[TRANS] Singles June 2014 Issue - Jun. K

Quick steps and sharp eyes checking the visual. It’s the impression of observant Jun. K at the studio throughout the 5 hours. He apparead with hurried steps after feeling uneasy for making others wait as he changed the clothes for next cut. “Should I stand here? Should I do like this?” Him who made everyone on the set be immersed with his good feeling energy. Jun. K whom everyone knows was right there. Now we’re going to try for a slight different story. Jun. K is a singer-songwriter and album producer. He’s hiding in that world behind an artist who’s carefully worrying about the song and music video concept, even the stage production. He’s destroying the wall confining himself in 2PM little by little. Ferocity and perfectionism on his near personality are the catalyst to that to-be-nonexistant wall.

Your first solo album “LOVE & HATE” came out.

While it is a good opportunity, it is also a meaningful album. Because it has been 12 years that I learned music on my own and made songs. I thought this is the time for me to show something.

You composed all the songs.

Part of them are from the sketched songs which the ideas I had taken notes previously, and newly made songs as well. Though it’s too bad that I could only have album acitivities in Japan. Preparing the album while making the songs was fun, and also hard. I was worried about the music liked by the public and the music which shows my individuality.

How did you solve that worry.

I thought it should be unique, that it’s the music I want to do, and when the public hears it, it will have my individuailty by all means. I really don’t want it to be overlapping, between who, or which kind of music it is and the image of it. By having that on mind, I made this album while thinking about a music which I can pull off well and at the same time contains my individuality. The genre of the album is also R&B, Ballad, Dance, etc, it’s not restricted to one genre only. It can give Hip Hop, R&B, and Jazz feelings from the Black Music which I had learnt from before.

There is also a song in which you work with world pianist, Lang Lang.

The song is called ‘Real Love’. When it’s made in the beginning, it’s a song with jazz melody. Then I received a video of Lang Lang playing the piano, there he showed how he played the rythm as he wanted it. I got the feeling that the song will come to life if we work together, one with piano and one with vocal. That’s why I changed the genre altogether and left only the piano. We beat it coolly.

Japanese artist also participated in featuring.

A singer called AI did featuring in a song titled ‘No Music No Life’. She’s a really popular R&B singer back in Japan, and I think the J-Pop feels definitely sprang up after she sang it. I also met a rapper named SIMON when I was looking for Hip Hop video. I asked him as I thought it would be good if we worked together.

Seems like you’re motivated beforehand as it’s you first album.

I really was. It’s because I didn’t only think about the music itself while when I was making a song, but  also planned the concept of the performance. That also can be sort of my greed. For example, I planned the stage throught the song ‘No Love’ during the tour concert like this. First, someone in LED panda mask shows up and walks to the thrust stage. He sits in front of a white piano and just repeatedly plays one note. When the panda lifted his hand high, the song will start. Then on the stage I will show why I wrote the lyric for the song. ‘It will be an end when I walk through alone’, there’s such lyric that means falling into low self-esteem. To express that, I will appear on the stage with a praying pose. In the later part of the song, I will sit and play the piano together with the panda. I planned it like this.

It’s really detailed.

That’s how it is. I made the song while thinking about such element and concept for the performance. The song ‘True Swag’ is a hip hop one and I planned it while thinking about the performance.

The songs sound like a story.

True. I hope people won’t hear this song and just passed by. I hope the concept can be accepted through this one piece of work and can make people understand. The photoshoot ended earlier and (the editor’s words to Jun. K in the beginning) I was said to have perfectionism, they are true. I trouble the people surrounding me because of my personality.

There’s a separated stage director though.

I did the producing for this solo album tour concerts. I worked with Digipedi for the music video, at the first meeting I went giving all of a few ideas I got. From the camera angle, the camera working for the scenes with the dogs, the background set or the phrases written on the cards in the playing cards scene, etc. Of course, the song in the very first place has to be good, that song has to strike the public’s ears.After that, when they see the music video, there have to be something like detailed fun that can be found in it.

If you live like that, the day won’t be sufficient.

A little...

You are a singer, singer-songwriter, album producer, and a musical actor too.

But I’m doing everything so.

Who will do everyhting like that.

To be honest, it’s hard but... at the same time enjoyful and I’m happy. Though this album is filled with the songs I made and self-produced, I gave it a listen at the company and they said that I really did well. I’m so happy listening to them. I got recognized by the people from the company, the public likes my songs, and I discovered new sides of me. I’m so satisfied seeing these responses. I also produced the title track in 2PM’s album that will come out in September. I went to the company on the title track monitoring day after writing one song. It’s a track which I focused on working from 6 AM until 12 in the afternoon. The people from the company listened to that song and liked it. It’s the first time in the history of JYP, that a song written not by Jinyoung hyung but an artist was decided as an album title track.

How was the response from 2PM members.

The moment we listened to the song, everyone became one in liking it. I was really proud.

It will be a problem if it’s not good.

True. To be honest, even if I hadn’t written the song, there’s a song amongst ones written by Jinyoung hyung that could have gone as the title track. But what should I say. It’s the responsiblity for 2PM’s activities in Korea. We are supposedly a group mainly having activities in Korea but we had only been doing it in Japan for a while. During that, we also got forgotten little by little. Coolly speaking, last year album’s result also seemed like that. That’s why I talked with the members. I said, let’s set up the opportunity to do lots of activities in Korea next year, and everyone said okay.

Is that ‘next year’ this year.

Right. We surely plan more activities in Korea more than last year. We’re always worrying about, what should we do to get the public once again, what would be the coolest thing we can do, what’s called 2PM’s popularity.

On the contrary, what kind of determination is it on solo activities.

It’s something to show who I am and what I do. Frankly speaking, everyone knows me under 2PM’s ‘Junsu’ but they don’t know about Jun. K. I suddenly changed my name from Junsu to Minjun under my father’s will. I go with Jun. K because Jun. K is my stage name written when I compose a song. If I don’t properly show that I am this person doing this thing, or what I have in store, people won’t know. Of course it’s really too bad that I’m holding my solo activities only in Japan but I think I will have to show ‘Jun. K’. There’s a bit difference between the things I want to show and the things I can do in 2PM.

Which point is the most different.

At first the different thing was musical color. But as we’re having activities little by little and as I’m immersed into 2PM, I felt that the musical color I originally thought of, sounds good with 2PM too. So when I calmly see things like ‘What does Jun. K do amongst 2PM’s members?’ I really don’t know. I want to let everyone know what I have.

You write songs, also do producing. Your artist feel is strong.

Just... It’s important to work hard on making songs, handling the stage concept and steadily doing those. As I keep on working hard and I must create great stuffs. I almost practically live in the studio.  

Instead of recording room, aren’t there places you go on daily basis.

Company, recording room and also home. I also set my home up almost like the studio. Cheongdam-dong, Nonhyeon-dong, and Shinsa-dong, these 3 are the places where I go back and forth. For the recent 3 months, I haven’t been to other places beside these ones.

Don’t you want to do musical again.

Ha... (Laughs). It was really hard. I felt I had gotten old. Because it’s the field I challenged for the first time. I had <The Three Musketeers> as well as <Jack The Ripper> performances in Japan. For a month, I had intensive practices and performances, I didn’t want to show an embarrassing appearance on the stage, ever. As I always want to give a perfect performance, I couldn’t sleep because of the practices. I really worked hard in order not to be embarrassing. I learned a lot of things, and it was good, but it completely worsened my health. My voice didn’t come out at all in November last year. I was really scared. Because my voice wouldn’t come out for a week. As a person get older, his ability to recover will reduce. I didn’t want to live like that. So I thought, let’s just focus on one thing.

What do you do when you’re in a hard situation.

I go on talking to myself ‘Ah~ it’s hard.’ I’ll just grumble while riding the car. That’s all.

When you’re hurt because of others?

I don’t know how to overcome it. I think I’ll just go wandering away. I was just wandering around for almost 1 year after my father passed away. I was sad and restless. Because I felt I got the biggest responsibility in the family, and I was also angry about how ignorant I got. I also went on drinking like crazy for a week.

Is it something that time will heal.

Well, many people said that but even as time passed there are parts that still can’t be healed. It’s not healed, it just became dull and be forgotten little by little.

Has your wandering ended.

That had ended. I think now is the time when I’ll just gather my mind.

You’re really working hard to live though, how will you gather your mind more. 

I should live while splitting more of my time. Because I’m a person who works with my emotion. It’s also important not to hurt that emotion of mine. If it gets hurt, I’ll lose this job. I think I’ll get better and will be able to get more result if I do music regularly.

When will you go when you’re finished today.

First of all, I’ll be going to the studio. I planned to do monitoring for this week’s concert in Japan. Also doing sound check. (While showing his handphone) Here, I watch the video like this while checking and monitoring for every song.

It’s a self-reflection interview.

No, why...

‘I felt like I’m just living roughly.’

No. I think I’m really just simply living. I also can’t do it for my family either. I can’t also call my mother too often, I also have yet to meet the people whom I got to know through music, and to come over to play with my acquaintances. But it’s really hard to really play around while I’m seriously working hard as well. If I work hard on doing both, I’ll die from being tired. (Laughs)

Then it will be hard to date around.

That’s why I don’t do it. Since long time ago. From the woman’s position, she’ll have to feel loved by a man, but I don’t have such thing in myself. While I have so many things to do for now, I have to look after my family and also take care of my home. However, it will be too much if I get myself a girlfriend.

Seems it will be hard as time passes.

No, it won’t be. Because I like women. It’s currently hard to have a girlfriend, that’s the story. It’s not that I don’t like women.

Not having a girlfriend, but meeting a woman...

No. That’s not it. Why like that. Ah, it kinda sounded weird. This can’t ever be interpreted through playful intention.

Kidding. But why did you say it so seriously.

It’s not seriously, it’s fun. (Laughs). Thank you. For concerning. ♥

Scans credit to junkay.net