SUMIN follows the album's narrative in 'Dinner Mode' performance... Vinyl production underway

Singer-songwriter SUMIN is producing a vinyl for her second full-length album 'Dinner Mode,' which was released last August. She maintained the track order of the 9-song album even during her first solo concert, utilizing light and darkness, visuals, and sound so that the audience could enter 'Dinner Mode' in their own ways while watching the performance. From the 18th to the 20th of last month, SUMIN held '2026 SUMIN Live - Dinner Mode' at the U+ Stage of the LG Arts Center in Gangseo-gu, Seoul. The performance and the vinyl were two branches that allowed for experiencing the album in different ways. SUMIN also made a vinyl for her first full-length album 'Your Home' eight years ago. This time, while recreating the flow of the album at the concert venue, she revealed the reason why she considers the process of listening to music as a single 'ritual.'

First full-length album in 8 years, producing vinyl again

After releasing her first full-length album 'Your Home' in August 2018, SUMIN released her second full-length album 'Dinner Mode' after 8 years. According to the reference article, the new album was released on August 13, 2026, and all songs were produced by SUMIN. It took about one year from the start of album production to its release. There were initially 12 songs, of which 9 were selected and included.

The reason she made a vinyl for her first album was heavily influenced by the musicians she saw when she was young. She said, "When I was young, all the people I considered masters released vinyls. Just legendary artists, regardless of whether they were domestic or international. In that sense, eight years ago, I was trying to follow them, thinking I could become that kind of person." At that time, the culture of producing, purchasing, and listening to vinyl was less prevalent than it is now, and SUMIN started in a situation where information and costs related to it were not abundant. Although she made it "just knowing nothing," she said she felt a great attraction to the fact itself that she released a vinyl. The 'Dinner Mode' released last August is also currently undergoing vinyl production. Connecting her past experience with the production of this album, SUMIN explained the vinyl not merely as a form of playing music, but as an experience that includes the listener's actions.

A performance where the audience enters in their own way

'2026 SUMIN Live - Dinner Mode' was held for three days from the 18th to the 20th of last month. This was the first time SUMIN had held solo performances for three consecutive days. She said, "Since I had never done it for three days, a '3-day performance' felt like a challenge," but added, "After breaking through the limits, I gained courage regarding performances and felt the motivation to do more." On the 19th, the second day of the performance, she explained the album as "a time that feels like gathering myself, whom I had laid out before people during the day." She wanted to transfer that thought to the audience's experience during the performance. SUMIN said that while it is natural for her on stage to look like the protagonist, she hoped the audience would overlap themselves with their own selves while watching the performance. She continued, "I wanted to forget that we are watching a performance for a moment, and for the space itself to become a single private timeline."

The performance venue, LG Arts Center U+ Stage, is a theater-style space. SUMIN explained that there are places where performers and the audience face each other in close proportions, and theaters where the artist is centered and kept at a distance from the audience. Believing that 'Dinner Mode' is an album that presupposes immersion, she sought a venue where the audience could deeply immerse themselves. She said, "I thought the LG Arts Center was a venue that naturally had such an atmosphere, even without the production team making major changes." When she first visited to see a Bump to Soul performance, she became interested in the ability to vary the stage and the acoustics, and she told her company's CEO that she wanted to perform there someday. Later, U+ Stage was among the candidates proposed by the performance production team, and after adjusting the schedule, the performance was carried out. SUMIN explained that she utilized light and darkness, visuals, and sound to change the audience's senses. The intention was to compose the performance so that the audience could enter the atmosphere of the album in different ways.

Setlist and stage composition following the album order

The setlist was composed centered around the flow of 'Dinner Mode.' SUMIN believed that to show the album, she must first introduce her past self, and she discussed the direction of placing previous works at the beginning with the band master, bassist Park Jong-woo. In particular, the songs included in 'Dinner Mode' followed the order in which they were placed on the album. SUMIN revealed that she modified some parts in the latter half of the performance, but she repeatedly conveyed her position that she wanted to maintain the track order of the album. She said, "The reason I did not change the track order for 'Dinner Mode' is because, while making the album, I had already decided the order of those 9 songs itself as a single narrative."

The album begins with 'Our Season' and proceeds through 'Expressionless', 'Love Song', 'Just', 'Taxi Talk', '+82', 'Table', and 'Adult Pop Song', finally ending with 'Sinking'. SUMIN stated that she wanted to convey the flow of changing temperatures in relationships and emotions from the first song to the last through her performance. She explained, “From the first track 'Our Season' to the last 'Sinking', the temperature of relationships and emotions keeps changing. That is why I wanted to bring the experience of playing the album from beginning to end into a physical space during the performance.” The songs from the 'Mini Series' universe, created with Slom, were placed in the latter half. SUMIN said she considered the dynamics of the performance, as those songs have a relatively pop and flamboyant feel. Among her solo songs, those that could seize the momentum of the performance or be read symbolically were placed in the first half. Rather than constantly showing something on stage, she also considered a method of accumulating changes in sensation along with the setlist. SUMIN elaborately designed the dynamics of the entire performance so that the audience would follow the order of the album.

Vinyl that captures the playback method and the listening process

SUMIN explained the reason for making a vinyl even in an era where music can be heard just by pressing a button on online music services. She noted that while there are expressions possible only through vinyl, there are also constraints in production and appreciation. She mentioned that there is a vinyl mastering process to separately refine the audio to be included on the vinyl, but also that work files are exchanged via online messengers and test pressings cannot be fully enjoyed on general playback devices like laptops. SUMIN said it is good to produce it after identifying both the advantages and disadvantages of vinyl. Unlike digital audio files, vinyl involves a process of opening the packaging, examining the record and printed materials, placing it on a turntable, and dropping the needle to play. SUMIN explained that this process itself is part of the experience of listening to music.

She said, “In my opinion, vinyl is like a 'ritual.' While you can enjoy the overall process, if you are a producer or artist who has experienced vinyl since childhood and feels nostalgia, it is something worth making at least once.” She also explained, “Among physical media, it is the one I consumed by paying the most money, and you unwrap the packaging, look at the large poster, look at the leaflet to check the credits, read the lyrics like a newspaper, and then place this on the turntable, drop the needle yourself, and press play.” She added that the noise created as the needle follows the grooves of the record is not all the same. SUMIN also mentioned the experience of placing the vinyl of pop/R&B artists like SZA on a turntable to listen. As 'Dinner Mode' is an album that creates a single flow with the order of 9 songs, it is also being produced as a vinyl. SUMIN unfolded that order before the audience during this performance, and is currently continuing the album production.

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