[FEATURE] Anything Goes with DAY6

This is an excerpt of an interview with DAY6 by Glass Man Magazine, Spring 2020 issue.

Glass Man meets K-pop boyband DAY6 – the super group that isn’t afraid to push boundaries

If you were to ask K-pop group DAY6 what the perfect formula for a boyband is, they would have absolutely no idea. The five-piece (formed of lead singer Sungjin, rapper and bassist Young K, singer and keyboardist Wonpil, singer and guitarist Jae, and drummer Dowoon) doesn’t follow the status quo, emerging on the K-pop scene in 2014 and quickly rising through the charts with their distinctive sound. This is often likened to techno beats, although this doesn’t quite fit as a musical description. In fact, there isn’t any description that really fits.

When asked if they think their music is “genre defying”, another term often linked to them, guitarist Jae Park is quick to knock me down, laughing: “I wouldn’t really say that it’s genre-defying. I think it’s more the fact that it never perfectly aligns to a certain genre. As we’re still on our musical journey, we like to experiment and mesh genres and sounds together.” This may actually be the best description of their sound, he continues. “You can usually see this in the genre disparity between our melodies and instrumentation.”

Far from being manufactured pop, the band prides themselves for being involved in every stage of creating their music, including writing, composing and even producing. Telling me about the process of creating their latest album, The Book of Us: Entropy, which was released last October to rave reviews, Young K delves into the the intensity of that process: “I guess the whole album production was under the concept of entropy, which is a sweet chaos. We all split up and went to different rooms to have a song camp, which is we all write one song in each room.”

While some other K-pop bands have expressed anxieties about releasing English-speaking songs, suggesting this will remove a sense of Korean identity, Sungjin and co appear excited about the idea of releasing something that is culturally and linguistically very different, even if it appeals to another audience entirely. It is this sense of daring and self-direction that has propelled the boyband into the K-pop limelight, creating a feeling of authenticity that is now their trademark.

In fact, even when asked about their biggest musical influences, drummer Dowoon makes it clear that their bond forms the foundation for most of their music: “I’ve been able to learn what kind of music suits me from my DAY6 members … as well as what kind of clothes suit me well.”

But this isn’t to say they have no pool of inspiration whatsoever. Singer, keyboardist and synthesiser Wonpil tells me about the influence from his super-loyal fanbase: “They [DAY6 fans] definitely do inspire our music and everything that we do. They make us realise why we do music again, especially when we tour, so every moment during the tour is absolutely precious. We’re very grateful, but I doubt that even saying this can deliver my true intention.”

To read the full interview of DAY6 with Glass Man, get your copy now on newsstand.co.uk internationally! It can be ordered from www.theglassmagazine.com/subscription/

Credits:
The Glass Magazine – Spring Issue
www.theglassmagazine.com 
www.theglassmagazine.hk

Photographer: Jang Duk Hwa
Stylist: Bal’ko Kim Taeyoung 
Grooming: The J

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