Korea's Hidden Gems: OFFONOFF

If you have ever fallen down a Korean R&B rabbit hole on YouTube and ended up on an autoplay track called Photograph, you have met OFFONOFF. The duo of vocalist Colde and producer 0channel sit at the quiet center of Korea's underground indie R&B scene. They are not idols, they do not chase virality, and yet their two studio albums and a steady stream of features have earned them one of the most loyal niche fanbases in Korean music. Here is the story behind the name, the sound, and the Club Eskimo collective they belong to.

Who they are

OFFONOFF is the duo of Colde (Kim Hee-su, born 1994), the vocalist and lyricist, and 0channel (Seo Ji-ho, born 1994), the producer and DJ. The two grew up in Seoul, met online through SoundCloud, and started releasing music together in 2015 under the Club Eskimo collective. The name OFFONOFF reads as a switch flickering, which is exactly how their songs feel: a track turns on with a sparse beat and a single guitar line, the vocal rises, then everything goes quiet again. The duo signed to HIGHGRND, the indie sub label founded by Tablo of Epik High, in 2016. HIGHGRND also signed Hyukoh, The Black Skirts, Code Kunst, and other genre defining indie acts of that era.

The Club Eskimo connection

Club Eskimo is the underground hip hop and R&B crew founded by DEAN in 2015. The group also includes Crush, MISO, Punchnello, Rad Museum, and Junoflo. Members produce for each other, drop joint singles, and treat the collective as a creative incubator more than a formal label. OFFONOFF's biggest features and most of their best collaborations came through Club Eskimo connections. Colde's solo work, especially, leans on producers and writers from inside the crew. If you like OFFONOFF, the Club Eskimo discography is the natural next listen.

The sound, song by song

OFFONOFF's catalog runs short but deep. Their 2016 EP boy. is the foundational record, with Photograph, Cigarette, and gold all becoming Korean R&B touchstones. Photograph is the track that converts most new listeners: a hushed guitar loop, Colde's airy vocal, and a chorus that says the world stops when you are with the right person. Cigarette features DEAN and Crush and is one of Club Eskimo's strongest moments. Overthinking is the late night listen for when you cannot sleep. Dance turns playful and almost upbeat. Good2Me mentions Kanye in the lyrics and is the lightest track in their discography. Mind closes things out with a short, melancholy ballad about lingering on someone who left. Their 2017 second album boy. Part 2 expanded the sound with Tablo, Rad Museum, and Punchnello features.

Colde solo and the long pause

OFFONOFF has been on a long unofficial hiatus since 2018. Colde used the space to build a major solo career. He launched his own label Wavy in 2018 and released the Love EP series, the Loveless album, and steady features with BTS's RM, BAEKHYUN, AKMU's Chan-hyuk, and most of the K-R&B world. 0channel has been quieter, producing for other Club Eskimo members and DJing occasionally. As of 2024 Colde confirmed in an interview that OFFONOFF has not officially ended and that he and 0channel still plan to make another album together when the timing is right.

Where to start

If you have never heard them, here is the entry sequence to try. Start with Photograph for the hook. Move to Cigarette for the Club Eskimo posse cut. Then dig into Overthinking and Dance for the texture of their album work. Finally, listen to Colde's solo single Wave with G Soul, and DEAN's D (half moon) featuring Gaeko, to understand the wider K-R&B world OFFONOFF helped shape. The duo's whole catalog runs under three hours, so you can absorb it on one long walk. It will probably soundtrack the next few weeks of your life.