Fan Chant: P1Harmony Won’t “Back Down” Any Time Soon: Interview
The post Fan Chant: P1Harmony Won’t “Back Down” Any Time Soon: Interview appeared first on Consequence.
Welcome to Fan Chant, a weekly column for K-pop fans, stans, and newbies alike. Each week, I’ll be rolling out interviews, lists, and all kinds of content to keep you in the loop on the latest and greatest from our friends in Seoul and beyond. Also, make sure to subscribe to my companion newsletter!
Something lovely about K-pop is how many avenues their are to discovering new groups. I vocally adore my Discover Weekly playlist on Spotify and credit it for introducing me to so many wonderful tracks and acting as a bridge to new artists and bands; for many people, TikTok has been known to push a casual listener into stan territory.
It wouldn’t be a total surprise to hear the latter route was responsible for leading some new fans to P1Harmony, an exciting, often experimental group out of FNC Entertainment who have introduced their sparkling personalities to plenty of new listeners through social media since their debut in 2020. Once listeners take the plunge, there’s so much fun to be found in P1Harmony’s rapidly budding discography — “Do It Like This,” their January 2022 release, is a thoroughly addictive bop off their DISHARMONY: FIND OUT album that reached well beyond just P1eces, as P1Harmony’s fanbase is known.
Now, the six-piece group — Keeho, Theo, Jiung, Intak, Soul, and Jongseob — are back with their fifth EP, HARMONY: SET IN. I was able to connect with the members to hear about some of the details that went into the friendship-focused collection, inspirations old and new, and future goals. “I want to try making music with a rock feel,” reveals Jiung.
Catch P1Harmony’s new music video for focus track “Back Down” and read the full interview with the members below!
Congrats on your fifth mini-album!! You mentioned wanting to explore a new side of your musical journey as a group with this collection — I feel like the focus track has your bright, addictive, experimental sound, and some of the b-sides (“BFF” in particular!) lean into a lighter space. What directions were you guys most focused on exploring with this album?
Keeho: One of the keywords for our 5th mini-album is friendship so the concept and musical color of this album reflects that by being brighter and full of energy. As this album is also part of our Harmony series, we tried to capture the beginning of a new harmony, a completely perfect one.
Let’s talk about “Back Down.” Intak and Jongseob, I know you participated in writing the lyrics — what is your songwriting process like?
Intak: I write most comfortably in my studio! I believe in first instincts so when I write lyrics for a verse, I often end up putting the very first verse I write in the song!
Jongseob: When it comes to writing lyrics, I organize them by humming or spitting out random words to see how to lead the flow. After that, I tend to complete the lyrics by thinking about what the topic is and the lyrical points or words that I want to include separately from the topic. Also, I write on average 4 to 5 versions of lyrics per verse and try taking it in various directions. Then, I ask the members for their opinions and decide on the final version.
What are some sounds, genres, or themes you are all still interested in exploring through your music in the future?
Jiung: I want to try making music with a rock feel. I want to give myself a challenge with as many various genres of music and concepts as possible.
You guys have had such an amazing year. What were some highlights, from your perspective? What are you most excited about for 2023?
Theo: The tour was the most memorable. I learned a lot and felt the most happiness during the tour.
Soul: Performing on different stages this year, including KCON in the US, and The Kelly Clarkson Show this week, both were highlights for me, and I want to perform in bigger and even more places in the future.
What are some ways you’ve seen your team dynamic grow or change over the past few months since your last release?
Keeho: I didn’t realize this at the time, but in hindsight I’ve noticed our understanding of the concept has improved a lot while shooting the cover for this album.
Is there anything — books, albums, films, experiences — that’s really been inspiring you guys lately?
Keeho: I get inspired by experiences. I take a lot of inspiration from my own experiences or other people’s experiences that I hear. Recently, there was a time when I lost my confidence but that ended up really helping me in writing lyrics.
Theo: As I listened to BIGBANG’s albums, I came to know exactly what kind of songs make the audience go wild at a concert.
Jiung: I get a lot of inspiration from Michael Jackson’s Album BAD.
Intak: I recently rewatched a TV program called MIX&MATCH that I used to watch as a kid and that motivated me to think again about why I wanted to become a singer and what kind of singer I wanted to be. Thanks to that, I was able to concentrate more with a better mindset when preparing and practicing.
Soul: I don’t watch videos to get inspired. Instead, I get inspiration naturally from things that happen day to day.
Jongseob: I usually get inspiration from books and movies.
ICYMI: Hitting Overload with Xdinary Heroes
Xdinary Heroes, photo by SongYi Yoon
I remain obsessed with the recent Xdinary Heroes EP — in case you missed it, I recently connected with the group to discuss it. Find the full interview here.
Happy Spotify Wrapped Day!
CIX, photo courtesy of c9 Entertainment
As Fan Chant readers may recall, we all had time to prepare for this fated day. I, for one, love seeing everybody’s Wrapped details — feel free to revisit my ode to spiraling here and share your bonkers stats on your social media platform of choice!
Song Rec of the Week:
All hail queen BIBI! Her latest album, Sweet Sorrow of Mother, is an immersive and conceptual journey, and I think it’s just so fantastic. “Motospeed 24” is my favorite cut.
Fan Chant: P1Harmony Won’t “Back Down” Any Time Soon: Interview
Mary Siroky
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