#i: interview

[kimdonghans]

Source(s): 1

[jongupitalia-blog]

Intervista dei B.A.P su Pia Kansai

Avete recentemente debuttato in Giappone, come vi sentite?

Yongguk (rap): prima di tutto, io sono il leader dei B.A.P, Bang Yongguk. Ci siamo divertiti molto e abbiamo fatto molte cose per il nostro debutto in giappone. D'ora in poi non sappiamo cosa accadrà, quindi siamo eccitati.

Quale è stata la cosa più divertente?

Yongguk: il nostro showcase per il rilascio del singolo Warrior che si è tenuto ad ottobre al Tokyo Niko Farre è stato divertente.

Himchan (vocals): per me il momento migliore è stato quando controllavo il mio profilo sui social network e vedevo che i fans iniziavano a mandarci messaggi in giapponese, mi sono sentito come se avevamo davvero debuttato in Giappone.

Zelo (rap, dance): sento che questa sia una buona opportunità per rendere più persone familiari con i B.A.P.

Daehyun (vocals): abbiamo debuttato solo di recente, ma abbiamo già percepito molti aspetti della cultura giapponese. Ovviamente continueremo a fare del nostro meglio durante le nostre promozioni giapponesi.

Jongup (vocals, dance): sono felice che da quando abbiamo rilasciato il primo singolo Warrior e il secondo singolo One Shot, molte persone abbiano iniziato ad ascoltare la nostra musica. D'ora in poi continueremo le promozioni senza dimenticare il nostro inizio, sarebbe fantastico se sempre più persone recepissero il nostro messaggio.

Youngjae (vocals): I am in charge of main vocals in B.A.P, I’m Youngjae. From this point, we want to show off B.A.P’s appeal even more, please look forward to it.

Q: So what is the appeal of B.A.P?

Daehyun: Manly songs!

Youngjae: Yes, firstly it’s our music. We have lots of songs with B.A.P’s appeal. In those songs we also have appeal with the lyrics.

Q: So that means that your debut single Warrior is a song that has a lot of B.A.P’s appeal, right?

Youngjae: That’s right. It’s the song that represents B.A.P the most.

Q: When I listened to it, it seemed like some of the lyrics and contents were a bit different.

Youngjae: the meaning is the same, but with grammar and vocabulary, as well as phrasing, we can’t help that those will change.

Daehyun: Japanese pronunciation is really hard… I’m in charge of high notes, so when I was signing them it was difficult to be careful of Japanese pronunciation at the same time.

Q: It’s only been a month since you released your debut single, why did you choose One Shot as your second single?

Himchan: Warrior was the song that showed off who B.A.P is the best, and with One Shot we chose it because we can show how we polished our image.

Q: How was recording for this single?

Youngjae: Of course, Japanese pronunciation was difficult (laughs). But, we got a little bit used to using Japanese, and more than our last recording, we were praised by the staff for our pronunciation! We will continue to do our best.

Q: So that means that the special “LTE” speed rap was also difficult, right?

Zelo: It’s our first time rapping in a different language, it was a new feeling. Recording a Korean song into a Japanese one, the hard part was pronunciation.

Q: Both singles give off a hard and strong impression.

Daehyun: We have a hip-hop base, but in that also powerful music. But I think the “Hard,” and “manliness” of our songs is our special point.

Q: Rather than a love song, the positive message in the gives a strong feeling.

Yongguk: That’s right. More than making songs with no meaning, B.A.P is a group that aims to make meaningful and inspiring music.

Q: I also heard the One Shot single and it felt very different from pop music. That you have this side is very interesting.

Yongguk: Yes, I think it’s important to be able to do different genres, and be able to combine them. However, I think there are still some immature parts, but we intend to seriously challenge ourselves to the end.

Q: With your single releases, your arena tour is also starting. What will this Japan performance hold?

Youngjae: It’ll be different than our concerts in Yokohama in May, it’ll have a new format. We want you to enjoy it.

Q: You also have experience with your world tour, please let us hear what is appealing to you about concerts.

Youngjae: When it comes to concerts, it has to be getting excited together with fans.

Jongup: Whenever we have a concert, my favorite parts are the moment before the curtain goes up, and right before the concert ends. Before it’s over, there’s the feeling that I want to play some more. Thos are the moments I like.

Himchan: Being together with fans is the best part for me. I love that. Their reactions are passionate, and they get excited!

Yongguk: During performances it feels like we can say to the world what we want to say in a loud voice. That’s the part about concerts that I like.

Zelo: I like concerts because we can sing many songs and during the breaks between songs we can interact with fans, whereas for TV music programs interacting with fans is difficult and we only get to sing 1 or 2 songs. Having fun with fans at a big venue is really great, I think.

Daehyun: I know this is about concerts, but actually before performances is my favorite part, when we are moving from the dressing room to the stage. There’s a heart pounding excitement (laughs)

Q: For these concerts, each city has 2 days, what’s the set list like?

Himchan: …we won’t tell (laughs)

Q: Even a hint! (laughs)

Himchan: You can see a cool B.A.P! (laughs)

Yongguk: More than the performance, we want to you also see our many different areas.

Himchan: Also we will sweat a lot (laughs)

Zelo: Don’t be mistaken, you will really see each of our members charms.

Yongguk: I’ll say one more thing, that once you see this tour you will absolutely want to see the next tour, and there will probably be another tour. Before we had our world tour and stopped in Yokohama, but the arena tour this time is really a tour made only for Japanese fans. It’s a tour that starts in Japan, which is why we named it “Warrior Begins.”

Q: that said, lastly a message to your fans in Japan please.

Yongguk: Everyone, “Let’s go to the convenience store!” (Author’s note: This is his current phrase) [Translator’s note: -_-)/]

Himchan: To our fans, I always want to meet you. Maybe you feel the same way? That’s why let’s meet soon!

Daehyun: To our fans, Let’s have fun! I love you!

Youngjae: We are really doing our best to prepare for the concerts, let’s meet at the shows!

Jongup: With our Japan debut, we will do our very best, so please look out for us. We’re waiting on stage!

Zelo: Thank you for all the love you send us. I feel I want to return that love, so please, many people come to play with us!

[jongupitalia-blog]

Intervista dei B.A.P su Koari

－Please introduce yourselves. BANG YONG GUK (YG): I am BAP’s leader, Bang Yongguk. Nice to meet you. HIM CHAN (HC):　I’m Himchan. Nice to meet you. DAE HYUN (DH):　I’m Daehyun. Nice to meet you. YOUNG JAE (YJ):　I’m Young Jae. Nice to meet you. JONG UP (JU):　I am Jong Up. Nice to meet you. ZELO (Z):　I am Zelo, maknae of the group. Nice to meet you.

－The group name, B.A.P, is made by taking the capital letters from “Best Absolute Perfect,” but who is the most perfect of all among the members?

Z: I think it’s Young Jae hyung! We were able to debut in Japan by receiving a lot of love and support from our fans, but among us, Young Jae hyung studied Japanese very hard and he’s now the most fluent in Japanese. So I think that Young Jae hyung is the most perfect.

－Young Jae sshi, how did you improve your Japanese so well?

YJ: Usually, I study the language with my teacher, but I also watch Japanese drama and anime and learn a lot from them. Especially, I like watching the anime, “HUNTER X HUNTER.”

－Then, who is the most popular among women?

Z: I think that’s Young Jae hyung.

ALL: Now, he is having his golden age, and that’s why he’s the most popular! (To this member’s answer, Young Jae-sshi was being humble, but he was immediately interrupted by Zelo-sshi saying “You are lying!!” [laughs])

JU: I think Himchan hyung is also popular among girls too. As you can see, he is handsome, and I think that he understands women’s feeling the most among us.

HC: Yes. I also think the same way. (laughs)

YG: I think… JongUp will get more and more popular as he grows up and become matured.

HC: I agree with that!!

DH: Jong Up is the most charming member of us all.

－It’s been a month since your Japan debut, but have gotten used to your promotions in Japan?

HC: We’ve started promoting in Japan, but because we move back and forth from Korea and Japan, we still need more time to get used it. But in the future, by having more performances on stages and working hard to show our better images, I think we will gradually get used to our activities in Japan.

－Starting your promotions in Japan, is there anything that was surprising for you that you thought was different from Korea(promotions in Korea)?

Z: This is not only Japan, but when we went to various countries during our Pacific Tour, I thought that the reactions were different in each places.

HC: I feel that Japanese fans listen to our music carefully with respect, so I appreciate it a lot. But the interesting thing is that they also show us there passionate side as well too, and I think that’s amazing.

－In the beginning, you said that Young Jae-sshi is very good at Japanese, but what is the Japanese word or phrase that you leaned recently?

YJ: I recently learned “Yattara-Yari-Kaesu” (Take double the payback). My favorite Japanese phrase is “Bai-Gae-Shi.” (I will pay you back double.)

[Everyone, laughing very hard]

DH: I learned, “(my belly is) Pan-Pan!” (my stomach is too full!)

JU: I learned, [very confidently] “Yattari-Mae-Desho!” (Jong Up said in a wrong way)

HC: Atari-Mae…

JU: A… Yattari-Mae…

HC: A, Ta, Ri, Ma, E.

JU: “Atari-Mae-Desho!” (means “of course!”)

HC: The word I learned recently is “Massugu.” (very straight) My favorite Japanese is “Aitakkata.” (I wanted to meet you/I missed you)

Z: I also learned “Massugu.”(very straight)

YG: I learned, “I am usually the quiet type. Don’t worry.” Because I get a lot of questions about why I’m so quiet and don’t speak much, I thought I should memorize that phrase.

－Next, about the 2nd single “ONE SHOT.” Was there anything that was difficult for you during the recordings?

DH: Japanese pronunciation was very hard for us.

HC: Because we are still not good enough in Japanese, the Japanese lyrics were difficult for us to sing.

－In “ONE SHOT,” there is a lyrics where it says “Wake up, Overcome every high walls and obstacles,” but how do you overcome difficulties? Is there any way to refresh yourselves?

YG: I watch movies, listen to music… and go out for walk alone.

DH: I watch drama and comedy shows to refresh myself.

JU: In the middle of the night, I go out for some walk while I listen to music.

－Is there any good places you like to recommend us for a walking course?

JU: (near TS Entertainment building) HanNamDon!

[All the members nodding]

－Speaking of B.A.P, your powerful dance performance is one of your special features, but what is the special point in the “ONE SHOT” choreography that you want your fans to watch closely?

Z: The push up dance in the chorus. The song has a message, “Don’t miss the chance that lies in your life, grab them tightly.” We wanted people to understand the message, but also we wanted to encourage them so we decided to add this push up dance in the choreography.

－Lastly, please give us a message toward your first Arena Tour.

YG: Because this is our first concert in Japan, we worked and practiced very hard to show B.A.P’s cool image, so please look forward to our stages.

DH: To our fans, please anticipate our “ONE SHOT”!! And please look forward to our stages. I love you!

JU: We are having our first Arena Tour. Because this is our first time, I think that this is really meaningful to us a lot. I would work hard to show our cool image, and hope that I can make a good stage where I can make you want to come to our concert again.

HC: To our fans, let’s make a good memory together! I can’t wait to see you!

Z: We are preparing very hard for this concert. I would like to make this concert to leave a strong impact of B.A.P’s color in everyone’s memory, so please come to the concert to see us!

YG: This concert will be in a large scale, but I’m sure we won’t disappoint you, so please come to see us!!

This was the first time for B.A.P to have interview session with KOARI.

Having Young Jae-sshi who answered most of the questions in Japanese, and Zelo-sshi who actively answered each questions, the interview went well in an at-home and comfortable atmosphere with little chats here and there. It was impressive to see them writing their signs on the present photos they took after the interview, asking their staffs how to write the message in Japanese.

They are having their first Arena Tour with their new single, “ONE SHOT,” which has a powerful message, telling people to not miss their chances. KOARI would like to keep on watching their activities in Japan, who is now the No.1 Kpop group!

[jongupitalia-blog]

Intervista ai B.A.P su K-Pop Starz Japan

Il loro secondo singolo è stato rilasciato il 13 novembre, ogni traccia sta in piedi da sola ed è introdotta dai membri (One Shot, Hajima, Rain Sound).

Yongguk: abbiamo già rilasciato Warrior, il nostro singolo di debutto, e adesso rilasciamo il secondo singolo, One Shot. Il messaggio che vuole lasciare la canzone omonima è un'incoraggiamento a fare il proprio meglio, vivere la vita con passione, e non lasciarsi sfuggire le occasioni che capitano una volta sola. Con il suono di una grande orchestra e una qualità di performance superiore a quella di Warrior, è una canzone che ti cattura fin dal primo istante. Hajima è una canzone pop in stile anni '90 con una melodia semplice da ascoltare è un testo significativo. Rain Sound ha un ritmo hip-hop combinato al suono della chitarra acustica ed è una canzone incentrata sul dolore di un amore finito. Sembra che lei sia lì, nel suono della pioggia, quindi il testo è doloroso e triste. Con questo singolo possiamo rilasciare in Giappone le stesse canzoni tanto amate dal pubblico in Corea. Ogni canzone è completamente diversa, quindi sarete in grado di cogliere parte del repertorio musicale dei B.A.P.

Avete rilasciato One Shot, che ha avuto uno straordinario successo in Corea, c'era qualcosa di diverso nella versione giapponese?

Daehyun: il testo della versione coreana significa “non scappare via dalle opportunità che ti si presentano, esci e vivi la vita a pieno” quindi quando abbiamo iniziato a lavorare sulla versione giapponese abbiamo cercato di mantenere lo stesso significato. Ecco perchè siamo soddisfatti per il fatto che il contesto di ogni canzone è rimasto per la maggior parte invariato. Il leader Yongguk ha la parte iniziale e quella finale, volevamo che il pubblico prestasse particolare attenzione alla frase “you only have one chance you know”.

Q: In the Korean version of the song, it seems like there is more “Bounce/focus” on the words of the rapping than there is in Japanese in order to have them fit easily into the songs, but was it difficult to put them into Japanese?

Youngjae: Since it’s a first for us to record in Japanese, and there were parts where we needed to make extra efforts.

Yongguk: The way you hear Korean and Japanese is completely different, so it’s the same song but in the Japanese version the vocals may stand out more than the raps than in the original version.

Q: Tell us about the filming of the One Shot MV.

Daehyun: The Korean version was very dramatic while in the Japanese version we wanted to show more of our performance. That’s why there were lots of group dance scenes, we all danced together so you can get a different feel from this version. We want you to see our performance, that’s the important part!

Q: What do you each want to show off in the MV?

Daehyun: For my parts, I want you to take note of my high notes near the end. Since the message we want to get across is also sung at that part, please listen and be enchanted by B.A.P’s power (laughs)

Himchan: (In Japanese) All my parts are cool.

Interviewer: The shot of Himchan against the wall that had “B.A.P” written on it was really cool!

Himchan: I like that scene too (laughs)

Zelo: It’s only for a moment, but I want you to see the cool spin I do.

Youngjae: The scene at the end where we are all walking away.

Jongup: The scene where I jump (over Himchan).

Yongguk: The scene near the end where Jongup fires his gun is cool.

Interviewer: Not your own scenes? (laughs)

Yongguk: I don’t really have any (cool ones) (laughs)

Q: Any points to note about the “One Shot” costumes?

Himchan: We went with colors that gave a unified feel, and each member had their own costume detailing to suit them personally, so each costume is a little different. All our One Shot costumes are cool, and I think with our strong performance and contrast of colors we show off a lot of charisma when joined with our choreography. The red and black leave a strong impression which contributed to a perfect stage.

Q: For “Warrior,” after you sing “Warrior~” the fans blow their whistles. In Seoul for your solo concert, the whistles were so loud I was surprised! What do you think of this special way of fans cheering for you?

Daehyun: We’re really happy and content with this. We can hear everyone’s whistles while we’re on stage, so we think that we need to make an even greater effort to do our best!

Q: B.A.P has the matoki design which is even used for your fan’s light stick. Did you participate in the design and visual aspects of B.A.P’s art?

Daehyun: Most of the music we put forth is very strong and manly, but the matoki is easily recognizable and fans can become closer. It’s a character that is also capable of countless transformations, so as we grow it grows with us.

Youngjae: Also, each member has their own matoki character, so each character gets special love in that way too. Also, with the lightsticks, no matter what stage we perform on, we can instantly see where are fans are cheering for us by those lights.

Jongup: With the CD covers, we did have an idea with the latest Korean release “Badman.” We all gave ideas for the front and jacket designs. Of course our Leader Yongguk participates in songwriting, but from now on the rest of B.A.P want to widen our experience creating our “B.A.P” image.

Q: Your Live on Earth Pacific tour saw you do shows at Yokohama Pacifico. that was your first solo tour, but have you taken anything from those shows for these concerts?

Himchan: Firstly, those concerts we performed without having come to Japan before, but still fans cheered us on passionately, so we thought that we want to show even more growth.

Interviewer: At the Pacifico, it seemed like the stage was a bit cramped during your “One shot” performance.

Himchan: Yes, but this time the stage is a bit bigger so it’s okay!

Interviewer: That’s right, your First Japan Arena tour starts soon! Your last tour saw you as Warriors from another planet sent to stop “Pain and Sadness” on earth through music. Is the concept for this tour a continuation of that or something new?

Yongguk: It’s a new concept different than what we did before.

Interviewer: Can you give us a little bit more?

All: It’s a secret (laughs)

Himchan: We want you to be excited for it! Until then, it’s a secret! (laughs)

Q: For LOE, you went to America, what impressions do you have from the cities you visited?

Yongguk: With that tour we visited and performed in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Washington D.C, and each city left it’s own impression. So next year we of course want to go meet everyone in America again. Next year we also want to go to cities we haven’t visited yet and perform.

Q: that said, from B.A.P’s debut until now, what was the most nerve-wracking stage, and the best stage?

Himchan: Our showcase was the most nerve-wracking.

Daehyun: When we debuted, there was lots we had to do and not much time to be nervous, only tired or excited. But I remember being nervous for 2 days before the showcase.

Himchan: Though our Korean debut was nerve-wracking, our Japanese mini-showcase (on October 10 at Roppongi Nikofarre) was also nerve-wracking. And also our performance on NHK Music Japan. It was the first time we’d show our music off, so those times we were very nervous.

Q: From debut to now, your best stage?

Zelo: For us, every stage is the best. Also, it’s because of fans cheering for us that we can show perfect and successful parts in our performances.

Yongguk: Each new stage, we meet new fans when we stand on stage. We’re grateful for each and every fan all over the world who cheer for B.A.P. Because each stage is a one time thing, we do our best to make it the best. Because we will also not forget our beginnings, please continue to look out for us.

Q: When did you have the best “After Party” experience?

Daehyun: With the last tour, when we were in Hong Kong I think. It was a few days before my birthday, and everyone gave me a surprise party where there was lots of delicious food to eat, and I remember how everyone felt happy.

Himchan: After concerts and tours, when we can relax and feel “It’s finished~~!” and we can eat lots of good food…I don’t really remember much (laughs)

Q: Lastly, tell us what B.A.P wants to say musically!

Yongguk: With our music we want to be a good influence over many people without being pushed around by trends, to make our own music as B.A.P, to continue pursuing B.A.P’s music in our own way.