A decade in the sun with Say Sue Me

By Sam Choi (@semi_holic) and Ella Kaill (@ellakaill)
Photography by Niall Ruddy (@niallruddyphoto)

Say Sue Me are Busan’s indie-rock darlings. They’ve been making music from their southerly hometown for ten years, confident in their upbeat blend of surf rock and shoegaze. We met them by the beach to discuss how a decade of Say Sue Me has affected their lives

Keeping a band together for ten years is a herculean task. Sumi, the band’s vocalist, plays down the changes the band have gone through in that time and says Say Sue Me is still the same band they were ten years ago. From the outside, though, the band seems to have gone through a great deal, including international tours, a slew of awards and the tragic loss of a member. If anything has stayed the same, it’s Say Sue Me’s commitment to its core sound. “There hasn’t been much change musically since we started out. We’ve stayed true to the sound we made at the beginning,” Sumi tells us.

This year, the band released their third full-length studio album, The Last Thing Left. It’s the first time they’ve worked outside of a professional studio, having recorded and produced the entire album themselves. Sumi explains, “Our guitarist Byeong-gyu produced the album. We did everything from our practice room.” Self-producing an album is a daunting task for many bands, but Say Sue Me said they actually preferred it. “Sometimes it’s hard to communicate what we want when we record in a studio. It was easier to talk among ourselves about how we wanted to change or fix certain parts.” Byeong-gyu took the lead in recording, mixing and producing, which, the other members agree, made the album-making process smoother. For him, it was a welcome challenge. “If we went to a professional studio, it might have sounded better, sure. But the most important thing is if we had fun or not. This album sounds better to me because we had a lot of fun making it.”

The new album features high-profile guests from some of Korean indie’s biggest acts, such as Kim Oki, one of the most influential saxophonists in Seoul’s jazz scene. Busan-based folk legend Kim Il Du also appears on the album. “Sometimes, when we record, I think it would be good to have another voice on the track, and I want to collaborate with someone. But this time, an instrument we had never used came in for the first time. The song was almost finished, but Kim Oki joined at the last minute, and it really worked,” they explain. He even appeared at their album release show in Seoul earlier this year in May, the first time most of the members met him. “When we decided to make a song together, he didn’t even need to meet us to complete the song. He’s so cool like that. He just sent us a file with his part.”

Say Sue Me’s new album is their first in three years, so this year was set to be a huge deal for them, especially because of their plans for a North American tour in May. Unfortunately, the tour had to be postponed just like many others over the last two years, souring the band’s vision for 2022. Still, they continue to practise diligently once a week. The North American tour would have been bassist Jae-yeong’s first tour outside of Korea since joining, so he was particularly eager to go. Drummer Seong-wan also expressed his frustration. “We even made passports for that, which feels like a waste now, so we just want to go anywhere as soon as we can.” The whole band is eager to perform to their strong fan following outside of Korea. They were plunged into the indie spotlight abroad after Elton John introduced them on his Apple Music radio show, ‘Rocket Hour’ in 2018. A year later, they became the first Korean artist to perform on KEXP Live, a public radio show based in Seattle. Last year, their song So Tender appeared in the popular Korean drama, Nevertheless and became so popular that it overtook their previously most-listened-to song, Old Town. The drama was available for streaming on Netflix, leading a whole new set of overseas fans to their music. Many of their most hardcore fans live outside of Korea. “Once, when we were in Poland, there was a fan who travelled all the way from Canada to see our show. That was awesome.”

The members wistfully reminisce about their other experiences abroad. Byeong-gyu says, “When we go on tour, we don’t spend much time in one place, so at first, it’s hard to experience those places and remember them. But when I look back later, I miss those times.” Seong-wan joined the band right before they embarked on a tour around Europe. “Our show at Green Man Festival in Wales was the first show I played with the other members. We were still a little awkward, but luckily we became closer through that experience.”

Aside from their occasional globetrotting, Say Sue Me still spends most of its time in Busan. People often ask if they’ll ever leave Busan to move up to Seoul. “We have never felt like we had to stay here in Busan. At the same time, we have never felt compelled to move to Seoul,” explains Seong-wan. “Sometimes we consider it when people ask us why we’re not in Seoul.” Sumi has been performing in Busan longer than Seong-wan and feels the same way. “I never thought about going to Seoul. It’s pretty difficult and tiring when we go up to Seoul for a weekend gig, but I accept it. Seoul is great, but Busan is fun, too.”

Seoul’s indie scene is quickly recovering after the blow it took over the last two years, and many bands choose to leave their hometowns for the opportunities they can find in Seoul. However, as key players in Korea’s indie market, Say Sue Me’s continued presence in their hometown is immeasurably helpful to keeping Busan’s music scene alive and alleviating some of the saturation in Seoul. “People often ask us if there’s a particular reason we stay in Busan, but it’s hard to answer,” says Sumi. “I don’t know if Busan has influenced me. Maybe it has, just subconsciously. We get a lot of inspiration from nature, though.”

In the lyrics of No Real Place, Sumi shares her ideas about the nature she’s surrounded by in Busan. “A good deal of our inspiration comes from the sea, in particular.” Many of Say Sue Me’s songs explore sentiments about the sea, including a song called At the End of the Road on the compilation album, Sea that Wished. The album examines the idea of beachcombing, and Sumi said the process of writing Say Sue Me’s contribution allowed her to reflect on her own actions. “I use plastic and everything, of course, but I find the problem of marine pollution truly heartbreaking. The experience of writing that song made me think more deeply about saving the ocean.” No Real Place addresses our collective lack of regard for protecting our oceans with the lyric, “We only know how to ruin it.”

Say Sue Me is looking forward to leaving its cosy coastal dwellings to go further afield in 2022. This summer, they’re ticking off a bucket-list item as they were invited to Japan’s infamous Fuji Rock Festival. “You only have one chance at a festival to do a great show, so it’s actually more exciting for us than a long tour,” Sumi shares. “It’s also less tiring,” they laugh. All jokes aside, the band expresses their delight at being asked to join the lineup, with headliners including Jack White, Tom Misch, Foals, and Dinosaur Jr. They’ll also play at Korea’s biggest rock festival, Pentaport, in August this year. After that, they plan to release a cover album for their 10th anniversary before finally making waves in the West on their North American tour. Where will they be after that? “There are so many more countries we would like to visit, but for now, we have no plans to leave Busan for good.”

For more information on Say Sue Me, follow them on Instagram, @saysueme.