, is a Eurodance-pop song centered around his realization at the launch club party after the controversy, when he found real love from his close friends and family, stronger than the online hate.

​“You have to understand where and who I was from the very beginning, before stardom,” he details. “I was a person who actually didn’t care about what others thought, and just gave love and received love from the people around me. But then the whole incident and the industry affected me. Once I changed back to who I was, it went back to square one in a good way.”

​KINO admits that this album wouldn’t have happened without the controversy serving as the catalyst. If there were no experience to go through the emotions he felt, the album would be completely different.

​“If this wasn’t there, there wouldn’t be ‘ALL LOVE!’ because there was no experience of the realization of what I went through,” he says. “There would be no ‘TAXI’ about gaining back that self-confidence.”

​KINO wants it to be clear that the focus and purpose of the album is not on the haters or throwing shade at them. The only part of the “haters” that were considered was that they were the reason I reached self-realization. He shares, “I’ve always moved on [from the hate] before even making the album.”

​It’s why he references “No One Is To Blame” in this album, too. It connects both the 2nd EP and the current one. No one is to blame for how things turned out. It ended in self-realization and self-re-discovery, and the idea that “it’s okay to be who you are and do what you want. You have to do what you have to do to be happy. “

​“This album is about my moment of self-doubt,” he says. “What was the self-doubt? Will I forever live under someone else’s expectations? Expectations eventually turns into self-assurance. It’s okay to live as who I am. That’s what I learned after I released this album.”

​KINO is currently embarking on his FREE KINO World Tour – already visited Korea, Europe, and Asia, with planned stops in the U.S., including New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Columbus. The entire tour is described as high-energy and liberating, sparking a movement to “FREE KINO” from his many restraints. Like his previous concerts, he hopes fans will shout “Free KINO!” at the start of the show, where he shown to bring restricted and pushed back – before eventually being given freedom.

​“I wanted to make this tour like a bridge or connection between the second EP and the current [Lost and Found],” he says. “That’s why we named the tour ‘FREE KINO’ because of the transition from trapped to being free. It all ties in together.”

​As for where his music goes next, KINO hasn’t really thought about it because he’s currently living in the moment, celebrating these two connected EPs. He reveals, “I don’t know what’s going to happen for the next time around, but it’s still going to revolve around how I feel and what I experience.”

​Right now, all KINO feels right now is “ALL LOVE.”

​KINO’s 3rd EP [Lost and Found] is available now on all streaming platforms. Physical copies are available at select retailers.