[Interview] FT Island "We Want To Live Together Even After Marriage"
For the fans who "wished" for FT Island's comeback, nothing can beat the band's return.
And for this Fall, no other song could make the season sweeter than 'I wish.' The sweet and fun tune is a gift bundle with a twist. It features a Spanish-style guitar sound that tickles your ears, and an eye-candy of a music video.
So here they are: Choi Jonghun, Lee Hongki, Lee Jaejin, Choi Minhwan and Song Seunghyun are back with their fourth official album 'Five Treasure Box.'
The album is their first official one in three years. And along with it, comes a different vibe.
Minhwan: "Somehow, we feel comfortable. The difference is we no longer want to 'do well.' Regardless of doing well or not, we now think we should just show ourselves. All the members tried hard to show our color by composing and writing lyrics."
We know they've been extremely busy between Korea and Japan. But it's been a long time since they stood on a stage as FT Island. So we asked how they've been.
Seunghyun: "I think we spent more time abroad than at home. We finished Asia Tour and Japan Tour. I also appeared in musical 'Jack The Ripper.' It was really hard and exhausting, but I am proud of it in the end. I'll also perform in Japan. I'll do well there as well."
Since debuting in 2007, FT Island has been active for more than 5 years. Time seems to fly by these days. Does FT Island feel the same?
Minhwan: "Whenever I see our old video clips, I notice the differences. When I go in for recordings these days, I remember what I did in the past. Shall I say, many things feel more competitive now while there was a sense of romance in the past. Everyone used to get along so well."
Fewer artists are releasing official albums recently. So we are very glad to meet an official album full of effort.
Jaejin: "We really wanted to share the songs we wrote. We want to release as many official albums as possible because we want to perform in many concerts. We hope everyone enjoys our album jackets too. True to the album's name, we really featured our personal treasures."
We really love the guitar sound in the beginning of the song. And because Seunghyun looks so good playing it, everyone may have been jealous. Not that everyone else don't look good either.
Jonghun: Trumpet sounds could also be one of the features that make the song stand out. And many fans liked our guitar performances too. Of course, I wanted it. But it turned really well because Seunghyund id it."
Groups' teamworks are proving to be important more than ever. Is there a secret to keeping it up for the past five years?
Seunghyun: "Other groups tend to have members who knew eachother from early on, or have some knowledge of eachother. But we met as complete strangers. I think we adapted to eachother becuase we met at a young age. We argued often in the beginning but we overcame that. You can say we were lucky. Now, we really don't have anything to argue over."
No matter how long it has been, there should be some challenges to living together.
Jaejn: "It's fun. We live on separate floors but Jonghun and Hongki really take good care of us. For example, Jonghun makes dinner and tells us to come down and eat."
Seunghyun: "We've spent about one third of our life together. Our joke these days is to live together under one roof even after we get married. I think it'll be fun to live in a connected home, where we share a yard. We could have campfires! (laugh)"
PSY's 'Gangnam Style' is super popular lately. We think it'd be encouraging to see an artist promote a song with his own color around the world.
Jonghun: "We really like PSY too. He is famous all around the world right now. And thanks to him, many people are focusing on K-Pop. So we think other artists can now follow his path more easily. Rather than feeling jealous, we feel more confident. We want to go on European and North American tour soon."
It's a blessing to dream and work towards achieving that dream. But it's not easy to protect that dream and make it come true.
FT Island is always listening to their hearts and have used every passing time as an opportunity to grow. We look forward to what kind of music they'll bring to their fans.
FT Island had a message for those who are chasing after a dream:
Seunghyun: "I want to say, do what you want to do like crazy. You can like something but don't even know it. Think carefully and if something attracts you, give it your all."
Jonghun: "Whenever you are dealing with difficulties, I hope you don't get stressed out but enjoy it. Whether it's bad or good, It's important to have that positive mindset. I used to think negatively, but tried hard to change that. The moment you think negatively, it gets difficult and stressful."
Minhwan: "I think there's time for everything. No matter how hard you work on it, sometimes you don't even know what you are doing. I hope that doesn't happen."
Jaejin: "You have think 100 times. Thinking too much can but bad, but there are times you can't trasform your thought into action. I think it'll be better to have more thoughts, and get to do at least one of them. I think it's good to act boldly and concisely."
Source: SBS News + DJ Pri @tumblr.com (Translations)
