IZM Neo Music Interview with IU - Part 2

[PART 1]

'Child Searching for a Star' was good. I felt it was a song that conveyed feelings of empathy well. The lyrics seemed to be telling your own story too. Did you receive some advice from Kim Kwangjin for the vocals?

He gave me total freedom. I just did as I pleased.


You had to give yourself some vocal directing too didn't you?

That's right. The composers who participated in the production of this album can be split into two types. They were either meticulous or gave me freedom. Kim Kwangjin sunbaenim totally belonged in the second category.


Who else belonged in this category?
Jung Jaehyung sunbaenim and Lee Juck sunbaenim. Also... all of a sudden I can't quite recall. (Laughs)


What sort of composer was Ra.D then?
Ra.D sunbaenim was totally the meticulous type. (Laughs) There are quite a few of them. It was almost half half. 6 of them on one side and 6 of them on the other.


After 'Night of the First Farewell', Yoon Jongshin composed 'Wallpaper Design' which seems to be asking you to express farewell related emotions again. Why is that so?

Yoon Jongshin sunbaenim seems to be looking forward to me showing an even better image in the next album. In 'Night of the First Farewell', he said, "Really, you can just do it your own way". He said that then, since I'm more familiar with the concept of a first farewell. Compared to him. (Laughs) So it was like he entrusted me with that sort of image. This time round since we used a concept of a girl who encountered many farewells, the time spent recording was longer than before and we talked over it more as well. Also, sunbaenim told me that it was good that I was expressing the emotions better than before. We sent each other emails too and he told me that we'd go for a slightly more deep sort of farewell song for the next album. At that point in time, I realised sunbaenim wanted to watch me grow and improve.


It's a novel idea to use the 'wisdom tooth' as a metaphor for one's first love. How did the idea come up?

The motif for 'Wisdom Tooth' was taken from G.Gorilla oppa. The lyrics were already all written. Yet when I asked, "Wouldn't this part sound better if we changed it slightly?", he replied, "Change it as you wish and show me again" so I talked to my mum and then tried writing the lyrics.


In the song 'Wisdom Tooth', the part that goes "molla molla (I don't know, I don't know)" goes really well with the melody, to the extent that nothing else seems to fit.

G.Gorilla oppa wrote the lyrics by himsself too, so they fit really well. For that melody, it simply has to go with those lyrics.


What did you and your mum talk about when you consulted her about the lyrics?

With the lyrics that (G. Gorilla) oppa already wrote, I consulted my mum about the content. Actually I just asked her, "Mum, this part would sound better like that right?" and wrote the lyrics like that.


While doing the arrangement, were there a lot of discussions with G. Gorilla?

Yes. I sat next to oppa and went, "Oppa, could you look over this part please?" and he would look over it for me. So the process was really tiring. The process of conveying my thoughts to oppa. It was difficult to express the exact emotions I wanted using words, so nowadays I'm learning to make midis. (Laughs)


'Teacher' seems to be a song that showcases your unique acoustic feel. I personally felt that your voice went well with the acoustic guitar accompaniment.

They do seem to go well together. It seems my voice sounds good when I'm singing while playing the guiar. I have no idea why though. I thought to myself it's really not easy, to play an instrument while singing at the same time. I'm not sure if it was due to the way I practised, but compared to singing with the MR track, I sound much better singing while playing the guitar. But of course, practising is a long and arduous process.


Your original composition, 'A Stray Puppy' sounds really depressing. In your previous interview, you mentioned that you liked bright-sounding bands like 'Coldplay' and 'Radiohead', but I'm wondering why you personally prefer such a depressing mood.

I don't think I have a preference for it. (Laughs) I just like acoustic stuff, it has no link with depressing or sweet stuff. If you think about it, a calm song will have a very depressing feel. I may seem to like that sort of music a lot, but I do like sweet songs and fresh R&B, or love songs as well. I'm not sure how 'A Stray Puppy' turned out to be so depressing. When I first started composing the song, that wasn't how I felt. After adding in the lyrics and doing the arrangement, it just turned out that way.


If it's so tiring, would you still be adding one of your original compositions to the next album?

Yes. I should. It's fun. But tiring, really tiring. (Laughs) The most difficult bit was singing the song I wrote by myself using my own voice. Other people don't seem to have this issue, usually it's the easiest to sing a song written by yourself. Yet that was the most difficult part for me. Singing the song was the most difficult part. But writing the lyrics was really fun and so was doing the arrangement. I should keep doing it.


You mentioned before that the jazz vocals in 'L'amant' would be easier to sing compared to that in 'You and I', what do you mean by that?

I was just referring to the voice. Actually I don't really use any particular singing style. My voice goes through various changes to bring out some differences, but my voice in 'L'amant' is just a voice I'm comfortable singing with. As for songs like 'Good Day' or 'Sleeping Prince', since I had to sing according to their respective music styles, it was slightly more difficult. Rather than to say the genre of 'L'amant' suits me, if you look at just the vocals, I think that's the voice that I'm most comfortable with producing. Nowadays, I'm having these thoughts too, I realised that I like 'L'amant' the best and I think I totally didn't see that coming. (Laughs) I feel like I totally misread it. (Laughs) Since I like jazz, I would like to take on the challenge again in future.


You seem to be reaching too far ahead of yourself. Especially in terms of expression.

Therefore Jung Jaehyung sunbaenim didn't seem willing to give me the song at the very beginning. I had to request for it from him personally to receive his consent.


In what ways do you find yourself lacking?

I think I can get the emotions wrong, or I may express the lyrics too deeply. But when I'm singing, I don't find it that deep. Actually, I felt that I should have gone more overboard. I felt the emotions weren't enough to fit the lyrics. 'L'amant' was also the least downloaded song on this album. (Laughs) I don't know if it's because the genre itself is strange or because of the fact that it's the last track on the album. (Laughs) Some say since it's a new attempt, I should look on the bright side, so I'm trying to think that way too. It was my first attempt with such a genre and I'm thinking, "That was great, since I enjoyed myself while singing it".


While recording for the album, which was the most challenging in terms of the vocals?

I think 'You and I' was the most difficult. Since 'You and I' should have the feel of 'Good Day', the recording of the title song should be just like the previous time. Even before the title song was decided, I felt it should have the feel of 'Good Day'. Also, Minsoo oppa was the totally meticulous type. When the song was being composed, it was already really perfectly crafted, so I couldn't move an inch away from that. I had to do the recording while almost 100% trusting and following oppa's instructions, but in the middle, there were many times it went against my own intuitions. I found points where we agreed upon, but during the recording itself, it drained me both psychologically and physically.


You seem to be actively contributing your opinions.

Yes. It seems so, but most of the time when I offer my opinions, it matches that of the composers. The case of 'You and I' being an exception.


Many wonderful artists participated in the making of this album, but in the selection process, did your opinions weigh more or that of the producer?

My agency knows who I like, so that went quite smoothly. Also, the people I like are the country's most famous musicians. (Laughs)


Rather than the music from your generation, you seem to know and listen to music from the 90s. Having just turned 20, in actual fact, your peers probably don't really know artistes like Yoon Sang, Lee Juck, and so on. How did you get to know them?

Well from a young age, I developed such a preference. I didn't like music with a fast pace and didn't really like fun music either, instead I liked soft music or acoustic songs and listened to that, so things just turned out that way.


It would have been quite difficult to learn about them if people around you didn't listen to it much.

My parents enjoyed listening to them so when we went out to play, it would be playing in the car. So from the time when I was still in elementary school, I started searching for and listening to such songs. I'm quite detached from current trends. I don't keep up with the trends well. Of course, I should listen to the songs on the billboard, since I had to go to school. I searched them up and listened to those songs, but didn't really like them. I just needed to know oh so that's what it's all about, but I didn't like the songs all that much.


What are you listening to recently?

Recently, I haven't really been updating my MP3 player. (Laughs) I keep listening to those same songs. I listen a lot to Lee Sora sunbaenim's songs and John Mayer or Corinne Bailey Rae. I'm listening to indie bands quite a bit too.


Which indie bands?

I like 'Rooftop Moonight'. (As expected from someone who likes acoustic) Yes. It's clean and clear and I feel like it purifies my soul when I listen to it.


Credits to squishyblob @ weheartiu Read more