[INTERVIEW] Big Bang member Taeyang - Part 3

Taeyang [YG Entertainment]

10: And what sort of music is that?
Taeyang: I don't know how this may sound but uh... It's what I have been dreaming since I was young and I think I finally got it this time. Music that sounds very hopeful in the morning on your way to work but consoling when you hear on your way home at the end of the day. It's music that'll sometimes sound more exciting, rather than put you in a good mood, and sound sad if you hear it when you're in another mood.

10: I think you've gained a confidence about the stage as well while setting the direction of your music. It seemed like for both "I Need a Girl" and "I'll Be There," you think of yourself as part of a big picture or a musical actor. Didn't you want to show some fancy techniques like you did with "Where U At" or "Wedding Dress"?
Taeyang: I actually thought long and hard before doing "I'll Be There." I wondered whether it's better to come up with a choreography and do a group dance with the rest of the dancers. I wouldn't have worried about it if I was just thinking of the dancing though. Because the song I was singing needed some sort of picture, I came up with a performance structured like a musical. And repeating what I've already shown people didn't have much meaning to me. I wanted to create a storyline where the singing and dancing become one and delivers emotions to the audience. I could always show my technique another time.10: But don't such performances become comprehendable only when one understands the feeling that the song and sound create together? It's effective when you listen to the album and appreciate the song but you're not in the environment to do so in Korea. It's not as if the speakers on your TV at home have good sound.
Taeyang: I would like to think that a lot of people appreciate the music but regardless, those who will watch will watch and those who listen will listen. I'm not too worried about it because I think that those who regard my music as cool will watch my performances. I wouldn't have done this type of music if I was concerned about that.

10: But aren't you worried that the more you express your world in detail, you could become a person who is hard for the public to approach? You're one of the most popular idols but it seems like you sort of have the image of being a very serious singer and hard to approach.
Taeyang: I'm actually worried about that. But I wouldn't have been able to do this if I was worried about that a lot. I think I find consolation from the fact that the satisfaction I feel from a product made in the way I want it to be overrides the concerns.

10: And in the process, your music and the music that Big Bang does becomes more different. Have your thoughts changed regarding the role you have in Big Bang?
Taeyang: By doing what I can do as a solo and doing various music through Big Bang, I think I've been given more chances to challenge myself to do music that I hadn't been able to do. And within that, if I work hard at what I'm good at, I think it'll be a lot of help for the team and I think that's how people will see it as well. That's why I think I feel the same way about my activities as both a solo and group.10: What direction will Big Bang's new album take on?
Taeyang: Before, we reflected a lot of what goes with the times into our music and we were under the pressure to become popular, not just in terms of music. But I think we've come to consider the most basic things important now. Everyone agrees on the fact that we want to do music that stays loyal to the basics. That's why although we're still in the process of preparing the album, there'll be a lot of songs that are quite different from our songs from before.

10: But while the music you do as a solo and as a member of Big Bang are different, the response inside and outside Korea are also different. Doesn't the response of fans overseas regarding your solo album help? Korea has yet to become used to the style of music where the singer controls the flow or bounce of the song with his voice rather than the rhythm of the sound.
Taeyang: The guys overseas seem to like it a lot. (laugh) I think the response of fans overseas give me confidence and trust. I think I would have been worried if there was no response to the album. But despite not having promoted the album overseas, it spread through YouTube and ranked on the iTunes chart. I felt that if this continues, people who like my music will keep listening and those who recognize me will recognize me. I think the fact that fans overseas recognize me just with my song and performance is very helpful.

10: Do you have plans to pursue your career overseas?
Taeyang: I personally have thought that if the international album is received well, I want to try working overseas. But that's realistically impossible to do right now so for now, I want to go more deep with my music and make sure I get good results. Then that will provide the opportunity. I actually hadn't even thought of releasing my music on iTunes. But now that it has happened, I do believe that the things I think could become reality.

10: At the same time, you must increasingly have more to think about. What you want to do is actually closer to the opposite of the public's taste. They don't listen to every detailed changed to the vocal or the sound that has elaborately been adjusted to it.
Taeyang: I do think that become the case more and more. The sound in the music these days completely set aside those very elements you just mentioned. But I would've had a harder time if I did music that goes with the times. I might not have been able to release an album at all. But I am very worried. I'm worried about doing music too but there are many cases where globally, the sound is emphasized more than delivering an emotion through a melody.

10: You're an analog guy. (laugh) I hear you listen to a lot of old songs too.
Taeyang: Do I? (laugh) There is less music I'm moved by nowadays compared to the past because the songs focus around digital sound too much. When I was young, I actually didn't hang out with my friends much, I never had a girlfriend and I didn't have the chance to feel what love is. But music made me feel those emotions. A lot of that has disappeared now. That's why I'm going to have a band create the sound for my concert.

10: Then what sort of musician do you want to have become in the next year or two?
Taeyang: Um, that's a difficult question.

10: It wasn't meant to be (laugh). As expected, you're serious when it comes to music.
Taeyang: (laugh) I hope I'm remembered for an unchanged image. I'm going to keep studying music with the determination I have for it now as well as try hard to continue discovering more about myself. I'm going to do my best no matter which position I'm in and wherever I am, I want to become a musician who can move people's hearts greatly through music. And 10 years later, I'd like to sing songs that touch people even more greatly.

10: Then what sort of music do you think you'll be doing 10 years later?
Taeyang: More delicate music. And probably music that goes with my experience? I think that's what'll happen. (laugh)

Senior Reporter : Kang Myoung-Seok two@
Editor : Jessica Kim jesskim@, Lee Ji-Hye seven@