We had the pleasure of speaking with Rolling Quartz at Anime Weekend Atlanta 2025, a rising force in Korea’s rock scene known for their high-energy performances and emotionally charged tracks. Since forming in Seoul’s famed Hongdae club circuit, the five-member band has steadily built an international following, blending powerful melodies with messages of perseverance, individuality, and shared emotion.
In our interview, Rolling Quartz reflected on the lessons that shaped them in their early days, the evolving themes behind their music, and what it means to connect with audiences through festivals and live performances.
LastLooks: Thank you so much for speaking with us today.
Rolling Quartz: Thank you for having us.
LastLooks: You started out performing in Hongdae’s club scene, and now you’re playing stages around the world. What lessons from those early days still stay with you?
Arem (Bass): I think all of the members would agree that no matter how skilled you become, you can never practice lazily. Sweat never betrays you, so it’s important to never skip practice.
Jayoung (Vocals): Another thing our company president often tells us is to never lose the mindset of a beginner. Whether the venue is small or large, we always want to approach it with the same sincerity and passion.
LastLooks: Many of your songs have very powerful titles like Fearless, Victory, and Fighting. Do you see these as mantras for the band, and has the meaning behind them changed since your debut?
Jayoung (Vocals): We don’t really think of those titles as the band’s mantra. What’s more important to us is sharing energy through our music.
In the beginning, the message was more like, “Let’s do this together. We can work hard and get through it.” As time has passed, that message has evolved into something more like, “You can be yourself and still shine.” That’s something that has changed for us.
LastLooks: Rebold feels like a very powerful, anthemic song. Is it meant to channel similar emotions, either in the writing or in the performance?
Iree (Guitar): With Rebold, the message we wanted to share is that even in a chaotic and confusing world, you can still hold onto yourself and keep moving forward.
Rolling Quartz’s Manager: Originally, Rebold is actually the name of a vitamin product in Korea, and we had a contract with them to produce the music video. In Korea, it’s classified as a vitamin, but in the United States and Europe it’s considered a medicine, so it isn’t FDA approved. Because of that, overseas sales didn’t do as well as expected.
Jayoung (Vocals): Because of that, it ended up being kind of a sad but funny story for us.
LastLooks: In Red Wine, the lyrics are very vivid and poetic, but you never actually use the words “red wine.” Do you prefer using metaphorical language rather than more direct lyrics when songwriting?
Arem (Bass): I wrote the lyrics for Red Wine. I’d like to say I’m good at using poetic or figurative language, but in practice it doesn’t always come out perfectly.
When I was writing it, I was thinking about red wine and imagining who might be listening to this story, so I approached it in a more poetic way rather than being very direct.
LastLooks: In past interviews, you’ve mentioned wanting to play major overseas festivals or even Olympic Stadium. Now that you’ve performed internationally, including Emerge Fest and venues like Olympic Park, how have your goals evolved?
Hyunjung (Guitar): We’re very thankful that we’ve been able to perform on both small and large stages, but there are still many stages we haven’t stood on yet.
For example, at Grand Mint Festival there were several stages, and we performed on a smaller one. In the future, we hope to grow into a band that performs on many different festivals and eventually on the main stages.
LastLooks: You’ve talked before about wanting to play festivals like When We Were Young Fest. What do you enjoy most about the festival atmosphere?
Hyunjung (Guitar): I really like the festival environment where people can freely eat and drink. Whenever we look out into the crowd, we see people waving our flags and hear the strong chants of our fans. Even if they’re not fans and are seeing us for the first time, we get to see the surprise and awe on their faces, and that’s something that really sticks with us.
From our viewpoint on stage, it’s also really nice to be able to look past the crowd and see a scenic view. Those moments give us a chance to take a breath during our performances and soak in the experience.
Iree (Guitar): Another thing I really love about festivals is that they bring together people who share similar interests. There’s a shared emotional connection in those moments, and we can all feel it together through the music.
LastLooks: Thank you all so much for your time. We’re really excited to experience those emotions again during your concert later today.
Rolling Quartz: Thank you!
Stay tuned for more coverage of Anime Weekend Atlanta, including more exclusive interviews with special AWA guests, and photo galleries from Anime Weekend Atlanta 2025—only on LastLooks.org!
