Being Asian myself, I have to admit that I came into the world of Asian music very late, especially when it comes to Rock music. Even growing up as a kid in The Philippines, I listened to the sounds of The Ramones, Blondie, Joan Jett, Motley Crue, The Clash, and many more. And in 2020 when all the music venues were shut down and I was stuck looking and listening to new music on YouTube, I discovered the realm of JROCK, KPOP, and KROCK.
Written by Don Marcelo
My eyes and ears became glued to my computer and I fell down deep into the rabbit hole quickly and became a fan of this music genre. So now my eyes and ears are completely wide open and continue to explore to see and hear new music from all over the world.
So when the PR Firm 42west reached out to my Online Media Outlet, SLR MAGAZINE, and my editor asked me if I’m interested in doing an interview with a South Korean Rock Band called Xdinary Heroes, I welcomed the idea with open arms, open eyes, and open ears.
So I did a little digging about this South Korean All Male group before diving into my interview and questions. I methodically watched their music videos. I read a little about them. And I got to listen to their latest EP first before it got released on March 24.
Xdinary Heroes has been around since 2021. They are formed under JYP Entertainment, and they are a six-member band—Gun-il, Jungsu, Gaon, O.de, Jun Han, and Jooyeon—who gives a fresh distinct sound with powerful vocals and instrumentation and profound storytelling behind the music. They have been around since 2021 and currently have 6 EPs released, and with the latest number 6 called ‘Beautiful Mind’.
THE INTERVIEW:Q1: SLR MAGAZINE
Hi Xdinary Heroes. Thank you for taking the time to talk with us at SLR MAGAZINE. First of all WOW! Love the music. If I’m not mistaken, you claim to “AIM TO BE A VOICE FOR THOSE FEELING OPPOSITION TO THE WORLD.” Can you elaborate more on this statement to those who don’t know you very well.
A1: XDINARY HEROES:
Jungsu: Xdinary Heroes aims to tell stories that are often hard to express in our daily lives. We tend to focus on this direction as we create our music!
Jun Han: Many people including my friends around me are struggle with their self-belief due to their personal reasons. We know this led to different perspectives on the world, making communication difficult. So we try to express dreams and hope through our songs, empathizing with their struggles. Even though we can’t represent everyone’s concerns, we hope to create music that can offer some comfort to them.
Q2: SLR MAGAZINE
Compared to the song “Little Things” or “Hair Cut” where I watched the music videos and for me have an EMO and POP PUNK feel and vibe, when I listened to your new EP “Beautiful Mind”, the songs “FIGHT ME”, “More than i like” (my favorite by the way), “George The Lobster”, and “Diamond”, personally I find myself as if I am watching an Anime where the hero is fighting the villains of the world to save the woman he loves or humanity in general. So basically my question is this, Is it fair to say that music is evolving and growing to a different direction, especially I hear a lot more great explosive guitar riffs and solo shreds which I love? What are your thoughts about this EP in general and what are some of the inspiration of the songs? Oh by the way on a side note, for me I also feel a lot of similarities with one of my favorite JROCK bands, SURVIVE SAID THE PROPHET with this album from the great vocals to the screams to the shreds to the drums.
A2: XDINARY HEROES
Gaon: Yes, it’s true that we always try something new with each album, so it feels like we’re constantly studying new genres. The passion that comes from this process continues to evolve our music. I am sure that we will present a new side of us in our next album.
Jun Han: Many bands focus on guitar sounds as their main element and develop their music a lot based on that. Naturally, my goal has become to showcase my growth by practicing various techniques that allow me to play different types of music.
Q3: SLR MAGAZINE
Do you write your lyrics together as a group or is there one person who is dedicated to writing? What is your process when it comes to writing music?
A3: XDINARY HEROES
O.de: We usually discuss the overall structure and key themes of the songs together. For the lyrics, typically, when one member writes the lyrics first and then we edit them all together!
Jooyeon: After we spend some time discussing about keywords, each of us writes lyrics that fit those themes. Then, we complete the lyrics by either combining or editing our lyrics. For composing, we first decide on the genre we want to do with the songwriter, and we start with track work. If we already have a prepared track, we jump right into melody songwriting.
Q4: SLR MAGAZINE
When it comes to music (individually), name some of your favorite bands you listen to.
A4: XDINARY HEROES
Gaon: Recently, I’ve been slowly listening to songs from bands like Arctic Monkeys, Mötley Crüe, Slipknot, and ONE OK ROCK, starting from their first albums.
Jooyeon: Lately, I’ve been listening to J-POP music. Some of my favorites are “Bokuno Koto” by Mrs. GREEN APPLE, “Suiheisen” by back number, “WHITE NOISE” by Official HIGE DANdism, and “Buddy” by SPYAIR.
Q5: SLR MAGAZINE
When it comes to your fans, which country or countries do you think have the best energy and why and give us an example of what exactly happened.
A5: XDINARY HEROES
Jungsu: It’s hard to choose one as all the Villains around the world truly enjoy our performances, but if I MUST pick only one, I’d say Manila Villains stand out in my memory. They were incredibly energetic, and it felt like we were performing together rather than just them watching our stage! Hahaha.
O.de: It’s too difficult to choose which country is better because all the Villains from every city have shown us such a great energy and allowing us to perform with enthusiasm on stage! That’s why I’m even more excited for this tour.
Q6: SLR MAGAZINE
And on that note, with this latest EP , will we see you back here in America in 2025 for another North American Tour? I do hope so and I do hope to get to see you perform on stage where I’m in the photo pit photographing and capturing some great moments of your performance. And who knows maybe you get to play with my favorite KROCK Group and it’s an all female group, Rolling Quartz. That would be a great dynamic duo team tour in my opinion.
A6: XDINARY HEROES:
Gun-il: Yes, we have our North American tour scheduled for this year! I’m excited to showcase our new songs and the growth of Xdinary Heroes musically. I would also be thrilled if we had any opportunities to collaborate with other bands in the future!
O.de: I’m really looking forward to our North American tour this year! Also there are so many amazing bands currently
Thank you very much for taking the time to talk to us. I love the energy that I saw from all your music videos and from listening to this new EP. I can’t wait to see the music videos from this EP.
Stay well and stay safe – Don Marcelo for SLR MAGAZINE
Thank You to amazing team at 42West organizing this interview and Lucy Gougeon for helping with translation from Korean.
Xdinary Heroes links:
https://xdinaryheroes.jype.com
TOUR INFORMATION PUBLISHED IN OUR MAGAZINE EARLIER BELOW:
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