ZEROBASEONE's First Unit EMP Drops a 4-Track Mixtape in November

ZEROBASEONE's Seok Matthew and Park Gunwook are stepping out as the group's first sub-unit, and they are arriving with full creative control. The duo, now operating under the name ZEROBASEONE EMP, revealed the album poster for EMP Mixtape Vol.1: We the Extra at midnight on the 19th through ZEROBASEONE's official social media channels, confirming a digital single release in November.

The unit name is not arbitrary. EMP stands for Electro Magnetic Pulse, a choice the two members say carries a specific intent: just as an actual electromagnetic pulse wipes out surrounding noise, they want their music to be the only sound in the room. A secondary reading is baked in too. EMP also stands for Extra MTT PGW, using their respective initials, with "Extra" meaning "beyond the ordinary" and nodding toward the self-produced direction of the project.

What's on the mixtape

The four-track release leads with two title songs. EMP blends hip-hop and pop and is described as the unit's musical identity statement. The second title, Pina C, evokes a looser, beachside mood. The remaining two tracks are Woofer and In Your Rain. Seok Matthew and Park Gunwook have writing and composition credits on all four songs.

The production credits matter for context. Park Gunwook already showed this side of himself on Customize, a self-written track included on ZEROBASEONE's sixth mini-album Ascend-. Seok Matthew has been building his own catalogue of work steadily. The mixtape is their first chance to shape an entire release from the ground up, and the four-song tracklist is a clean enough debut to test what the unit can do without spreading too thin.

Where ZEROBASEONE stands now

ZEROBASEONE formed through Mnet's survival audition program Boys Planet and debuted in July 2023. The group has been operating as a five-member lineup since March of this year, currently comprising Sung Hanbin, Kim Jiwoong, Seok Matthew, Kim Taerae, and Park Gunwook. The EMP sub-unit is the first time any configuration of that lineup has broken off for a dedicated project.

The mixtape format is a reasonable first move for a unit built around two members who want to be taken seriously as producers. Early returns on Park Gunwook's Customize showed the fandom could receive self-written material warmly inside the full-group context. The question ZEROBASEONE EMP will answer in November is whether that appetite carries over when the two of them are on their own.