molar system on Their First Japan Tour and EP 『system malfunction』

Last Updated on 2026-04-04 by a-indie

“I once whispered it almost like a wish — that I hoped to perform in Japan someday — and before I knew it, it had come true.”

It was a chance encounter with members of the Japanese band bed that set the wheels in motion for molar system’s first visit to Japan.

This Seoul-based indie band has built a world of their own around the Korean word 몰라 (I don’t know), a concept at the very heart of their name, and gave it shape on their EP 『system malfunction』.

There is a sincerity in the way they dig deep into music, and an unguarded warmth in the way they laugh and call themselves “a band of weirdos.” This long-form interview, published to mark their first time in Japan, holds both of those things at once.

Artists: sannie, popcorntvgulchan Interviewer: maririnn Edited by: BELONG Media / A-indie

The Story Behind the Band Name molar system

-maririnn: We heard that the name “molar system” includes the Korean word “몰라 (molla),” meaning “I don’t know.” Can you tell us the story behind choosing that name, and what made you want to use that feeling of not knowing as a starting point for your music?

PTG, Sannie: We originally started as a three-member band. Back when the three of us first got together, we found ourselves answering each other’s questions with “몰라” (I don’t know) all the time. Haha

Things like:
“What do you want to eat?”
“Hmm… I don’t know.”
“When are we going home?”
“I don’t know.”

So at first, we thought about calling ourselves ‘band molla’, but it felt like something was missing. Then we decided to add the word ‘system’.

What we liked was that, in English, molar system sounds a bit like solar system, which gives it this funny feeling of a little “molar universe” or “tooth universe.” But in Korean, it still reads very directly as 몰라 시스템 — literally, “the I-don’t-know system.” So in a way, it can be interpreted as: even not knowing has its own system. That strange double meaning was what made molar system feel right as our band name.

From Meeting to Formation: Roles and the Songwriting Process

-maririnn: Can you walk us through how the two of you met and eventually started making music together as molar system? The more specific, the better! We’d also love to know how you divide up roles these days — how do you handle lyrics and songwriting?

PTG, Sannie: As we mentioned in the answer to question 1, the band originally started with three members, including our bassist Jinyoung.

The three of us first came together while preparing a stage for one of Sannie’s original songs at school. When we played together, there was this really fun energy between us — it felt unpredictable, like the music could go anywhere at any moment. We loved that feeling, and that’s what made us want to start a band.

Usually, Sannie writes the lyrics and toplines, and the songwriting process itself has been something we do together in a very organic way. We don’t really set fixed reference tracks or follow a strict working order — we tend to let things flow naturally and work freely in the moment.

Our bassist Jinyoung also took part in the production process, and he recorded both bass and guitar. PTG studied electronic music at school, so he handles mixing and mastering, and also contributes a lot to the track arrangements.

Musical Roots: Three Albums That Shaped Them

-maririnn: This is a question we ask every artist we interview without exception: could each of you share three albums that are at the root of your music, along with the influence each one had on you and any stories connected to them?

Sannie:

Queen 『Jazz』

I have a vivid memory of being absolutely obsessed with the song 「Bicycle Race」 when I was in elementary school. I used to ride my bike around my neighborhood all the time, so I think I was really drawn to that feeling of freedom in the song. At the time, of course, I didn’t understand any of the social or political meanings in the lyrics — I just loved the message “I’m going to ride my bike and go wherever I want.”

And of course, I also loved the rock-based sound and Freddie Mercury’s powerful vocals. Later, I think when I was in middle school, I looked it up again and found out Freddie didn’t actually like riding bicycles that much… and I remember being weirdly disappointed about that. (laughs)

Amy Winehouse 『Back to Black』

I think I’ve loved this album since middle school. When I was younger, my parents used to play it, but I don’t think I paid much attention back then. As I got older, though, it started to hit me differently. There was something so heartbreaking and beautiful about listening to the voice of a brilliant artist who had already passed away.

The Beatles 『Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band』

This is one of those albums that feels new every time I listen to it. I forget about it for a while, and then whenever it comes back to mind, I end up listening to it all over again. I don’t think I loved it that much when I was younger, but once I got to college, I started listening to it a lot. It always makes me feel like I’m going on a journey.

PTG:

Honestly, it’s so hard to pick just three!! These days, with music being so easy to access, I feel like people listen less and less in full albums as a unit. Still, I’ll try to choose three records that directly influenced me musically.

First, Green Day’s 『American Idiot』, which I heard in middle school. That was really the beginning of my music digging. I turned into this dorky little rock kid who went around preaching to everyone that rock was the best. (laughs)

Then there was Flying Lotus’s 『Cosmogramma』, which I found after I had already started making music. I used to mostly love rock, but once I began preparing for entrance exams for computer music, I was kind of devastated because I thought I was supposed to make the kind of music you hear in YouTube Overwatch MAD videos. Cosmogramma opened up a completely new path for me.

And then there’s Four Tet. I got a huge amount of musical inspiration from his interviews and the way he talks about music, and his albums 『Beautiful Rewind』 and 『Pink』 really changed the way I thought. At the time, I was mostly thinking about sampling in a hip-hop context, and those records expanded that idea for me in a big way.

So I guess I ended up picking four, not three. (laughs)

Beyond Music: Film, Games, and Literature

-maririnn: Outside of music, has any other area of culture influenced your creative process? Films, literature, visual art, games — anything specific you’d like to share?

PTG: There are way too many to count!!

I really love films like 『Evil Dead 2』 (1987), 『The Texas Chain Saw Massacre』 (1974), and 『Eraserhead』 (1977). I’m drawn to movies with fun visual effects, unusual ideas, and striking sound design. More recently, I also loved 『The Wolf House』 (2018) and 『ねこぢる草 / Cat Soup』 (2001).

These days, there are also so many incredibly creative young artists making amazing art and videos on Instagram and YouTube. I really, really hate social media, but honestly, that’s the one thing I genuinely like about it.

I also think games are a total art form — a medium that contains video, literature, visual art, and music all at once. Games like 『Yume Nikki』, 『Cruelty Squad』, and 『Undertale』 left a strong impression on me, and among more recent ones, I found 『Lucid Blocks』 especially striking.

I’d really love to make a game myself someday.

Sannie: I really love films, dramas, and literature. I wouldn’t say I read a huge number of books, but when I do read one, I tend to get completely immersed in it.

None of molar system’s songs are directly based on it, but I actually wrote my very first original song after watching the film 『Le Grand Bleu』. There are also many times when I’ve written lyrics inspired by a book or a drama.

Lately, I’ve also become much more interested in visual art, because I want to get better at creating visual content that really matches my music.

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