Ddanji Interview with Seo Taiji, Dec. 9, 2000:
¡°This Is How I would Do with Music¡± Interviewer: Pato

>A news was that you got sick with stomachache soon after your return. Are you O.K. now?

= Ah, stomachache! It was a totally bogus news. The journalists made it up after begging for any piece of news. Did people believe it? I thought they wouldn¡¯t after so many lies made by the mass media. I¡¯m surprised to find even you fooled by the news:)

[It¡¯s so unimaginable how the journalists make up stories to their interests. This episode exposes how preposterous are those news concerning Taiji.]

>O.K. Some points out that your music in Taiji Boys days was like ¡®a display of various genres.¡¯ But, in this sixth album, you seem to go deep into one style. Is this a natural result of what you have pursued, or a conscious change to generic consistency?

= It¡¯s a result of my consistent efforts. I¡¯ve experimented with genres according to my personal tastes. My wish is to keep up with the advanced levels of foreign culture. It is true that our culture is a little behind. I¡¯d like to introduce new music styles in America to our culture. Maybe, that¡¯s why some people note that I just bring in foreign genres. Actually, I may concentrate on one genre, but I think, that won¡¯t be helpful to improve our music in its present state.

[Taiji admits that he has been introducing American popular genres. He rather stressed the need for that kind of work.]

Music will continue to change, I guess. I don¡¯t want to stay at one place, either. To be frank, I don¡¯t know where my music is going. It might move toward Techno music next time.

>In fact, our music fans seem sort of obsessed with the legitimacy of genre.

=Yes. That¡¯s right. I don¡¯t like that kind of prejudicial attitude toward genres.

[Taiji¡¯s tone here was very strong. It is dangerous to measure up music with the standard of generic legitimacy. It can possibly make people too conservative and narrow-minded to accept new forms of music. On the other hand, they insist on legitimacy to resist our present music market whose products show no difference for all their superficial variety.]

>Listening to your 6th album, I feel like you previous songs somehow compromised with popularity in your account of our cultural circumstances.

=Hmmit will be a lie if I say I don¡¯t consider popularity. My position is to balance between popularity and musical quality. My personal picks in this album are ¡°Tank¡± and ¡°Do You Remember.¡± But if I release these songs as titles, I¡¯ll fail to get any attention from the public. That¡¯s why I chose ¡°Ultramania¡± as the title song. I had an expectation that people would get interested in other songs as they become familiar with this more accessible song.
Of course, I do music because I like it. I don¡¯t make music just for the sake of popularity. And people say the music I make becomes popular of itself.

>Popularity aside, some music fans point out that this album lacks originality when compared with your previous albums. I¡¯m curious to know what is your standard for originality. And how do you evaluate this album?

=Originalitywell, I think what comes from my own mind is original. In my view, this album reached the highest level of achievement I¡¯ve ever done. Many people think of ¡°Sidae Yugam(Regrettable Times)¡± as experimental. This album is experimental in many ways, too. Of course, I don¡¯t think it is completely original. My work has been influenced by American music. It might look just a tiny speck on toes, but I worked hard and did my best to make something.
While I¡¯m engineering this album in America, many people in studio showed interest in it. I was told that my songs sound very unique to Americans. Even to me, it sounds quite a departure from the typical American pimp-rock or hardcore music.
So, they suggested that I release my album to American music market. But, you know, there are many things to be considered, for instance, racial problems. They wouldn¡¯t like to see an Oriental musician playing on stage as one of their idols. It needs a more discreet approach.
You can¡¯t imagine how hard those American bands work to be original and competent. I¡¯m emulating them. I try hard, but it is not that easy.

[Taiji was not ambitious yet to make his own music totally new. For now, he aims to make as good music as Americans in their genres and to inject some unique quality of his own into them.]

>The guitar riffs used in ¡°Ultramania¡± were very unique as I tried to play them. You used Bb key quite unusual in rock music. What did you focus on in composing and playing it? Why is there no guitar solo part?

=I used it because it fits with the song. Umthe key was good for the picking harmonics (one of guitar-playing skills for the strong high tone) of the riffs.
I didn¡¯t put a solo part because it didn¡¯t get along with the song. Actually, I¡¯m weak at playing solo parts. If I need it, I might let it played by a session man.

>Like in ¡°Hayeoga¡±?

=Yes. Anyway, I focused on composing and playing on my own. I concentrated on accurate picking and guitar-tone.

>In my view, the guitar tone seems good. It sounds a little screeching but with no noise.

=I¡¯m not satisfied with the guitar tone. I experimented a lot but failed to get the sound I wanted. So, the final product was the second best. It took two months to get the guitar riffs. You know, it takes much time to work with riffs.

>I once heard that the blues guitarist Stevie Raybone set up lots of amps in a stadium to create a good sound.

=Yes. So did Metallica.

>That kind of thing is impossible for our bands here.

=Right. In that respect, I didn¡¯t have pressure at all. I worked at ease with no time constraints.

>Many people are rather negative about your ability as vocalist. Especially in the general standard for the pimp-rock style, your voice seems not to go well with it. How do you assess your own ability as vocalist and how much do you practice vocal parts?

=Vocal is my weakest point. I should make more efforts to enhance my vocals and to sing with more confidence. But I think it is a prejudice that my voice is not good for the pimp-rock. Our music fans are too strict with their fixed ideas of rock music styles. Rock is the kind of music to enjoy free as one listens to it.
I think it is most important to practice by copying the songs one likes with his own instruments. I hope many people try that. You said you tried to copy my song, ¡°Ultramania.¡± Music reviewers should try it before writing any reviews.

[This was Taiji¡¯s critique of our music reviewers. It is true that our music reviews have tended to be of empty rhetoric and cultural criticism with little concern with music itself. Not equipped with professional information, they cannot but be restricted in their reviews.]

>You know, most of reviewers are not capable of it. How much do you practice the vocal parts?

=Not much. You know, I worked on this album all by myself, so there was not enough time for each part. I just practice any part while struggling to master it into songs. I didn¡¯t have any separate time-schedule for practice.

>Viewed as one-man band album, it seems to make most use of digital technology. How did you work with the drum parts digitally programmed?

=I tried it many ways. The drummer in my present project band played it, but it wasn¡¯t done as I conceived it. So, I turned to programming. I took samples of kick and snare drums played by drummers. If you carefully listen to the drum parts, you will notice that even the snare drums are all different.

[This is really time-consuming and needs tremendous efforts. You can get the sound you want through lots of repetitious trials to catch the live sound of drums and guitars with several mikes.]

>It was quite a labour.

=Yes. That¡¯s it. I like that kind of subtle and crafty work.

>Is it due to your perfectionism?

=Well, maybe. Naya musiciam should be a perfectionist. Anyway, I did all drum programming on my own. It took long to make it sound like played by men.

>I heard that you did partly lip-sync and used the already recorded tape in your come-back show. ¡°Finger sync¡± in a joking term among players.

=We use that term. Finger sync:)

>Your come-back show had a sort of historical significance. Don¡¯t you think that you should have made it all live? But, I heard that you sang and played all live in pre-recording for the MBC Music Camp program. Are you planning to do a live performance in all TV programs?

=I can¡¯t bet, but I¡¯ll try to in all the so-far scheduled programs, since monitoring equipments are available.
Well, I know many people talk about my use of lip-sync in the come-back show. In fact, I had practiced a lot to make all live performance possible. However, I always think with the public, you know, how the public would view my music. The common audience in our country doesn¡¯t know how to play to music yet.
Of course, a live show is good and rock fans will understand it. But, I thought it might be risky to show all live performance to the common public unfamiliar with the live sound.

[Not surprisingly, he was under enormous pressure on the first stage since his return with the music style quite unknown to the public. I think he was concerned about their negative response to the possible mistakes in the live performance.]

But it doesn¡¯t mean that I was careless in preparing for the show. After copying each part of instruments in multi-tracks, I mixed and adjusted them to the stage. You know, the sound gets blurred if I play it in two tracks as with CD.
Anyway, I thought it would be risky to play live in the first stage. In rehearsing for the live performance in Music Camp, I made unbelievably good sound with careful pre-monitoring. It was the best sound ever on TV broadcast, I guess. But, during tele-recording, the sound of the audience was too loudbesides, the layout of the TV stage was totally different from that of our practice studio. All members were dumbfounded to find it.
From now on, however, I wouldn¡¯t mind it even if I make some mistakes in our live performance. There were some slips in our pre-recorded performance for Music Camp, but I¡¯ll let it broadcast without any correction.

>People wouldn¡¯t notice them.

=No, they are noticeable. But I don¡¯t mind it.

>Our musicians are using to excess the sampling CDs. Do you use them? If so, how much?

=Until my 4th album, I used them a lot, especially in the 4th album. I had played the songs on my own, but the sound wasn¡¯t satisfying. The sound made by the sampling CDs is much better than that of my own playing.
Some say that I am to blame for the present abuse of sampling. But I don¡¯t think so. If I didn¡¯t, anyone would have done it.

[He was sensitive to the critique that he triggered or expanded the problems of our music market in its present state.]

I used them just to make better music. I¡¯m a little flustered when people talk about plagiarism just for the reason I used sampling.

>There¡¯s a song entitled ¡°Pyojul(Plagiarism)¡± in this album. It is said that you picked it up from a sampling CD. What does it imply with regard to the debate on sampling or plagiarism?

=It is just a track for easy listening. Even my ear gets tired of the continuous hard rock sounds. It¡¯s just, let¡¯s take a break.

[This was an unexpected answer.]

>Many people talk about ¡°Classroom Ideas¡± in relation to this album. Some say that the songs in this album are weaker in their persuasiveness and effectiveness than the straight sound and lyric of ¡°Classroom Ideas.¡± What do you think of this?

=I always feel that people have too much expectation of my lyrics. Many regard me as a hero or social activist.
I just write what I feel and hope. ¡°Dreaming of Balhae¡± was written because I wished for the reunification of our country. As a Korean, I was deeply moved by the North-South summit meeting and the reunion of dispersed families. I wrote ¡°Classroom Ideas¡± out of my own experience as students.

[He means that the lyrics are based on what he regards as significant to himself, but with no special structural approach.]

Actually, it doesn¡¯t take much time for me to write lyrics. It doesn¡¯t matter if there are no lyrics in my music. I don¡¯t write lyrics with any special purposes in mind as Rage Against the Machine does. I¡¯ve never taken music with sort of subversive ideas.
I would have given up music if I had worked that way. I do music just because I like it.

[Here, he stressed that the lyrics are for the music, not that the music is for the lyrics.]

This album includes lyrics on the self rather than on social criticism. During my stay in America, I had time to think of my self. The American hardcore groups are also concerned with self-reflection.
But, wellI might turn to more of social criticism if pitched by something.

>It seems that you mixed the vocal sounds down. The lyrics sound indistinct.

=It is usual in hardcore songs, because the accompaniment booms out. The sound balance is more important than the lyrics. The vocal sound is not that small, though.

>I heard that you went to several of Limp Bizkit concerts. What did you focus on there?

Limp Bizkit, Korn I sort of toured to see their performances. I focused on their sounds and then on how the musicians play with their fans.

>Who among domestic musicians did influence you most? What songs do you pick as excellent?

=Jo Yongpil, Jeon Inkwon, Deulgukhwa. When I got into music, I practiced by copying their songs. Yes, I was much influenced by them. I like Jo Yongpil in his image-management as well as in his musical aspects.
¡°Only That is My World¡± or ¡°Everyday With You.¡± Aren¡¯t they marvelous? I really like Deulgukhwa.

[Saying this, he looked gleeful with his thumb up.]

(Trans. By Dream of Balhae)