Star Magazine Interview with Henry
D: You started out with classical music. Did it help you in any way?
H: If you have the foundation of classical music, it will be easier to create R&B and pop. If I have don’t have that foundation, it wouldn’t be as smooth sailing when I do my compositions now. Classical is complicated, in comparison, pop music is simpler. If I can use all the elements that I have accumulated from classical music with ease, I will be able to have my own style of music. But classical music doesn’t have bits. If I describe it visually, classical music is full of lines, there are no dots. Or it’s like if you add drums to classical piano, that will be the foundation of pop music. I made many songs for this album and then select from there. Overall, I want to produce something that Henry wants, that is to let listener feel relax and happy.
D: We didn’t expect you to use the refreshing 1-4-3 as a comeback song. There were other backup tracks in the album right?
H: Trap is a colourful and heavier song, there are many elements. It showcases what I can do, piano, violin, vocal, dance, charms, a lot of content in there. I wanted to show my colours through this song. On the other hand, 1-4-3 expresses my personality and my experience. Look at the lyrics and you will see that it’s about the experiences of a foreigner in Korea, unable to express himself due to language barrier. This was my situation, my story and my feelings. The things I have to face when I arrive at a different country.
D: How do you come about collaborating with Amber and Chanyeol?
H: Hahaha… I must talk about this. For Chanyeol, I often see him practicing the guitar when he was still a trainee. His playing seems good and I found out he was in a band before joining the company. So I thought we can collaborate if there is a chance. When I know that there will be a ballad version for 1-4-3, I immediately thought of Chanyeol. As for Amber, we are good friends and she is a really good rapper, so we have to collaborate given the chance.
D: I heard that the body painting was your idea? And that your mum has scolded you for it?
H: Ah, yes that was my idea. I wanted to show my change. Plus I did some physical management at that time and my figure was ok so I painted it hahahaha. But my mum indeed scolded me. Because she heard that it’s bad for my health to do that. It was only one of the concepts for my album and stages so there is no problem, I have explained it to her. I stopped doing it though. Hahaha…
D: Use a word to describe your music
H: Change. I will not be making only one type of music, it will change constantly. There is another explanation, after listening to my music, I believe people will change their views of me.
D: Being heavily influenced by western pop music, do you feel that it’s hard to adapt to the Korean music environment?
H: Totally, couldn’t adapt. At first the Korean music that I heard was following the western styles closely, it wasn’t that different. There are many ‘images’ to pop music. When I listen more closely, I realize that Korean music is actually very simple. For example, the chorus are normally pretty simple, there will be one or two notes that keep repeating, keep repeating layers by layers. At that time, I thought this isn’t intricate enough. But a simple song like that can become so popular. Later on when I tried to compose it, I realize that it is more difficult to compose a simple song than a complicated song. From that moment, I start to feel respect for those who compose those hit pop songs. This is actually the charm of pop music, the charm of simplicity. I adjusted my mentality at that time and started afresh.
D: So at that time you had the idea to form Noize Bank?
H: Actually the idea to form a band didn’t come so late. Noize Bank is a 4-man band, they are all friends from my school, we started playing and composing from a long time ago. Later on I asked them if they want to come to Korea to continue making music, composing songs for singers. So they went over and they were like me, unable to adapt at first. But after some getting used to and exchanging thoughts with the local musicians, they now enjoy and also adapted to the Korean music environment, so we continue to make music together. We are also living together now. ^^
D: So far the music from Noize Bank are for the artistes from your company. How is the situation like when you compose for these artistes?
H: It’s custom made. We will communicate with the singers after receiving the invitation to understand their specialities and needs then we will have a meeting. Each of us will suggest the direction of the composition and take the best option after repeated brainstormings. Then we will start composing and eventually complete it. Of course our principle is to maintain the style of our band but at the same time fits the speciality of the singer. It’s not like we just give out the songs because it’s good. We must first understand and it must be suitable (for the singer).
D: I am curious what role do you play in Noize Bank?
H: I am mostly in charge of ideas and composition. Actually I also have a burning desire to write lyrics recently but my Korean is not good, my chinese is also not good. Only my English is not bad but that’s not going to work. It’s really a headache for me to write Korean or Chinese lyrics. So I have to work hard and work harder for lyrics writing.
D: Besides being a singer, you have your own band, compose for other singers, shoot movies and even cook. It seems like you can handle everything well. So is music your only choice?
H: Instead of saying it’s my only choice, I would rather say that I want to do more things. Like I would like to be a director, starting with shooting my own mv and shoot movies in future.
D: What impact does filming Final Recipe has on your life and music career?
H: Not being exaggerating, this movie changed my views on life. After filming the movie, I start to realize the real Henry. What kind of person Liu XianHua is. The director told me, to act a role, I must first understand myself. Hahaha, so while studying the script and the role, I was also evaluating myself. The process was complicated but the end result was good. I start to understand myself all over again during the filming. What is good about Henry and what is not, what he needs and what he must throw away, understanding myself all over from the beginning again. You can say that I have changed after filming the movie. I really understand my goals in life and music career now.
H: I have many goals. Right now my biggest goal is to show everyone my music. Let my music become the OST of your lives. There are all kinds of OSTs in movies and there are also OSTs in life. I don’t wish for my music to lead peoples’ lives, I will be happy if my music is the bgm of others.
D: What is the meaning behind making cuisines?
H: The process of learning to cook and cooking itself let me realize the importance of sequence. One of the strict basic lessons from my teacher (chef) was the requirement to place each ingredient in their correct spots. In the past, I can’t say that I don’t have any habit for sequencing, I just have the habit of misplacing my stuff, I changed that while learning to cook. Also, timing is important in cooking. This is too important. Isn’t it like life? Everything is about timing (opportunities).
D: If you are to describe life with a dish, what will it be?
H: There isn’t a specified one but there is a certain type. That is frying. Don’t laugh! I am serious. What I am most confident of right now is, give me a frying wok and I can settle the dining table. Give me any ingredient and I can fry something for you. The speciality of Chinese food is the final product is always totally different from the original ingredient, isn’t it? This is like life. Many elements of life like people, events, opportunities and goals are all in our own hands, it’s just like frying a dish.
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