Since his 2022 debut with the album White Tiger, 2hollis has been presenting works that combine music with striking visuals and imagery, creating something akin to a self-contained world. And extending from that world is his live performance. With intense beats and singing that seems to command his whole body, 2hollis delivers an immersive experience where the audience collides, erupts, and at times reaches moments close to frenzy. Yet behind the stage of his Seoul concert on August 21, he described it all in a steady, low voice. The world of 2hollis is one where the artist and producer, instinct and reason, coexist.
This marks your third visit to Korea just this year.
2hollis: I think I’m getting more familiar, but there’s still a lot I need to see. I haven’t really had the chance to spend proper time here. It feels like every time I come, it’s just for work, but I plan on staying for an extended period soon. I want to see more outside of Seoul, maybe go somewhere near the water. I love how the city is kind of built into the mountains—I just think it’s such a beautiful landscape. There’s this huge river, the Hangang, and when you cross the bridge, the view is stunning; it makes the city look so dramatic. And of course, eat more food. The food is amazing. So, I want to just take in the culture and the atmosphere of the place.
You’ve also performed across Asia, as well as in the U.S. and Europe.
2hollis: It affects me in such a beautiful way. I get to travel and see the world, and it’s all part of my job. It’s the most blessed, most fun job in the world, and it inspires me so much. Going to new places and countries, seeing people, meeting new friends—that’s what life is about.
This year, you also played festivals like Coachella 2025 and Lollapalooza. Did performing at a festival feel different from playing a regular venue?
2hollis: Definitely. The energy indoors is compact, tight, chaotic. Outdoors, it’s a bit different, but it can still hold that same energy—and both are amazing in their own way. And yeah, my fans, they bring the craziest energy every single time. It’s like they show up as if it’s the last concert they’ll ever see, just going all out. Especially these shows I’ve been playing in Asia—the fans come with such insane energy.
What has life as a touring artist felt like for you? It must have brought some big changes to your day-to-day life.
2hollis: I think life always evolves, so changes are inevitable—and I don’t think that’s a bad thing. My life has gotten a lot busier, but the creation of art will always stay the same for me. It just comes from the feelings in my heart. No matter what happens—whether I have one fan or a billion—I’m still going to make music the same way, and it always comes from that same place. That’s something that’s never going to change for me.
When you’re creating, do you think about how the music will feel in different spaces? Some of your tracks sound as if they’re made for headphones, while others feel built for the club.
2hollis: Yes, for sure, I think about the spaces. When I’m creating a song, I’m in that song’s world—you kind of zone out and enter this other plane of existence with it. For each track, I have a completely different visualization, but I’m always picturing it live, too. I’ll be in the studio making something and think, “Oh, this one’s going to go so crazy live.” I’m always imagining that, and I think it’s important.
Picking up on what you said about a “song’s world,” it feels like 2hollis extends beyond the music itself—almost like you treat it as a character that carries into different realms.
2hollis: I’ve always been a very imaginative person since I was a little kid. I’ve just loved fantasy, acting, playing pretend, and creating characters. So, all of that naturally became part of my artistic process—it feels like building a world from the start. I produce all the music, I direct almost all the videos, I do the cover art, and I even design a lot of the merch and tour flyers. I just like having my hands on every single aspect of it, because to me that’s the true vision. That’s what makes it feel the most like me.
From Minecraft to film to Japanese anime, you seem to draw inspiration from a wide range of places. How do these influences show up in your work as 2hollis?
2hollis: They influence me very deeply. If I could strive to be like any artist, it would be Hayao Miyazaki. His vision is just so precise. Howl’s Moving Castle, Spirited Away, Castle in the Sky—all of them do such an incredible job of world-building and creating characters. That’s what I really admire. Same with Minecraft, which was created by Notch, a genius. It’s such a specifically built world, it’s genius, and it’s something you can completely get lost in. And that’s what I want people to feel with my art—to get lost in the world of 2hollis, not just me as the artist or one song, but the entirety of the world itself.
When it comes to shaping an album, it feels like a consistent emotional thread is needed to hold together such a complex world. I felt that in Star and Boy, where each album drew on different textures of sound.
2hollis: It really just depends. It’s about where I am in life, what’s inspiring me at the moment, who’s in my life—or who isn’t—and where I’m at as a person right then. It’s just whatever I’m feeling, both sonically and visually. For example, my first album White Tiger was my darkest record to date, and I was in a very, very dark place in life when I made it, so it reflects that. Boy was a very emotional album. Star, to me, is more of a celebration album—like, “look how far we’ve come.” It’s full of happy, high-energy songs, though of course, there are some sad moments too. But really, it all just depends on where I am in life.
When you’re producing, you seem to channel very private emotions, but on stage, it’s all high energy and adrenaline. How do you make sense of those two sides of yourself?
2hollis: I could say that’s the real meaning behind my name, 2hollis. I think the “2” represents duality. Duality is such an important thing in life—nothing can be all one way or the other. The most powerful things in life hold many faces, like hot and cold, yin and yang, above and below. To me, my music isn’t just a single expression or a single feeling; it’s more like a reflection of my entire self. I feel intensity, sadness, anger, happiness—everything—and it’s about embracing all of those emotions. I think it’s so powerful during my shows when I play a song that’s extremely intimate and people are crying, and then the very next song, mosh pits open up and people are just going wild. It’s all the emotions at once. And to me, that’s the most powerful and beautiful thing about music.
You first came to prominence online, but now you’re connecting with fans in so many different places. How special has it felt to share your music with them in person?
2hollis: It definitely changes a lot. Like I was saying earlier, once you play live, it changes everything. Everything you make, you start thinking about how it’s going to be live, because now there’s an audience. And I think that just brings everything into reality so much more. I love the internet and I value my online presence, but real life is what truly matters. That’s when you look your fans in the eye, heart to heart, when you’re in the same space sharing that moment together. And every person at a concert has their own experience. Maybe they come with someone they end up falling in love with, or they meet a great friend, or maybe they just enjoy the music and I become their favorite artist. It’s intimate, it’s special, and it really only exists in music. I hold such a deep love for my fans, and the fact that this is happening overseas, too, is just beyond incredible. It’s beautiful.