"Is Desire a Driving Force or an Obsession?"… Xdinary Heroes Speaks on 'IMPULSE'

Is desire a driving force that moves me, or is it something harmful that makes me obsessed? This question, posed by Xdinary Heroes ahead of their new mini album 'IMPULSE', is the core of the conversation shared by the members in the video. Ahead of the release of their 9th mini album, the members talked about the desire and obsession they felt during the song-making process.

"Worries about Desire and Obsession"... Attitude Toward Music Production

In the video, the members shared opinions on how desire can be a driving force to run toward a goal, and how, at times, feelings for something unattainable can act as a heavy burden. One member mentioned that the desire to do well serves as the initial driving force, but sometimes it becomes excessive and leads to obsession. In particular, they shared experiences from their early debut days when their goals were so clear that they poured out a passion bordering on obsession, spending so much time in the practice room that they only slept 2 to 3 hours a day.

This attitude led to the process of increasing musical perfection. While preparing for this album, the members focused on the overall quality of the songs. To utilize the team's characteristic of handling various genres, they also considered the contrast between the members' voices. They explained that while maintaining an energetic bass, they tried to bring out a three-dimensional feel to the songs by taking the details in different directions.

Worries Contained in a Single Line of Lyrics, 'Obsessed with You' and 'Arguments'

There were also discussions during the song production process to preserve specific lyrics. In the bridge part of the title track 'Obsessed with You', efforts were made to maintain the atmosphere of the lyrics. The video contains content stating that they worked hard to preserve Korean lyrics such as "Dancing in the light, soaking in as if wailing, please recognize these days of mine" because they matched the vibe of the song well.

The part "U and me in arguments" in the chorus of 'Arguments' is also the result of detailed deliberation. They went through a lyric revision process to include linguistic elements, such as the fact that while 'Romance' does not have 'U' and 'S', 'Arguments' contains 'U (you)' and 'Me (me)'.

Additionally, this album is characterized by a unison-centered composition where multiple instruments participate simultaneously to fill the sound richly. They explained that the reason the number of tracks might feel small is that they focused on producing a thick sound by combining multiple sounds.

On-Stage Coping and Musical Longing

Practical concerns regarding being on stage also continued. Regarding mistakes that occur during live performances, the opinion was raised that one should move past them naturally so that the audience can remain focused. It was also mentioned that they are practicing how to cope by instead pressing a different note when a mistake occurs.

The members shared various opinions, ranging from the desire to increase their participation ratio in song production to develop their abilities, to the longing to apply a specific member's color to a song. The 9th mini album 'IMPULSE' consists of a total of 7 tracks.

Source: JYP Entertainment (YouTube)