[en][de][fr][sv] Exclusive Interview with GRAY – Part 2

As promised, here is part two of our interview with Gray which was conducted earlier this year at AOMG in Gangnam, Korea.

This time, the talented artist reveals his opinion about his debut music video and why he believes it got rated 19+. He also speaks about the album making process, what inspires him and what he is currently up to. And we can already tell you that he is quite busy this year.

You can also look forward to read the story about the beginning and his experience as a member of the infamous VV:D crew. As Gray’s musical journey started more or less with the popular hip-hop underground group, we didn’t want to leave out questions about his role in the group, as well as his thoughts regarding the crew.

If you want to know which VV:D crew member influences him the most, make sure to read the interview carefully!

Kpopeurope:
Usually, you were “just” responsible for the composing part, when you produced a song. The lyrics haven’t really been on the top of the list for you. But this time, you did everything on your own. You created your own lyrics, did the composing and arranged the song as well. Were there any difficulties you had to face during this process?

Gray:
The engineer helped me a lot, but still, I did everything on my own from the beginning to the end. But as it was my first time, it took quite a long time. I also participated in designing the album. Actually, AOMG is a place where they let the singers make their album on their very own. You can do your own thing on your own terms when it comes to your music. I really like this part of “creative freedom” at AOMG. Also, the others (other producers, sound engineers, etc.) are there to lend you a hand if you ever need it. Even though the support is strong amongst everyone and everyone would have helped me, I did every song on my album on my own.

Kpopeurope:
Your music video for “Dangerous (위험해) feat. Jay Park” was rated 19+. Did you really intend to have your debut video labeled as “inappropriate for an immature audience”?

Gray:
No, absolutely not. To be honest, I didn’t know that it will be rated 19+. Well, I thought it will be 15+ or so… Hm yeah, it’s not for little kids, but it should be okay for 15-years-olds (laughs). In my video, there is a woman who wears a swimsuit. And that’s it. Actually, there are a lot of people who appear on TV with only a swimsuit on. So I don’t know what the people who rated the video were thinking about it when they saw it. But anyways, doesn’t it mean that they thought my video was really sexy?! (laughs)
Nowadays, I think this kind of indecent stuff does not really matter anymore. There are a lot of videos which are rated 19+. Just take Gary Hyung’s music video “Shower Later (조금 이따 샤워해) feat. Crush” for an example. I saw it too, and the video as well as the lyrics are more sexually explicit than mine (laughs). I think Hyung’s video is the real 19+ video, not mine (laughs). But don’t tell him, because he asked me to say that his video is just “romantic”, not sexually explicit (laughs more).

 Gray – Dangerous feat. Jay Park

(Explicit: Rated 19+!)

Kpopeurope:
Where do you get the inspiration and the main feeling from, when you are making a new song?

Gray:
I like music since I was young and I have been listening to a lot of different music through my life. These various experiences were helping me a lot with my own music. They inspired me on a certain level.

Kpopeurope:
How long does it take you to make a song? Of course, it is different from song to song, but still, I am curious about the average time you spend on producing one.

Gray:
As you said, it depends on the song. But nowadays it gets easier and I need less time to produce one. After 2012, I had more work to do than usually and naturally, I got used to producing. However, I am still in the process of learning and growing as a producer. For me, learning is a never-ending process. I’ll still be learning when I am super old and I think I’ll learn until I die. But learning and improving as an artist is what’s super interesting for me. It just makes fun.

Kpopeurope:
Do you make your songs at home too or only in this office in Gangnam?

Gray:
After coming to AOMG, I always make them in my office.

Kpopeurope:
Recently, you worked together with Leessang (리쌍)’s Gary. Are there any other projects you are currently working on?

Gray:
I have a lot of work to do. I produced some title songs for 5 to 6 different singers. And I just got a phone call from a very famous singer as well. So I think this year will be much busier than last year.
Author’s note: It was not a call directly from the said singer to Gray, but rather from the singer to AOMG asking for Gray.

Kpopeurope:
When we talk about you, we have to talk about the VV:D crew. How do you participate in this group? Do you have any background stories for us?

Gray:
I happened to know Zion.T since back in the days. He and I naturally clicked and every time we talked about music, we could inspire each other. We simply shared the same thoughts. Back then, Zion.T’s popularity was not huge as he was only popular in the hip-hop underground scene. Nevertheless, as I liked him a lot, I accepted his offer when he suggested that we should be in the same crew. Since then, we got more members to join us and now, we were five (Author’s notice: Zion.T (leader), Gray, Elo, Loco and Crush). After Crush became the crew’s 5^th member, the group got really dynamic. Personally, I know Crush the longest out of all our members and because he does arrangement as well, I work with him the most. We really did a lot of composing work together; we even composed for the popular TV show “Immortal Songs (불후의 명곡)” twice.
Actually, I worked on Gary hyung’s song “Shower Later (조금 이따 샤워해)” together with Crush, too. I produced it and Crush lent his vocals to the song. Because the melody of a song is very important, I absolutely wanted to work with him on hyung’s song this time as well.

Kpopeurope:
You are working a lot with the VV:D crew. But do you have a special role within this group?

Gray:
I am the oldest one in the group whereas Crush is still very young. He just turned 23. But of course, 23 is an age where you already know a lot about what you want to do. But still, as I served in the military and could enjoy university life, I am taking care of the younger ones as a “hyung” (older brother). But this doesn’t mean that I’m the big leader of the group. Zion.T is the crew’s leader as he stepped up and claimed that place first. Since the group’s formation, we were all constantly together not only grow as a group, but as independent musicians as well. Within one year, all of us managed to sign a contract with a well-known record company.

Kpopeurope:
So you are taking care of the others by being an older brother?

Gray:
Yes. Even though all of us are in different companies now, we are still very close. Therefore, I still try to act and support them as an older brother.

Kpopeurope:
To be honest, the VV:D crew was a bit weird for me at first. It’s not a real boy group as in an “idol boy group”, but a group where the same musical thoughts are gathered. So what does VV:D crew mean to you?

Gray:
Being together with the people who are close to me and who share the same thoughts. So for me, VV:D crew is like home. Because we are all musicians, I can easily discuss my [musical] worries and fears with them. This is something you cannot do with your high school friends. We also share similar tastes and likings; so talking about music is fun. Every time I see them, I am remembered of the crucial turning point in my musical career, too.
Nowadays, it’s sometimes hard for our fans to see us as a unified group. But still, be assured that we continuously try to keep in touch with each other.

Kpopeurope:
After you joined the VV:D crew in 2012, you were exposed to a lot of musical creativity. Did the members have any distinct influence on you?

Gray:
I tell this in other interviews quite often, too. Zion.T, for example, is a so called “feeling-teacher” for me. I said this to Zion.T as a joke as well (laughs).
If you take a closer look on Korea’s current music scene, you can see that there are lots of idols and idol groups out there. Before I debuted, I was working for a team which wanted to compose some music for those idols. However, this was not really interesting and fun for me. But don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I hate idol music. I just prefer hip-hop music and that’s the reason why I kind of renounced myself from the team. This was also around the same time, when I joined the crew of Zion.T. Looking back, I am glad that I made this decision because I can finally focus on the music I really want to do. Back then, I got lots of inspiration from Zion.T as well. Every time I saw him performing on stage, I thought, “Yeah that’s the right thing!” The first song he helped me with was “Kkambbak (깜빡) feat. Zion.T & Crucial Star”. He was much more famous than me back then, so I am super grateful for his generous help and support. Thanks to him, I was able to start off well.
Being with Crush is a “win-win situation”. Of course, there is always the possibility of being “harmful” to each other because after all we are competing in the same business. However, as we were and still are a crew, being with each other is good as we kind of complete each other when we do collaborations.

Kpopeurope:
Do you have a life motto? Is there any song that cheers you up when you are having a difficult or hard time?

Gray:
I don’t really listen to something special when I am having a hard time. I just think a lot. When I was young, I listened to the kind of slow songs and ballads during hard times. I was so immersed in the song that I could really “feel” the song and the person’s story the song was telling. Actually, it made me even more sad so I was more likely to cry. But to be honest, I do not listen to any music to cheer me up. However, I think it would be a good idea to listen to “Dream Chaser” (laughs).

Kpopeurope:
Oh, are you promoting right now? (laughs)

Gray:
I just think it would mean a lot if you would listen to the song “Dream Chaser”. I happen to speak a lot about this song even though “Dangerous feat. Jay Park” is the real title song of my album (laughs).

Kpopeurope:
You just officially started as a producer and an artist. How do you want to be remembered? Have you ever imagined what the 5 and 10 years will be like, the direction you want to head for?

Gray:
Although I feel quite thankful for what I’ve already achieved, but I wish to receive more recognition from the public. I am still a new artist and need to release more songs in order to be recognized more and respected for what I am doing. Therefore one wish would be to release more of my works. My dream is to do the music I want to listen to and I hope that I will stick to this resolution in the future as well. Of course, the best thing would be if the public appreciates my music as well. The worst thing would be to make some music I don’t like at all.
It would be awesome if I am still doing music in five or ten years. Should I ever happen to be in a difficult situation, I think it would be tough or even impossible to continue my music. To be honest, this profession of mine is kind of not a secure job. It’s more financially stable to own your own meat restaurant (“gogi-jib”) than doing music as you profit from a regular income (laughs) (Author’s note: It’s not uncommon beyond singers to own their own “gogi-jib” as an “insurance”. For example, Seven (YG Entertainment) owns his own chicken restaurant chain). But as I love music, it would be really great if I can concentrate on my music without having to run a “gogi-jib”. But even if I end up running one, as long as I can continue to be a musician in the long run, I would be more than happy. I am not saying anything bad about running a “gogi-jib” though (laughs).
I wish to be like the singer Cho Yong Pil one day. It was really surprising that he had such an awesome comeback at his age. Personally, I think the song had a great melody and was beautifully arranged. Being able to have such a successful comeback is really cool.

Author’s note: Cho Yong Pil (조용필) is a senior singer, who is still releasing singles and albums despite his rather old age. Last year, he landed a super hit with his title “Bounce” and even won the “Song of the Year” category at the 15^th Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA) 2013.

Kpopeurope:
Not long ago, I saw Jay Park’s tweet stating, “AOMG Daebak. I am looking forward to it and I want to show it to you soon.” Do you have any plans for a new album this year?

 Gray:
Yeah, I will have lots of work this year. I will participate as a producer in Jay Park’s upcoming release and I am working for Elo (another artist of AOMG), too. Of course, I want to release my own works as well, so I should prepare for my next album soon. The release, however, depends on the “right time”. Oh, and Loco’s album will be out soon, too. With Jay Park preparing for his album as well, I can say for sure that there is a lot of cool stuff is coming!

Jay Park – Metronome feat. Gray and Simon D

(Explicit: Rated 19+!)

Kpopeurope:
Last question, do you have a message for your European fans and readers of Kpopeurope?

Gray:
Should you guys be fans of mine or know me, I really want to say thank you! Actually, you guys are really far away and my songs are all written in Korean. So I don’t know if you understand my stuff at all. However, you are listening to my songs as for the musical experience and knowing this is absolutely amazing, as well as surprising. I am really thankful!
I think there will be readers who haven’t heard about me yet, too. I hope they will read through this interview and get interested in what I am doing. If so, please give my songs a try, as well as the works musical work from my fellow AOMG artists. Thank you!

Kpopeurope:
Thank you very much for giving us the opportunity to interview you despite your busy schedule. It was very interesting and we are sure that our readers will appreciate your music as well. We wish you all the best for your upcoming projects and releases! Thank you!

Interviewer: Min
Translator: Jiwon
Author & Editor in Chief: Rina
Editor (English): Lisa

Content: Copyright ©2014 Kpopeurope. All Rights Reserved.
Pictures: Copyright ©2014 Kpopeurope & AOMG.