I just want to
select songs that I like
I want to add my
own colors to the original songs without destroying it
What pains me most
is music yet what makes me most happy is also music
Excite:
Congratulations on your solo debut in Japan!
D-LITE: Thanks!!
Excite: Do you
remember how you first felt when you decided to debut in Japan?
D-LITE: I was really excited. However, as it was my first
solo album and I was also covering J-pop songs, I have to consider many things
and it made me nervous.
Excite: How did
you select all these songs, ranging from so many different styles.
D-LITE: At the start, I was listening to about 100 songs
the staff chose for me. I wanted to select songs based on my first impression
and feeling towards it. After selecting these songs, they are all added to a
list and I will listen to it again more specifically.
Excite: The MV
you did for the song “歌うたいのバラッド” has an entirely
different singing method from the original singer, 斉藤和義 yet I was still able to feel D-LITE san’s colors. May
I ask if you were thinking of treasured memories while recording the song?
D-LITE: For this song, it isn’t like “singing”. Rather, it
is like how someone reads a letter to their lover. The state of mind is
stronger and I was emphasizing on this aspect while recording the song.
Excite: In the
MV, there was some scenes while snowing, it was quite sentimental. It had to be
very cold right?
D-LITE: It was really very cold! The MV was filmed at an
abandoned factory at Hason street which is about an hour’s drive from Seoul! I
have never met the lady in the MV before so while I was filming the MV, I had
to think about her picture and information that was given to me and had to
focus in bringing out my expression.
Excite: “夢の蕾” was very good too. I could feel your lively singing, as
though the song has become yours. Why did you pick this song?
D-LITE: Remioromen san’s (original singer) songs are all
very good, but yes, why only “夢の蕾”? I chose this song while listening to Remioromen san’s
“Best of Collection” album and selected it. Of course there are other songs
like “粉雪” and”3月9日” which were equally good, so is “Sakura”, but why do I
just like “夢の蕾”? I tried
listening to it for many times. During the climax of “夢の蕾”, I could imagine the scene
of spring blossoms drifting in the air and floating around. Songs like this are
easy to control despite the different singing method or re-arrangement of the
song. It is a song I like very much.
Excite: You have
also chosen quite many songs from female artists, as a male artist yourself,
did you experience any difficulty?
D-LITE: It was really tough. However, when I was selecting
the songs, I did not bother about the gender of the artists. I only trusted my
first feeling of the song and that was the core aspect of how I selected the
songs. Of course, when I was recording, there were differences in the music
keys and in this song, the key becomes very high during the climax which was
quite hard to sing. Luckily I found the right key for this song so now I feel
really satisfied.
Excite:
Regardless of the gender, the most important thing when selecting a song is
your first impression to it and whether it makes you think of any scenes in
your mind right?
D-LITE: Yes, thus when I had to select the songs, I did not
want to hear comments like “This song is one of the most popular songs in
Japan” or “This song is not that famous”. I wanted to listen to all the songs
without being aware of its background and pick songs that I truly like.
Excite: How much
do you know about the original singer’s singing and performing method?
D-LITE: How much…. Right now, I still have to listen to
their songs many times. I will definitely have to understand clearly the
singing and performing method of the original singer because I have to add my
own color in to the songs. If I were to rate myself out of 10 stars… maybe 6 or
7 stars?
Excite: It
is not only about singing like the original song or imitating the song but it
is about understanding the song and showing your own colors right?
D-LITE: Yes, I think that is the most important thing of
all. When listening to the original song, I will seem to think “So this is how
I was like during this period” as it brings back different memories. The
hardest part of covering songs is to add your own color in the song without
destroying the original song.
Excite: It means
you considered the listener’s mood.
D-LITE: Yes, this is very important.
Excite: On the
other hand, ”今夜はブギー‧バック nice vocal
feat.VERBAL（m-flo）” is a very bold re-arrangement than the original song and
it has a different vibe to it, very fresh.
D-LITE: I heard that “今夜はブギー‧バック” was one of Japan’s foremost hip-hop song. Bigbang has
also sung hip-hop songs before so I wanted to try it. I then discussed it with
VERBAL san like “How can we re-arrange this song to suit 2013”. VERBAL san
helped re-arrange this song a lot.
Excite: It is
very uniquely done. Unlike singing your own sings and Bigbang songs, how do you
find the fun in doing cover songs?
D-LITE: I think searching for one’s inner self for its
different sides and presenting it out is the most difficult and fun thing.
Excite: For this
time, are you able to find another side of you that you have not known before?
D-LITE: Yes, when singing “じょいふる」（いきものがかり）” I was like “Ah, so I have this side of me too”. I listen
to jazz music occasionally and I have always wanted to try impromptu shouts.
Now that I am able to do it, it was really good.
Excite: Your
self-composed songs “Baby Don’t Cry” and “Wings” are also recorded in Japanese.
D-LITE: “Baby Don’t Cry” was sung before during “2011
BIGBANG presents Love&Hope Tour”. At that time, I felt uneasy because
compared to other songs, “Baby Don’t Cry” wasn’t a song that could bring up the
atmosphere and it was sung in a really sad way too.
Excite: It was a
mature song.
D-LITE: Yes, so I thought “it isn’t good right..” and I
lost confidence. However, VIPs really liked this song so I felt happiness when
singing it. “Wings” was sung during “BIGBANG ALIVE TOUR 2012” in Korean version
and it feels totally different with “Baby Don’t Cry” right? When everybody was
singing together with me, I felt another type of happiness. Both are songs that
I like from a very long time ago, so I wanted to record it in Japanese if I had
the chance. Now that I have this good opportunity, I wouldn’t let it go, so
that is why I have both songs recorded in Japanese in the album.
Excite: The album
title “D’scover” means covering songs and also has D in it (Daesung), it also
means discovering things. It is really a good title name.
D-LITE: I really thought of this name by accident.
Previously, we decided to have my album title as the same name as my ONE MAN
TOUR although I thought that it was not bad, I wasn’t 100% satisfied. Even at
the final stage of discussing the album name, I was thinking “are there really
no other options anymore..” Just a day before the discussion, I was watching a
documentary. This channel was none other than the Discovery Channel (laughs).
Excite: So you
then thought of it suddenly right?
D-LITE: Suddenly “PONG” and I thought of it. During the
discussion I asked everyone “How about D’scover” and they all said “Yes, yes!”
(laughs).
Excite: So there
is actually a story behind it. After listening to all your stories, I once
again feel that D-LITE san is a person who lives for singing. What does singing
mean to you?
D-LITE: Singing is something that I feel stressful about
yet also feel happiness. To be honest, due to my throat, I still have a fear
for stage even up till now. At some point of time, I once thought if it would
be better to give up on singing. However, I realized that the cure to my scar
is only singing. It has also let me know that singing makes me exhausted but it
is also singing that makes me happy.
Excite: In the
end, it is something irreplaceable. Your one man live tour is going to begin in
23rd of March, how is your motivation now?
D-LITE: As it is my first one man live tour, I would like
to show myself and my all to everybody. I would like people who don’t know
D-LITE to go “Ahhh, so D-LITE is a person like this”. Right now, I am still in
the midst of preparing many things!!
Translated by: nakedae@SMILEHOLIC www.dsholic.com
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