[INTERVIEW] Lee Seung-hwan - Part 1

For the average musician, you would be called a 'legend' if you have been singing for 20 years. But Lee Seung-hwan is a singer who attempts to remain in his youth and active in service rather than becoming a fading legend. He is set to release his tenth full-length album soon but he still sings fun rock numbers such "Super Hero" and 'goes crazy' on stage. That may be why on his album "Hwantastic Friends", the songs he himself sang and those which were sung by singers who were up to 20 years older than him, do not sound much different. <10Asia> met with Lee to talk about his 'young' 20-year career.

10: It's already been twenty years. (laugh) How has that time been for you?
Lee Seung-hwan (Lee): I'm the type that forgets easily so I don't remember too well. (laugh) I think things have gone smoothly, without anything going beyond my capability or hitting a peak either. Things have been good overall and I'm still alive after doing everything that I've ever wanted to do in the music business so I think I'm a lucky guy.

10: But the songs in your 20th anniversary album "Hwantastic Friends", such as new songs "Fair Lady" or "Good Day 2", don't seem to be much different from your previous songs in terms of sentimentality. It seemed you were singing like you did in your 20s.
Lee: Only my fans are growing older. And there's no inflow of new ones. (laugh) Actually, starting from my fourth album "Human", there have always been people who would say they were disappointed with my new albums. One reporter came up to me and said there are no songs of mine to listen to other than "For 1000 Days". I think such incidents kept recurring. And in the meantime, my fans grew older. So I think that has led me to keep making young music in whatever way I want. Lee Seung-chul is the who represents singers in their 40-somethings anyway. (laugh) I'm allowed to make music however way I want to, right? And wherever I go, they mistake me for Lee Seung-chul. So I think I should be allowed to make music for a smaller mass of people.

10: But it may also be because of your taste in music. It's becoming increasingly rough.
Lee: That's why some people say I'm bizarre. (laugh) And when I sang "Super Hero", some said I should be doing music that fits my age, saying that I sounded much better in the past singing ballad songs. But I like what I'm doing right now so much. (laugh) I still surf the Internet, make reservations to buy games and then play them... Some people may be displeased with my actions but I think I still have the same sentimentality I had in my 20s. Including the same rebelliousness and free-spiritedness.

10: Was that the criteria in choosing the songs that other singers did remixes of in "Hwantastic Friends"? A lot of the songs seemed to be from your earlier albums.
Lee: Not really, but since it's my first time working with Fluxus Music, I thought of how I could better approach the general public. And my earlier albums contained more songs that the public could relate with better. So I also just received the remixes the way they were given to me rather than participating in the process of making them.

10: I think that's why the singers who participated in your album -- including 2AM's Jo Kwon, Drunken Tiger and YB -- said they made the remakes in their own way rather than homage your songs. But You Hee-yeol's version of "The Me I Want" was interpreted so well that you said you would admit to making it if you could.
Lee: I really like that song too. Hee-yeol himself chose the song too and I think the result came out as such because he knew me well. Hence, I also thought that if I get to do this sort of project again, I would want singers like Jung Ji-chan and Lee So-eun to participate since they had worked with me in the past.

10: What thoughts have you been having upon entering your 40s?
Lee: Back in the days, I had the confidence that I would be able to succeed at whatever I do. Which is why I was brave. But I've been starting to mind what others think for the past couple of years now because I was felt that less people were starting to recognize me. But you shouldn't become anxious because of it. You start losing your ground. And that's when I realized one day, that now, I will fail no matter what I do. (laugh) There are no more big turning points to your life when you enter your mid-40s. Which I think means I should just do more of what I want. I want to make music that won't seem out of place at rock festivals when I'm in my 50s or grow even older. I don't have anymore worldy desires. I just need enough money to buy me games and enjoy my hobbies. So I'm going to just be more of myself when I release my next full-length album. I just didn't push forth my own opinions solely for the 20th anniversary album because it was my first time working with Fluxus.

Senior Reporter : Kang Myoung-Seok two@10asia.co.kr
Editor : Jessica Kim jesskim@asiae.co.kr, Lee Ji-Hye seven@10asia.co.kr