Rookie band HartzWave stages turnaround five months in … Alive: “We want to play Lollapalooza”

Super rookies armed with synth-pop make bold leap toward global festivals

Five-member rookie band ‘HartzWave’ (hrtz.wav) has returned to the music scene just five months in, wielding trendy ‘synth-pop’ as its weapon.

At a showcase held Monday afternoon in Seoul’s Seongdong district to mark the release of their second mini album, ‘The Second Wave : MOMENTUM’, the band made no attempt to hide its advanced musical abilities and ambitions for the global stage.

Formed by the winners of each position on Mnet’s band survival show ‘Steel Heart Club’, ‘HartzWave’ is living up to its name, a combination of hrtz, representing the frequency of the heart and sound, and wav, symbolizing waves of high-fidelity sound. With the new release, the band aims to raise listeners’ heart rates.

Vocalist Lian and bassist Dane drew on their previous solo experience and chose synthesizers as a sonic breakthrough that could maximize each member’s strengths. The combination of intuitive messages that resonate with their generation and richly layered performances is the product of the band’s intense musical deliberations.

The album ‘The Second Wave : MOMENTUM’ features a total of six tracks spanning a range of genres, showcasing the band’s expanded musical spectrum.

• ‘ALIVE’: An electronic ‘synth-pop’ track built on retro synthesizers, featuring RIIZE’s Sungchan (title track)

• ‘Mind’: A track that conveys deep longing in candid language

• ‘Sunday Morning’: A lively song capturing the fresh excitement of youth

• ‘Play My Guitar’: An autobiographical story about growing while dreaming of becoming a rock star

Although the band is only five months into its career, it has built substantial live experience at numerous music festivals, including ‘KCON Japan 2026’ in May. Its sights are already set on the world. Member Dane said he has his sights set on headlining ‘Lollapalooza’, the world’s largest music festival.

The bold concept of Japanese drummer Hagiwa is another key attraction. Under the distinctive fictional premise that he was “born in 2022 and is 3 years old,” he insists on wearing a white mask and using a voice-modulating microphone. His desire to perform at Japan’s major music festival ‘Summer Sonic’ adds intrigue to the band’s original narrative.