Pre-Order: EL CAPITXN - WHO KILLED EL? [CD]

From the heights of global pop production to a deeply personal reckoning, world-renowned artist and producer EL CAPITXN announces his debut full-length album, WHO KILLED EL?, arriving November 6th. Recognized as the visionary sonic architect behind historic hits for BTS, SUGA, Jung Kook, and IU, EL CAPITXN now steps out from behind the soundboard to lay bare his own transformative story. Born Jang Yi-jeong, he first captured public attention on MBC’s Star Audition: The Great Birth before debuting as the lead vocalist of the K-pop group HISTORY in 2013. When he tragically lost his singing voice, he was forced to step away from the spotlight. Undeterred, he rechanneled his creative energy into songwriting and production, founding Vendors Production and building an impressive catalog of over 100 tracks. As a mastermind producer, he crafted massive global anthems—including Agust D’s “Daechwita,” BTS’ “Telepathy,” IU’s “eight” featuring SUGA, and PSY’s “That That”—while thrilling crowds as a performer at major electronic music festivals like UMF Korea and Waterbomb Seoul.

Now, WHO KILLED EL? confronts the grief of that lost voice and celebrates the rebirth that followed. Across a dramatic, cinematic narrative spanning rock, orchestral, gospel, classical, and pop music, EL CAPITXN bridges his past as a performer with his present as a prolific producer. As EL CAPITXN reflects, bringing together his journey from starting out as a singer, to losing his voice, to building a life as a producer holds both his longing for what was lost and his desire to keep taking the stage with his own music. The album's story is spearheaded by the single “Don’t Say Love,” a fiery, rock-fueled collaboration with Los Angeles rock band BEAUTY SCHOOL DROPOUT. The track captures the raw frustration of wanting to express love and sing in one's own voice when rendered unable to, alongside the unyielding desire that remains. Its accompanying visuals, directed by Carnivald, unfold like a gothic fever dream shot in stark black and white, blending theatrical imagery to create a world suspended between the sacred and the sinister.

Following his preliminary solo release “Breaking Through”—which featured TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s Taehyun and Jeremy Zucker—and a whirlwind global tour spanning cities like New York, Los Angeles, London, Paris, Mexico City, and Rio de Janeiro, WHO KILLED EL? marks a definitive turning point in EL CAPITXN’s career. It stands as a raw, genre-defying testament to loss, survival, and ultimate artistic reinvention.