Taeyang is back with his first studio album in nine years. Quintessence, out now, follows a can’t-miss Coachella set with his group Big Bang last month, starting off the group’s 20th anniversary year strong.

His last EP, 2023’s Down to Earth, had themes of returning to roots and reflecting on his career beginnings; it also marked his return to the spotlight after six years that included his time completing his mandatory military service. Three years later, with Quintessence, Taeyang peels back one step further as he embarks on a new chapter.

Twenty years into his career, he’s still challenging himself creatively and exploring new territory. Taeyang and Big Bang have a history of working with in-house producers and longtime collaborators that have put together their most famous tracks, but with Quintessence, he taps in with new collaborators in the U.S., like the Stereotypes (Justin Bieber, Cardi B, Bruno Mars) and j.Que (Usher, Beyoncé), and in Korea, like Paul Blanco and BRLLNT.

Taeyang sat down with Rolling Stone and opened up about what Quintessence means to him and the creative process behind putting it together over the past year. We spoke between Coachella weekends, following his Grammy Museum “Global Spin Live” event, which surprised fans with a sneak peek of select tracks from Quintessence — including the first-ever performance of lead single “Live Fast Die Slow.”

Your new album is called Quintessence. Can you talk through how you landed on that title and concept? 
Exactly one year ago, I had a meeting with our A&R team and they gave me a homework assignment: “You need to start your album, and please decide the title of the album by next week.” Normally when I start working on an album, I decide on the title, theme, and concept to start. For this project, I actually didn’t have that ready. So I received the assignment, and when I reflected on my memories and what I’ve been drawn to recently, the words that came up were “essence,” “true nature,” “fundamentals” — things like that. I started doing more research in that direction and came across the word “quintessence.” It’s a word that isn’t too common, and I wasn’t sure if it was the right choice, either, but I started from there and started working on the album. And when we reached the end of putting the album together, it felt like it came together in a way that really fit that word well. 

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Can you talk through the creative process behind the album? You have a healthy mix of longtime collaborators like Teddy, Kush, Tablo, and also some newer ones as well.
Right. Honestly, when we first started, Teddy put in the order that I don’t work with our house producers, or people I’ve worked with before. It was really challenging at first, because I’ve always only worked with house producers, and it was habitual for me to work with the same people all the time, and that’s what’s comfortable for me. I thought it was important for me to try that, though, and as I thought about how to proceed, the A&R team provided me with a list of people. The first person I started working on this album with was Paul Blanco. While working with him, the palette for the album came together, and then we did a song camp with folks like the Stereotypes, j.Que, Tone Stith, Chaz Jackson, and we started making more progress. 

Did anything surprise you as you worked with new people? 
It was really hard. Because even though I’m always interested in working with new people, the reason I couldn’t was… We’ve been active for a long time, you know? Always seeking out something new isn’t necessarily the right answer, because you could have results that feel unfamiliar or foreign. There are challenges and nuances. Over the years, we ended up working with people who know us well and know our taste, so that we can use our foundational colors to create something new together. So trying to work with new people this time around was challenging. I’m doing something new, and it’s hard to find ways to carry through my original colors and not lose that identity. But while working on this album, I gained a lot of experience about how to find balance in that regard, how to give direction and get the sound that I’m going for while still keeping my original colors. 

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What other challenges did you come across while working on this album? 
Honestly, everything was a challenge. And of course, my last album, and all our albums, we’ve always been really involved. But with this album, I was in a position where I had to be more involved than ever before. When working with our house producers and people in my circle, there are things where I don’t have to get as involved — they give me a lot of support, and there are things I wasn’t as aware of. I would just do my part and feel like it was sufficient. Because I was working with new people this time around, I was in a situation where I had to be involved from start to finish with every detail. It’s not necessarily that I didn’t know, I surely could have been more involved, but this time, really… [Laughs.] [In English:] Everything… Every detail. I had to do it. I learned a lot, but it was challenging. But because of that, I was able to take the lead and really bring out the texture and sound I wanted. 

On the other hand, what are some fun memories you have from the production process that stood out to you? You talked a little bit in today’s Grammy Museum conversation about how the the Kid LAROI feature on “Open Up” came to life. Did you really not expect it one bit?
Yes! That’s not something you can go into with an expectation! [In English:] You never know! When we made that song, everyone in that room — we all thought, “It should be the Kid LAROI.” And I was like “Oh! That would be so good. I was thinking of him too. What do we have to do?” So through our international team, we contacted him, and he said he was coming to Seoul the following week for a Spotify event. “OK, let’s meet up.” We asked him to have dinner, and he was immediately down, so we met up for a meal. [In English:] You know, it was really natural. After eating, we went to the studio, played the music for him… You really can’t go in with an expectation, ’cause honestly, he could have not liked the music, or schedules could not line up, so I didn’t feel right about having high hopes. I purely met up to have a meal with him, gave him a tour, showed him our office. He asked to hear the music, so I played it. He played me his latest album, this was before it came out. And before playing “Open Up” for him, I said one thing: “Hope you like it.” And as soon as it played, he loved it and was like “Can you send it over?” “OK.”

What do you want fans to take away from this album?
The album is called Quintessence, and I think I show my true essence at this moment in time through this project. A lot of messages are in this album, but there are consistent themes of time, life and death, the desire for something to last forever, within. While making the album, I felt that this was the attitude and mindset I needed to have, and the direction I want to carry out for myself going forward, rather than the mindset of “I need to show my core essence.”

Do you have a favorite song off the album? I really like “G.O.A.T” — you actually didn’t play that one for the guests today. 
Right? I actually was torn between “G.O.A.T” and “4U.” I landed on “4U” today since it’s a song for the fans, but I also really like “G.O.A.T.” My favorite song changes every day though. 

What’s your favorite song today?
I’ll choose “G.O.A.T.” [Laughs.] When we first started putting the album together, our global team and A&R, no lie, brought around 2,000 songs. More than that. And I’ve never worked in that way, where I’m receiving songs, and it’s not as customized — it feels like I need to come in and re-interpret a song that’s already made. It’s hard to find songs that match me from that, but I was so thankful that they found me that many tracks and I listened to all of them, really. [In English:] Most of them? They were OK. We narrowed them down, and my two favorite ones were “G.O.A.T” and “4U.” As soon as I heard them, they felt like the sound and texture that I’ve been wanting to try, and above all, I immediately thought of the messages I wanted to carry in the songs, so I chose those and started writing. “G.O.A.T” came with that title of “greatest of all time,” with lyrics that had a different direction, but when I thought of how to work with that phrase, I thought, “If it’s my last day, what would I want to say to those I love and those around me?” It became a song that allowed me to convey the message I wanted to express. 

In “Live Fast Die Slow,” you have a lyric that references your group, Big Bang…
That? [Laughs]. I said Big Bang because I am part of Big Bang! For that song, I think the phrase “Life Fast Die Slow” was the main lyric. The song came together with that phrase. 

And Big Bang just performed at Coachella. How was that?
How was it for you?

It was so fun.
It was so fun. There were some mistakes that only we know. But the energy and love from fans was so incredible. I really had so much fun, too. We had a lot of worries going into it, but it was so fun. 

Can you talk through the preparation process a bit? I’m sure it was hard to put together the set list. 
Putting the set list together was actually the hardest part. For a tour, the people who come are people who know our songs. Because it’s Coachella, of course our fans will come, but there are also “muggles” [laughs] who will be there, right? “Would they know this song? Should we even do this song?” We thought a lot about it. In the end though, we wanted to focus on the fact that this year marks our 20th anniversary and show our history in the set list. We put it together with that in mind. But even up until our last rehearsal, we were making changes, removing and adding songs. 

You chose to do “Ringa Linga” for your solo stage during the set. How did you decide that and what were the runner-ups?
I was going to do “Eyes, Nose, Lips,” but it’s the desert — and the image of Coachella that I had was that we have to keep turning up. And the set list was crafted with a slow song right before my solo performance, so I felt like if I did “Eyes, Nose, Lips” on top of that, it would break the flow. I felt like I had to do “Ringa Linga.”

What are some of the songs you wish made it into the set list but didn’t?
There’s a lot. There’s so many we took out… What’s yours? 

“Stupid Liar”? But I really love “Bad Boy” and “LOSER,” which made it in, so…
“Stupid Liar”? Oh… [Laughs.] 

Or “Last Farewell,” I thought maybe would close out the set. 
We had taken out “Last Farewell.” “Stupid Liar” was never on the list. [Laughs.] We took out so many… What else was there? We took out “BAE BAE.” In the beginning, we had so many. But due to timing we had to take a lot out and really edited it up until the last moment.  

What does this Coachella performance mean to you? It’s your first group performance there in a really long time.
I think it carries the weight of starting our 20th year, celebrating that. It was such a good opportunity, in a good year — I’m personally thankful we got to start the year with Coachella. 

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And with Quintessence coming out, what are you most excited for?
It’s an album I worked on for a year, which can be long or short depending on how you look at it. Making this album taught me so much personally. I really tried to include everything I’ve experienced over the years and thought a lot about how I can show a new version of Taeyang that I hope people will notice. It was really challenging but also really fun, making it special in its own way. It’s also coming out in this special year that is our 20th anniversary, so I hope a lot of people listen to it and enjoy it. 

Looking ahead to your 20th anniversary this August, what else are you hoping for in 2026?
I want it to be a new beginning. With any album release or project, I always have the mindset of it being a new chapter. A new start. But this time even more so. It’s really a new page to a new chapter. With this album and in 2026, I don’t know how much longer it will be, but as Taeyang and as Big Bang, I think we’ll be able to be perceived in many different ways.