An intimate, cinematic exploration of love, memory, and emotional transformation
CHICAGO, IL (June 26, 2026) - Korean-American duo Bird x Butterfly, the collaborative project of Frances Kang and Paul Kim, announce the release of their highly anticipated debut album Origami Hotel, arriving Friday, June 26, 2026. Blending cinematic indie pop with singer-songwriter intimacy, the record captures a deeply personal journey through love, loss, and the fragile beauty of human experience.
Built on the premise that life unfolds as a series of emotional “rooms,” Origami Hotel invites listeners to step inside moments of joy, grief, nostalgia, and quiet revelation. Each of the album’s nine tracks reflects a different emotional landscape, brought to life through lush, orchestral arrangements (strings, harp, brass, and layered synths) while remaining grounded in the duo’s signature vocal closeness.
The fragility and uncertainty in life is a beautiful thing.”
Kang and Kim
Known for their rare musical chemistry, Kang and Kim create a sound that feels both intimate and expansive. Their voices don’t simply harmonize... they merge, forming a singular emotional presence that anchors the album’s sweeping production. The result is a sound that feels cinematic yet deeply personal, evoking artists like Bon Iver, Sufjan Stevens, Billie Eilish, Lizzy McAlpine, and The Civil Wars.
Photo by Ayaka Sano
We are very lucky to have made it here as both a musical duo and partners in life. We've spent a lot of time thinking about how we got here, what we’ve been through and what we’re still going through, while writing this album.”
Kang and Kim
The album opens with “Baby’s Breath,” a tender reflection on devotion inspired by the duo’s own wedding day, while “Thousand Cranes” draws from the Japanese tradition of folding paper cranes as a symbol of healing and hope. Tracks like “Loom” and “Versailles” explore themes of temptation and external pressure, while “Robin” captures the fleeting warmth of young summer love and the longing to be truly seen. On “Serenade,” the duo confronts fear and vulnerability, asking whether we can move forward despite uncertainty, and “Looking Glass” closes the emotional arc with a meditation on love realized over time.
The influence of legendary composer Ryuichi Sakamoto also looms quietly over the record. “He passed away on Paul’s birthday,” they note. “He was on our hearts throughout the entire writing process.”
Recorded with a diverse ensemble of collaborators, Origami Hotel balances intricate instrumentation with emotional immediacy. The album also features a reimagined cover of The Smashing Pumpkins' “1979,” further underscoring the duo’s ability to reinterpret nostalgia through their own lens.
Album Cover - Ayaka Sano
Bird x Butterfly’s music has been described as “a photograph you can’t quite place; familiar and unresolved all at once,” a fitting metaphor for a record that lingers in the in-between spaces of memory and feeling.
With Origami Hotel, Bird x Butterfly offers a debut that is both sonically expansive and emotionally unguarded. A collection of songs that invites listeners not just to hear, but to feel.
Production Credits
Origami Hotel is anchored by the core performances of Frances Kang (piano, keys, and synths) and Paul Kim (guitars, synths, percussion, and piano), whose multi-instrumental work shapes the album’s intimate yet cinematic sound.
Across the record, they are joined by a rotating ensemble of collaborators, including drummers Brendan Tan and Evan Hutchings, and bassists Sean Hurley and Adrian Walther. Additional textures come from Benjamin Tennikoff, Jesse Dunn, and Peter James on synths and keys.
The album’s orchestral depth is brought to life through contributions from violinist Jinty McTavish and cellist Genevieve Tabby - both a part of ATLYS String Quartet - as well as brass and woodwind players Victor Garcia (trumpet/flugelhorn), Eric Brink (flute/clarinet), Caleb McMahon (trombone), and Ben Roidl-Ward (bassoon).
The special instrumentation by Tal Vaknine (harp), Tokiko Kimura (koto), and Sam Wilson (pedal steel guitar) adds unique tonal color throughout the project.
Photo by Ayaka Sano
About Bird x Butterfly
Bird x Butterfly is a Korean-American musical duo based in Chicago. Frances Kang and Paul Kim write and perform together with a rare intimacy: two voices that don’t harmonize so much as merge, becoming something neither could make alone.
Shaped by years of collaboration, Bird x Butterfly has developed a sound that feels both cinematic and deeply personal. Their music blends singer-songwriter vulnerability with expansive, orchestral textures; strings, synths, and delicate arrangements that frame the quiet intensity at the core of their work. The result is a sonic world that feels like a half-remembered photograph: familiar, nostalgic, and just out of reach.
Their debut album, Origami Hotel, embodies this sensibility. Built on the idea that life unfolds as a series of emotional rooms, the record moves through moments of love, doubt, grief, and fleeting joy with unguarded honesty. Each track captures a distinct feeling, while together forming a cohesive journey through the fragility and beauty of human connection.
At the heart of Bird x Butterfly is a shared history, one that informs not only their songwriting, but the way they listen to each other. Their music is less about performance and more about presence: two voices meeting in the same space, holding tension, tenderness, and truth in equal measure.