Part-Time Music, Full-Time Impact: Meet PTMRS

If Seoul’s neon streets, Tokyo’s midnight clubs, and a half-forgotten vinyl collection in Los Angeles could talk, they might sound like PTMRS. Their sound is a mood that lingers — bass humming in your bones, lyrics that taste like nostalgia, and hooks that burn bright in your memory hours later. What started as a fun project for a pair of industry veterans has expanded into a collective of artists — Jay Choe, Young Bae Jo, Uki Satake, Yuting, and Minnie — ready to show the world they have staying power. Read on to learn what fuels the mood, the memory, and the magic of PTMRS.

A Conversation with Jay P.D.

Q. How did the PTMRS project come about? There are people involved in this project from all walks of life, from different countries and different sides of the industry.

JAY: This project had very little thought behind it initially. Young Bae Jo is a long-time friend of mine and is a career K-Pop topliner and vocal coach. He was the main topliner for PIXY. We had finished a collaboration between his company’s artist, U_Chae, and Uki from 9nine in Japan, with a track called “Morning Call” late last year. I casually said to YoungBae, “Hey, you’ve trained and written for other people most of your life. I’ve coordinated debuts and written for people as well for over a decade. Uki is a voice actress open to collabs. Let’s just do a project for fun, we’re old and can’t be k-pop idols anyway, and it’s been a minute since we did a big project. Let’s just show off what we can do with a tiny budget and maybe we’ll get more work from it? Fuse k-pop and j-pop and see where it goes?” Then we called up Joo Hyung, the main producer and instrumentalist from PIXY and said let’s go, baby!

Minnie and Yuting joined as we were building out Uki’s song, because we felt different voices and tones would benefit the song arrangement. Minnie is a long-time friend of mine and also a behind-the-scenes person, and Yuting is currently training and auditioning and isn’t committed to a label yet. I also wanted to do a male vocal song, so I pushed Young Bae to take center stage for the second track. As we kept building out the songs, I realized, wait a minute…we’re actually putting legit resources and a lot of energy into this project (minus the limitless k-pop marketing budget that comes with large labels). Let’s do a semi-proper release, take some nice pictures, and have fun while doing it!

Q: In our last chat, you called your career “a chain of side quests.” With PTMRS, it feels like you’ve unlocked a new level as a performer. What was the “aha” moment when you knew this project had to happen — and that you had to be on the mic this time? Was there a moment in the studio where you surprised yourself?

JAY: I was involved with musical theater for most of my school days so I had no issues performing on stage or on the mic. That was almost 20 years ago, though. My decision to perform on these tracks didn’t come from anything special. I didn’t have the budget, time, or energy to find other performers and coordinate, considering everyone’s schedule is always packed. Coordinating for just Uki was already tricky with her schedule in Japan, so I said “I’ll do the other male parts when a rapper is needed,” since I have my own mic and setup at home. As I recorded more and more, it surprised me how not terrible I sounded on the guide tracks, so I said screw it, let’s throw me in.

Q: PTMRS has this nostalgic, good-vibes sound, but your lyrics also have a cheeky edge. How much of that is you? What part of your personality are we hearing most in this music?

JAY: Absolutely, this is my personality showing through my lyrics. I’ve always wanted to write cheeky lyrics, risqué stuff, but that didn’t fly for the artists I wrote for before. For this project, though, I’m basically a nobody, Uki is an established artist and voice actor, and Young Bae is mainly a songwriter and vocal coach…so who cares if I get a little cheeky? It definitely shows up more in “Love & Scandal.”

Q: What can you share about the creative process behind the album — any favorite moments from writing or recording that stand out?

JAY: As for the creative process, it was pretty standard for K-pop. We discuss ideas together, I draw out the vision, Joo Hyung throws us a beat, Young Bae comes up with a melody, I write the English and Japanese lyrics and Young Bae writes the Korean lyrics. Then Joo Hyung develops the rest of the beat based on our arrangement, then mixes and masters after recording is done.

As for my favorite moments? Hmm. Recording was very fast. Uki and Young Bae are veterans in the industry. I think we finished all of Uki’s recordings in about an hour. Minnie has a very versatile voice and a wide range, can sing in both Korean and Japanese, and harmonizes very well with everyone, so on the track Dreamwalkers, her voice was essential in keeping all the parts glued together. Yuting, the youngest person on the project, reminded me of other rookie groups I worked with, coming in with that youthful energy and enthusiasm. The recording went smoothly largely because of the prep we took beforehand. Young Bae has written a lot of music for idol groups, both boy groups and girl groups, so he knows exactly how many layers we need for doubling and harmonies. 

Q: Beyond this album, where do you imagine PTMRS heading next? Are there themes, visuals, or even genres you’d love to explore in future projects?

JAY: It’s hard to tell at this point, because this was originally supposed to be a for-fun project meant to just show off a bit of what we can do, that kind of grew in scope. Each of us is busy doing our own things and thought we’d be doing this sparingly, like true part-timers, but it seems like we’re getting decent streams and buzz on the socials. If there’s a demand, I suppose we need to deliver. As for genre, I see myself sticking to what I’m good at for now – the dark, moody, dancy stuff. 

Q: You’ve worked across cultures and industries for years. What’s something you learned about yourself as an artist by stepping into the spotlight with this collective?

JAY: With this collective, I learned that my voice has the power to connect people from different cultures. I discovered that my strength isn’t just fitting into other people’s styles — it’s blending them into something new and making it sound cohesive and truly multilingual. Going forward, I would like to continue blending in multiple languages, not just as a gimmick, but as something to connect us all.

Q: As PTMRS evolves, how do you see your voice and contributions shaping the music? Should we expect more verses or new vocal approaches from you?

JAY: I think you’ll be hearing more vocals coming from me going forward. But not center stage, always as support or B-Side. Recording’s fun for me, but my place is in the back, organizing and bringing people together. The spotlight should stay on the younger, cooler people. If we end up performing at venues, I’m the afterthought that’ll drop in for one song while the main performers are getting water.

Q: What’s something you hope people take away after hearing the full PTMRS album?

JAY: Honestly, I just wanted to make music that lets people escape for a while and feel good. At the same time, PTMRS was about proving how cool it can be when artists from different countries come together. If listeners walk away feeling lighter, or curious about new sounds, that’s all I could hope for. Like, if someone who would listen to Young Bae’s old tracks got curious about Uki and pulled her and her friends’ music up, or vice versa, and started getting into J-pop. 

The Whole Crew Weighs In

Q: PTMRS brings together artists from Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and the US. What has been the most exciting or surprising part about this collaboration? 

JAY: That it happened. (laughs)

YOUNG BAE: I found it exciting that artists who have grown up experiencing different cultures could come together and try something new. And honestly, I’m very satisfied because the outcome turned out even better than I expected.

UKI: I am so excited because this project is being built by people from some of my favorite places: Japan, Korea, the US, and Taiwan. It really feels like something amazing is about to happen and I’m full of anticipation.

MINNIE: For me, it was the overall experience. I have a deep love of music and I’ve always been singing since I was young. This was my first time doing anything on a professional level. I was happy to be included in such an interesting project. The thing that surprised me most was watching Young Bae doing all of the editing in real time. He’s incredibly fast!

YUTING: It’s an honor to work with artists from different places. Everyone has their own style and charm, and I learned a lot about music and singing from this experience.

Q: The rotating roster concept is so unique. If each of you could hand-pick a dream guest collaborator — anyone, dead or alive — who would you invite to the PTMRS universe?

JAY: Timbaland. I don’t know what he does with his kick drums but I want that punchy kick and his awesome facial expressions in the music vids. Pharrell Williams and Daft Punk are also dream collabs.

YOUNG BAE: Since we’re talking about dream guests, I’ll say someone unrealistic. My childhood hero, Michael Jackson. (laughs)

UKI: I don’t have anyone in mind. I believe that the best guest collabs are found through feeling and connection. If someone feels like they truly like our music, I think they’ll happily join. It’s not something we should force or ask for, and so I want to cherish this encounter and build up the group organically. 

MINNIE: My favorite Korean artist is Kim JongHyun (SHINee), so I would love to collaborate with him. I’d love to collaborate with ☆Taku Takahashi too! Since I recently saw him live, I felt inspired. He’s such a great person and talented producer. I think we could do something fun!

YUTING: I would love to collaborate with Ariana Grande. I recently watched Wicked and I think she’s so charming. I really love how she gives her all on stage and shows such amazing energy.

Q: PTMRS’ sound has been described as nostalgic and good vibes — but if PTMRS were a flavor, what would it taste like? 

JAY: Chicken soup. Familiar. Good for the soul. Every culture’s got some variation. (laughs)

YOUNG BAE: A flavor like home-cooked food – something comforting that we forget about while surrounded by so many strong, flashy tastes. 

UKI: I can’t choose one flavor, our music might change from time to time! I want to create music that adapts to each listener – it’ll taste like milk then suddenly change into cinnamon!

MINNIE: Shin Ramyun! So good you keep coming back for more.

YUTING: If PTMRS were a flavor, I think it would be cotton candy~ It’s sweet, fluffy, and fun, just like how I hope our music will make people feel!

Q: You’re all coming from different corners of music. What’s one thing you hope PTMRS teaches fans about the power of collaboration?

JAY: If everyone’s focused on the goal, not only will you obtain it, you might learn something new about yourself along the way. The end result is larger than the sum of its parts. 

YOUNG BAE: That no matter what background you come from, anyone can become a musician and have a dream.

UKI: Even if our nationalities, cultures, and languages are different, music is the one thing that can bring everything together. I believe this collab and project will teach us something truly important about us and the world through music. We connect like family through music using different languages, like English, Japanese, Korean, and more.

MINNIE: Anything is possible when friends with great motivation and a vision come together!

YUTING: Being the maknae (youngest member), I got to learn so much from the seonbae-nims (my seniors) and share everyone’s ideas. Every time we work together, it’s a fun chance to learn, inspire each other, and make something new. 

Q: With so many voices and influences in PTMRS, what are you most excited for fans to hear or experience as the project grows? 

JAY: More collabs, more multi-lingual tracks.

YOUNG BAE: Since there are no limits to the members, fans can look forward to truly fresh and unexpected collaborations between artists.

UKI: A group that’s always evolving – that’s PTMRS. And if you’re listening to our music, you’re already one of us, a part-timer.

MINNIE: Please look forward to our future collaborations at the end of the year! I am excited to continue to show people different sides of me that they’ve never seen before or may not have expected to see from any of us! 

YUTING: I hope listeners can feel the motions in PTMRS’s music and enjoy the fun and energy with us!

What began as a casual experiment has grown into something luminous—an artist collective bound by rhythm, wit, and the shared joy of making music across languages and borders. PTMRS isn’t just offering nostalgia or good vibes; they’re offering connection. Wherever this project goes next, one thing’s certain: it’s going to be fun watching them surprise themselves, and us, again and again.

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